Club 80-90 Forums

Hi
I've just managed to flatten my new leisure battery whilst a Silverstone this weekend by stupidly having the 12v fridge switch in the on position whilst also connected to the gas ! stupid i know ……. i thought on our return trip to Lincolnshire that this would recharge as it has recently had a new split charge relay fitted too but on arriving home the water pump is still powerless however the lights do flicker before going off .
Have i killed the battery or should i invest in a leisure battery charger and if so will this restore its power?

First things first , who did the wiring in your van?
It should not be possible to have the fridge on 12v without the engine running , and the fridge should not even be connected to the leisure battery anyway , it should be connected to the main vehicle battery via a alternator controlled relay

Back to you original question, yes, you could well have killed the battery , but charge it slowly with a mains charger , and see if it takes any charge,
Just driving from silver stone to
In onshore wouldn't have been long enough, and chances are if the battery is that flat the split charge fuse will have blown anyway ( if it had one )

Thanks Steve
you will have to excuse me here as i am just assuming it was the 12v fridge switch that flattened the battery as i have no knowledge of electrics . Initially the lights and water pump were wired to the main battery (this was done by the man i bought the van from a year ago ) so my friend fitted me the leisure battery and split charge relay (fused) then
wired the lights and pump to the leisure battery . I will check with him to see if the fridge is wired to the main battery . Is there anything else that would have drained the leisure battery?

Sorry chaps to poach a posting but it's sort of relevant, well to me anyway!

I've not had the van long and I'm still finding my way around the electrics side (Black art as far as I'm concerned) can I ask
if I'm wired up to the mains does it charge the leisure battery as well or does that only come via the alternator when running??

Regards

Mark

diabolov wrote:Sorry chaps to poach a posting but it's sort of relevant, well to me anyway!

I've not had the van long and I'm still finding my way around the electrics side (Black art as far as I'm concerned) can I ask
if I'm wired up to the mains does it charge the leisure battery as well or does that only come via the alternator when running??

Regards

Mark

On some vans it does, and some it doesn't. My AutoSleeper doesn't charge the leisure on hookup.
You might detect a slight hum from a mysterious box if yours does, as it's like a normal battery charger. Perhaps put a volt meter on the leisure battery with hookup on / off to see if there is a charge.

Regarding the original post, the biggest drain on my leisure battey is the Propex in winter, combined with longer hours of darkness using more lighting. So in the summer months there's very little drain. Some vans have the stereo connected to the leisure, and that can take a surprising amount from the battery, but if it's a proper leisure battery, not just a starter battery, I reckon it should be able to handle it.

Thanks for the info regarding hook up and charging. I'll. get the multimeter out and have a play.

Regards

Mark

You have a leisure battery and you think you have a split charge system...that is all we know! we haven't any idea of what components you have or how they have been wired up.
Ones thing for sure...get that battery on charge ASAP. If there is any chance of recovering it, you must charge it now, don't leave it. A smart charger would be best otherwise just a cheapo 4amp and leave it charging for a couple of days.

Martin

hi
problem sorted, a blown fuse . Changed it , took the van for a run and lights and pump were working on return . Battery now on charge so hopefully should recover and all will be good .
I asked my friend about the fridge and apparently it is wired to the main battery as you said it should be .
Thanks for the responses and advice guys

Was it a 25amp? this size is fine most of the time until you flatten your leisure and then for the first few seconds the alternator try's to put 35-40amp across to the leisure and pops the fuse.
You could up the fuse a little but make sure the relay and wiring are rated higher than the fuse used.

Martin