cold battery

Post by **lhd** » 24 Nov 2007, 16:47

Set the timmer for the eber to turn on this morning yet it was so cold the battery wasn't powerfull enough to start the bloody thing.....
froze me nuts off driving to work at 6 int morning.......

Any ideas, its a new battery and works the eber all night when its not that cold.............
battery is a new car one under the seat box( as big as poss)........

Post by **..lee..** » 24 Nov 2007, 16:55

i know very little about these heater systems but i`m looking in to it as mine is playing up atm. i`ve heard sometimes you get a voltage drop between the battery and the heater, maybe a heavyduty wire to supply the live may help.

keep me informed.

lee.

Post by **tonytech** » 24 Nov 2007, 17:32

Volt meter on the battery while engine is running will tell you how well the alternator is charging the battery.
If you are using the heater while driving home the night before, the alternator might not be keeping up with the load.

Where is your heater fitted? the cable between battery and heater should be as thick as possible and as short as possible.

T

Post by **madmyk** » 24 Nov 2007, 17:47

The eber draws a skip load of power when it first starts, when its cold weather, you may find it neccesary to run the engine whilst you start (and run for a few mins till its warmed up) your eber. After this, you should be ok. Hope this helps,

Myk.

Post by **kevtherev** » 24 Nov 2007, 17:54

agreed start it up..then start the ebb .. then switch off the motor..see what happens

Post by **lhd** » 24 Nov 2007, 18:37

Yes works fine when started.
Its a westy with an underslung D2l so the battery is under the drivers seat and the heater is under the van below rear seat so the wire must be 2-3 metres at least I would think(standard westy set up)........then the alternator to the battery is front to back so this is quite long but normal I suppose.....
alternator is charging fine.

agreed start it up..then start the ebb .. then switch off the motor..see what happens

I dont really want to have to start the van up first though as this defeats the object of the timmer starting the heater so its nice and toasty int morning.
plus the thermo shuts it down at desired temp so the problem starts over again unless you keep it on full....
may have to get a couple of leisure bateries under the back seat, thus shorter wires alround.........
has anybody done this on a Westy?

Post by **kevtherev** » 24 Nov 2007, 18:42

only other thing I can think of is the electrolyte levels in the battery.

or a bad earth/power connection on the ebb

sorry mate

Post by **jed the spread** » 24 Nov 2007, 18:42

i would take the thing out and charge the hell out of it over night on a mains charger and see what happens then. short journeys on the second battery might not be giving it enough umfff. you know what these ebbers are like if the battery isn't well charged up, i got fhoooked off with mine so in the end i put 2 leisure ones in and it makes a massive difference

Post by **lhd** » 24 Nov 2007, 18:47

I checked the battery indicator last night and it was full plus the battery is nearly new.....
it works fine normally 12 hours of eber running at the bonfire bash....
It was friggin cold though this morning......even the main starter battery was struggling and thats huge........

Post by **lhd** » 24 Nov 2007, 18:50

i would take the thing out and charge the hell out of it over night on a mains charger and see what happens then. short journeys on the second battery might not be giving it enough umfff. you know what these ebbers are like if the battery isn't well charged up, i got fhoooked off with mine so in the end i put 2 leisure ones in and it makes a massive difference

yes your probably right Jed thinking about it.........
My journey to work is only about two miles and thats the only journey I have done for the last couple of weeks........

I'll get me coat...... :run

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 24 Nov 2007, 20:11

Can you hook it up overnight, then just remember to drop the lead out before you go in`t morning? Should start the Eber no probs then, as it`ll be charged up overnight from the onboard Black Buzzin Box.

Post by **lhd** » 25 Nov 2007, 10:15

Can you hook it up overnight, then just remember to drop the lead out before you go in`t morning? Should start the Eber no probs then, as it`ll be charged up overnight from the onboard Black Buzzin Box

thats exactly what I did.......