Leisure Battery help please

Post by **booted** » 14 May 2007, 16:06

Hi
Vanwest was our first trip in our camper . all seemed ok when i went over it at home but when i tried the heater (propex ) to try to dry out a bit it ran for 2 or 3 mins then the (leisure ?)battery went flat , now it doesnt seem to be charging (i have a red light on the zig unit) i rekon that the battery is nackered.
should the second battery be of a particular size? the one there at the moment seems small its located in the engine bay in the space behind the left hand rear light
i dont want to replace it with one of the same rating to find thats not suitable
cheers

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 14 May 2007, 16:12

Hi mate and welcome.
If you have a look on the Wiki (button at top of this page) there is a plethora of info on the leisure battery and wiring, Zigs etc. It gives the maximum size of battery that you can fit in the usual place, which is under the front seat box. Most people use a standard type starter battery, not a specific leisure battery.

Post by **R0B** » 14 May 2007, 16:22

to check if its holding a charge.do the following..charge it for 24 hrs.disconnect from charger.check the voltage.leave stood for another 24hrs.check voltage again.if its lower than the first time.its time to replace it.

Post by **booted** » 14 May 2007, 19:38

thanks for your replies i did search but must admit i forgot about the wiki
so the little battery i have in the engine bay isnt the way to go then better to rewire and put a larger battery under the passenger seat

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 14 May 2007, 22:21

Loadsa good info out there. If yours isn`t a factory conversion, then maybe you need to start from the beginning with a split-charge system from the alternator wired up to the main and leisure batts, and then the fridge wiring done correctly with relay etc etc.

Post by **munnyella** » 15 May 2007, 07:11

Hi

Have just done mine as in the post above, it's early days, but it all seems fine, I have a normal starter type battery at present, which seems ok.

Haven't camped yet though, but the fridge gets cold, and the battery is always at about 12.6/7 volts after a run, and more importantly, stays like it after standing for a few days.

Munnyella

Post by **booted** » 15 May 2007, 18:44

its all wire thro a zig unit everything else was working fine i think the battery is knackered i dont want to replace with the same 50ah 063 battery if its too small or the wrong type got it charging at the mo if it doesnt hold charge i will probably get a bigger one or a leisure type and shift it to under the passenger seat

Post by **"WEAZLECHIN"** » 15 May 2007, 21:44

a leisure battery really does need a good deep charge, get a fairly high ampere charger and leave it on charge for about 4 years(thats what it seems like). then like sukhoi said leave it for some time and try it for charge.