Red light on zig .... too soon

[Tatty Chap]

Hi there,

I fitted a brand new lesiure battery last year, and we dont really use it that much to be honest, as whenever we use it, it never seems to last very long before its on the red light. We are only using 12w halogen lights nothing else.
This is becoming a bit of a pain in the a***, and im wondering if it contributed to a starting problem I had at Oktoberfest last year, and a starting problem about a month ago (which ended up with a new starter motor being put in).

Can someone explain the charging of the lesiure battery (im assuming it only doesn this when the main is fully charged), and the draining of it (ie does it drain the main, if it goes too low).

It does seem to charge, but its the poxy life of it which is the worry

[ermie571]

Tatty Chap....

I had similar problems, and it was only when Mark got the internals of my zig and explained how it worked to me that I got a better understanding of what the zig was doing.

My zif is a cf 8 (charges leisure when running).

ok, 3 switches....when parked up you MUST switch the touring / on site to onsite....if left in touring mode, the 12v system feeds from BOTH the liesure and the main starting battery. This is what the wiring diagram shows!!! so, now when I run the van, I set the switch to touring,. Park up at work and set it to on-site. I reckon that my van's reluctance to start after a day or so parked up and using the 12v system was because the system was draining the 12v and the starter.

I haven't had a chance to check whether I still have a fault yet - will be doing that this weekend when we go away. But I do now make sure that it is recieving charge every time I run the van, byt swtiching it to touring.

If all the switching is a pain in the wotsit, you can put a split charge relay in as well, which will make sure that no connection is made to the starter battery when the vehicle isn't running.

I now carry a multi-meter in the van, and regularly check the charge on the battery.

In addition, if the leisure has gotten totally flat, you may need to bring it back form the dead. It can be done - some chargers have the setting to do it - battery reconditioning I think they call it (mine's a ring battery charger).


Sure someone will be along to explain better!! What zig model have you got?

Think you are down for F&G this weekend....we can compare notes!! Angeloevs may also be going - if we can't work it out, sure he will know!!

Byeee

Em
x

[ermie571]

oh - it goes to red when it falls below 11v....so not totally dead.

and


isn't halogen heavy on the eleccy?? Got LEDs in mine....

take care

Em
x

[jamesc76]

We are only using 12w halogen lights nothing else.

There the worst sort of light you could use in a van loads of heat and use loads of power, much better off on led replacement bulbs!

[andisnewsyncro]

We are only using 12w halogen lights nothing else.

There the worst sort of light you could use in a van loads of heat and use loads of power, much better off on led replacement bulbs!

Totally agree, halogen bulbs are very heavy users of power and potentially dangerous from the high level of heat behind the bulb, let alone infront. Get them swapped as soon as you can, leds are the way forward for battery life

[ermie571]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LED-STRIP-LIGHT-6 ... 286.c0.m14

that's what I ahve got...there are brill!

[CovKid]

Most of us are fitting LEDs now. You can buy ten decking lights which each fit in a 1/2" hole for £30 even in places like B&Q. They come with a 12v transformer which you can dispense with. Plenty of light overnight and very little current drain. Dump the halogen!

[1664]

Whilst I fully appreciate that LEDs are 'the future' and are extremely efficient, I prefer the appearence of good old fluorescents meself. Not as efficient as LEDs but not too heavy on the battery..........

[Tatty Chap]

Thanks Em I did wonder about that.

Do you flip them over even if your down te supermarket etc ? That could be a bit of a pain.


Yeah, i did contemplate LEDs, think I will have to consider replacing them. In fact your right, the one under the seat came on when something against it switched it on and nearly melted a bag :S...could have been nasty..

Will get on that today actually, theres a neon led strip i fitted in the PC that I dont need.

[ermie571]

hi tatty chap.

If its only for a short while, I leave it ready to go as it were......but I do take my radio panel off as it seems to be very power hungry with scrolling text even when switched off! But if I am going to park up for a while, I turn the 12v off and flick it to on-site, just to be sure, like.

Have trained the rear passengers to know what the instruction, flip to touring, 12v on please means!!

take care

Em
x