Battery use when using heating
I have a 2006 Swift KonTiki and we do not use the heating generally however this easter weekend was a bit cold and we desided to use it.
With two hours it stopped and checking through I found that the leisure battery power had gone down to 9.6v and this was the cause of the heating failure.
We were connected to the main and using this power so why the battery drain?
On returning home, the battery had recharged on route and test this again the same result, why is the battery draining when on mains power?
Any help or solutions are welcome and appreciated.
NJ
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Comments
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What kind of heating do you have fitted? The wet, Alde heating on mine, still uses a 12 volt circulation pump, whether on mains or not. I assume the blown air heating is similar, though the Truma in my previous caravan heated the caravan very well without the blown air bit.
What ever kind fitted, it sounds like you've a charging fault if the battery is going flat, even when on main. Have you checked all fuses? Failing that, the charger itself could be goosed.
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In our 2005 Swift van we had a Truma blown air system, using a 12 volt fan. On the EHU fuse unit / charger there was a switch labelled van and car and a central position. If in the car position no 12 volt worked unless the car was connected. In the central position it just used the van battery and in the van position the charger was charging the battery. I occasionally left it in the central position and did not realise until things stopped working that the charger was not engaged.
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Failure to hold charge is a common symptom of a failing battery.
It is also common for batteries to fail prematurely due to not being recharged properly. Your Swift charger will only keep the battery topped up and you should periodically take the battery out and recharge using a proper battery charger. Certainly do this if you have used the battery off of EHU. Modern "smart" chargers will recharge the battery properly but that generation of Swift vans didn't have them.
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It has been usual practice for ten years or more to fit "sealed" leisure batteries to caravans and Motorhome. To recharge properly the voltage needs to be 14.4 volts then decreasing in a controlled manner. Unfortunately it isn't possible to do this from a conventional charger of the type fitted to older vans and also many current vans. The voltage would be too high for other 12 volt appliances and the charging regime cannot be easily controlled.
Its a nuisance having a conventional charger in the van because every time it is discharged you need to either remove or disconnect the battery and recharge using an external leisure battery charger (preferably a Ctek or similar). Although this is occasionally covered in technical articles and some van manuals it is not common knowledge but IS important.
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Thank you all for your suggestions.
Looks like it will be as suspected, the Battery, it is a few years old and if reading all of your comments correctly it looks like the fan uses the battery, which would make sense if you were running the heating on Gas. I will change the battery and see how we get on.
Thanks Again.
Njay
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The charger on a leisure vehicle is usually both a battery charger and a 12 volt transformer. In view of this it should be possible, when on mains, to run all of the 12 volt accessories without a battery being fitted. Before purchasing a new leisure battery I would suggest you have the battery checked by a dealer as well as having both the charging output and 12 volt output checked from the charging unit.
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