Club 80-90 Forums

Hi
Does anyone know why my leisure battery has discharged itself it is less then a year old do I buy a new one or can they be repaired
The battery is in an atlantic if thats any help

cheers
steve

You can try a slow trickle charge to see if can be resurrected.

Sometimes they can....sometimes they will just be dead.

Once fully charged or renewed you need to ensure that there is nothing obvious draining the battery. Sometimes modifications have been done to power the interior lights and radios from the leisure bat.....some modern radios will have a backup facility that effectively drains your power when left for long periods.


Ps....you dont really need a leisure battery as a std starter one....that fits....will cope just as well ....and should be cheaper.

rubyvan wrote:Hi
Does anyone know why my leisure battery has discharged itself it is less then a year old do I buy a new one or can they be repaired
The battery is in an atlantic if thats any help

cheers
steve

Is it completely flat? Do you have any extras attached to this battery that might have drained it? Have you checked it regularly. Has it been charging when you drive along?

If there has been corrosion under the earth cable connection to the body that will stop completing the circuit and lead to a flat battery.

Hi Steve,
Yours has a split charger just to the side of the leisure battery (drivers side) that should be connecting both batteries together (thus charging the leisure) when the engine is running. First things first, you need to check at the leisure battery that this 'charge' is happening and the leisure battery needs a slow 'long' charge (a few days), to see if it can be brought back to life.
It is possible that the relay has burnt out

Martin

California Dreamin wrote:Hi Steve,
Yours has a split charger just to the side of the leisure battery (drivers side) that should be connecting both batteries together (thus charging the leisure) when the engine is running. First things first, you need to check at the leisure battery that this 'charge' is happening and the leisure battery needs a slow 'long' charge (a few days), to see if it can be brought back to life.
It is possible that the relay has burnt out

Martin

Does this split charger look like a small silver box with black writting on it bolted to the seat box section?

Ralf85 wrote:

rubyvan wrote:Hi
Does anyone know why my leisure battery has discharged itself it is less then a year old do I buy a new one or can they be repaired
The battery is in an atlantic if thats any help

cheers
steve

Is it completely flat? Do you have any extras attached to this battery that might have drained it? Have you checked it regularly. Has it been charging when you drive along?

If there has been corrosion under the earth cable connection to the body that will stop completing the circuit and lead to a flat battery.

The battery is flat as there are no lights heater and the reading is red on the westi control panel that speaks for the battery so to say.
When I drive the van and then park up the lights and everything work with the lights on the panel going half way up, however the power to the lights e.t.c soon depletes itself after I have left the van stationary for a few days.

rubyvan wrote:Does this split charger look like a small silver box with black writting on it bolted to the seat box section?

No, I know the box you mean - but I think that's something Eber-related. The Westy charger is a sodding great big black box, sliding door side under the back seat. If it's there, you won't miss it... Not all late Westies had it, though, I don't think. Might have just been the pikey-spec Cali that had it optional, along with all the other stuff they "forgot" when they rebadged from the Joker, with the Atlantic not too badly stripped-down from the Club Joker. Still, at least they added the tupperware to the outside... <grin>

Might have been changed for something a bit less 1980s, though. Have you got a multimeter? If so, just plug the van in to the mains and measure the voltage across the leisure. If it's <13-14v, your charger's AWOL or dead.

Once it's charged, remove the +ve clamp, unplug the van, and measure the current flow (amps) between the terminal and clamp. If you've done the wiring mod to move the stereo etc over, then wait a minute or two for the stereo to finish doing whatever they do when first fed. Tell us what you're seeing.

AdrianC wrote:

rubyvan wrote:Does this split charger look like a small silver box with black writting on it bolted to the seat box section?

No, I know the box you mean - but I think that's something Eber-related. The Westy charger is a sodding great big black box, sliding door side under the back seat. If it's there, you won't miss it... Not all late Westies had it, though, I don't think

I think you are getting a bit mixed up Adrian.

The split charge relay is the 'small silver box with black writing bolted to the seat box section.......behind the drivers seat (L/H/D) definitely NOT Eber related, just a 5 pin relay connecting the starter to the leisure battery when the engine is started and supplying the 12 volt side of the fridge.

Westy 'MAINS CHARGER' affectionately referred to as the buzzing black box (BBB) is located as you described but deals with hook up mains to 12 volts charging of the leisure and starter batteries, which is a completely separate circuit to the split charging side working 'on the move' and charging from the alternator via the split charge relay. There is also an Eber related relay close to the BBB under the rock n roll seat....I think this is where the mix up lies.

Martin

California Dreamin wrote:I think you are getting a bit mixed up Adrian.

The split charge relay is the 'small silver box with black writing bolted to the seat box section.......behind the drivers seat (L/H/D)

Ah, yep. I'm thinking of one in the back seat section.

rubyvan wrote: When I drive the van and then park up the lights and everything work with the lights on the panel going half way up, however the power to the lights e.t.c soon depletes itself after I have left the van stationary for a few days.

This indicates 99% certainly that you simply need a new leisure battery.

The reason it has likely failed so soon after purchase is likely because it has been left to run completely flat on one or more occasions. This kills them very quickly. They should never be allowed to drop below 11.5 volts as measured with a multimeter on the leisure battery terminals.

Re this going completely flat as mentioned above (killing it) It might have been caused by something "draining" it whilst parked up. You need a meter and basic knowledge of how to work it to test for that. Do you have a meter ? Or, if you plan on parking up for more than just a few days, you can take the -ve lead off the leisure battery so it is isolated. Don't forget to put it back on before using the van again

There is a simple device you can fit that prevents the battery from becoming over "flat". It does require some basic electrical knowledge to fit it though. Let "us" know if you would like more info.