Smug, or mug!

Betsys Bimbles
Betsys Bimbles Forum Participant Posts: 1
edited April 2019 in Motorhomes #1

Smug or mug?
Having just returned from a 3 month holiday in new Zealand I was smug that the batteries on my auto trail V-line would be in tip top condition upon my return.

This smugness was short lived as I found the fiat vehicle battery completely flat, with not enough charge to unlock the doors. The alarm had drained the battery.
The leisure battery was ok but not as healthy as it could have been.

Before I left I came up with the idea of hooking up the electrics to charge the batteries while I was away, However I didn’t want to continually charge them for three months, so I bought a timer, the sort you would use for turning a security lamp on and off, And programmed it to come on for three hours a day.
I also left the solar panel on to charge the leisure battery. Smug!


Why did my idea not work?
Well newish as I am to the campervan experience I didn’t realise that I needed to switch on the control panel, and select the relevant battery I wanted to charge.
I actually thought it would do both, charging the vehicle first and then the leisure battery once the voltage in the vehicle battery was high enough.
Also once the timer had clicked off for the first time, I wouldn’t be there to switch the control panel back on. Mug!
Since being back Both batteries have been recovered, by using a separate bench charger to charge them.
I’ve also bought a solar panel that fits in the windscreen and can be connected via the obd2 port to charge the vehicle battery and now use the roof mounted panel to keep the leisure battery topped up.

Moderator Edit:

Moved from Story Section.

 

Comments

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
    1000 Comments
    edited April 2019 #2

    If you get a decent 'smart' charger eg Ctek, then you can connect it, switch it on & forget about it. I've had a Ctek charger connected to my motorbike for months on end

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 14,098
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    edited April 2019 #3

    Does your solar panel have the option to charge to cab battery as well? Alternatively you can have a Battery Master fitted which will push any excess charge from the leisure battery to the cab battery.

    David

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  • QFour
    QFour Forum Participant Posts: 442
    edited April 2019 #9

    This is evidently part of the British Spec that you get on Uk Motorhomes. The NCC have a lot to answer for. They are the ones that say you cannot have the electrics on in the back when travelling. It is also something to do with the manufacturers not having to comply with some legislation or other.

    Motorhomes from over the water do not have restrictions like this so our Laika will keep its batteries charged using the solar panel even with the electrics off.

    You could of course add a twin solar controller and do away with the one that is part of the wiring. Get a twin output one and that will charge the habitation battery and when it's full it will charge the vehicle battery. It's not a complicated job and will work far better than what you have.

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