2014 Ducato / Bessacarr battery isolation
I wonder if anyone is able to offer me some advice. I am a year into the joys of motorhome ownership (family, 2 young kids, loving it) and am still on a fairly steep bit of the learning curve! Insights from those of you more experienced on ths forum are
really helpful to me and I keep an eye on posts. Please excuse me if this is a daft questions.
After about 3-4 weeks the vehicle battery on my 2014 Ducato-based Bessacarr 496 is flat and needs jump stating. Is this par for the course for those of your running similar vans? It doesn't seem that long to me for a new battery which is, according to
its recent habitation check, in good condition as you would expect at 12 months old.
Around the barrel where the ignition key inserts there's a red bit of plastic. The rather sketchy users manual imples that this might be a way of isolating the vehicle battery. Preumably it drains all the time for the remote locking, for example? This
is where the question gets a bit daft. I cannot work out what to do to the ignition barrel and that bit of red plastic to isolate the battery. Has anyone else got a new Ducato with a similar isolator who can tell me how it works please?
Thoughts much appreciated, and apologies for my ignorance.
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ill try and help.....
the vehicle battery will drain in the time you describe as it is powering an alarm, sensors and possibly a tracker?
many MH owners get over this with the fitting of a solar panel on the roof which will keep ypur cab and habitation batteries up to par.
i dont have the specific isolator you describe but i am familiar with the concept. i believe you have to inset the key and then turn it (check manual for which way...) and will allow either the plastic 'key collar' to be turned or the key to be turned to
align with the collar.i dont have this but i have belt and braces on our van.....a large solar panel and a seperate isolator switch.
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I thought the plastic bit was to allow the sidelights to stay on......may be totally wrong with your model!
Depending...the vehicle battery will go flat after 2 to 4 weeks due to the load if not run.
If not using the MH I charge the battery, in situ, with a decent (CTEK?) battery charger when it reads about 12.3 to 12.4 volts. Charge for at least a few hours...a half hour drive isn't a reasonable charge.
PS. If you isolate the battery the alarm obviously won't work...assuming you have one?
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I thought the plastic bit was to allow the sidelights to stay on......may be totally wrong with your model!
Depending...the vehicle battery will go flat after 2 to 4 weeks due to the load if not run.
If not using the MH I charge the battery, in situ, with a decent (CTEK?) battery charger when it reads about 12.3 to 12.4 volts. Charge for at least a few hours...a half hour drive isn't a reasonable charge.
PS. If you isolate the battery the alarm obviously won't work...assuming you have one?
youre definitely right, but on some models........
like you, i think the function of the 'tab' changed from 'sidelights' to 'isolate' but exactly when and on which specific models, i cant recall.
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