Tired battery

[Ralf85]

Got to take my fairly new battery out today and charge it as it won't turn the van engine over. I realised that I have hardly done any mileage (300 miles) since September and the mileage I have done has been mainly short journeys, so this is not surprising. With such low mileage so far this year I may well change my mind now about driving the van on a 1000 mile round trip to Germany (think positive).

[syncroand101]

My be sort checking if anything is draining it whilst the van is parked up...

[jrt]

I had a flat battery when out the other weekend, it had started to labour when turning the starter over a 3-4 week period prior to this. When i got it home after a friendly bump start i discovered the wires from the alternator although attached to it were very badly corroded. Cleaned them up a soldered some new connectors on and it's now charging the battery like a good un
David

[billy739]

could be drain or charging problem.

presume the battery is defo flat rather than a starting problem - including worn starter / bush

[Ralf85]

Cheers guys. It might be connections. I will check these if charging up doesn't work. I checked the battery today. It was showing 11.3 volts. Not enough juice. After being on charge for an hour it is now showing 12.1 volts. It should be fully charged this evening I hope or is it better to leave it charging overnight? I'll also check the voltage with the engine running to make sure that it is charging correctly.

[Ralf85]

12.4 volts now. Getting better. Is 12.8 volts the target or achievable?

[Ralf85]

Battery back in van. Engine started and away. Tickover charging at about 13.8 volts. Revved it a little bit and it went up to 14.1 volts so I guess its charging normally. There are a couple of things including the clock that use a bit of juice so I guess it's down to them for part draining the battery over several months and not driving it enough. Must drive it more. Cheers for the help guys.

[California Dreamin]

This is where solar panels can really help. Useless for actually charging your batteries but fantastic at providing that constant trickle keeping plates from sulphating and the battery 'alive'.
Go for the slightly bigger panel ..4.8watts I think (£15 - £20)

Martin

[AdrianC]

Must drive it more.

^ right answer.

Alternatively, just disconnect the battery earth lead when you park it up for more than a week or two. Keep the spanner in the door pocket, and it's a two-minute job each time. Or get a quick-release earth clamp.



If you've got a taller battery, it might be the difference between fitting under the lid and not.

[California Dreamin]

Disconnecting the batteries is always a good idea although I suspect not possible for many relying on alarm systems and trackers.

The fact is batteries don't like being left for long periods of inactivity and whilst driving it more would indeed be an answer, altering the way you use you van just to keep the batteries charged is asking a bit much.
You could adopt a maintenance/charging regime and make sure you give your batteries an overnight boost every 6 weeks or so.
Short of the above I still maintain a solar panel is ideal.
See:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12v-Volt-Sola ... %26ps%3D54" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Martin

[ghost123uk]

Just to say that my £60 (iirc) 30 watt solar panel (from a reputable UK manufacturer) is next to useless unless facing a clear sky and a hot sun, when it will produce around 2 to 3 amps, on a dull cloudy winters day this drops to around .08 (80 milliamps) which doesn't even cover the radio memory feed, alarm system and clock (others "mileage may vary" as they say )

[Ralf85]

Just to say that my £60 (iirc) 30 watt solar panel (from a reputable UK manufacturer) is next to useless unless facing a clear sky and a hot sun, when it will produce around 2 to 3 amps, on a dull cloudy winters day this drops to around .08 (80 milliamps) which doesn't even cover the radio memory feed, alarm system and clock (others "mileage may vary" as they say )

Spot on mate about the reasons for the drain. Oh if only I had a garage. I would have the battery on the occasional charge just to keep it topped up. So I will just drive some more to keep it going with perhaps the occasional charge.

[MattBW]

I have my van on an opti-mate now connected via the hook up. Although my little solar panel was fine until the tracker went in.

[California Dreamin]

Just to say that my £60 (iirc) 30 watt solar panel (from a reputable UK manufacturer) is next to useless unless facing a clear sky and a hot sun, when it will produce around 2 to 3 amps, on a dull cloudy winters day this drops to around .08 (80 milliamps) which doesn't even cover the radio memory feed, alarm system and clock (others "mileage may vary" as they say )

I know the output of these things vary alot depending on conditions but I didn't think it was that much

I haven't measured mine on a dull day but thought it might be a tenth of it rated output....besides, it's usefulness should be measured over the whole period it's used....some days (not very many admitedly) giving off reasonable power, other days not doing much, overall just keeping the plates active. and there in lies it's usefulness.

Martin