Batteries

Ally

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Batteries

· Posted: 09.09.2013 · #1

After a long'ish drive, what volts are your leisure batteries usually? are mine normal at about 12.2 or 12.3 volts?

the fat controller

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 09.09.2013 · #2

I have absolutely no idea, I have no way of measuring the voltage, just a light bar which indicates the charge level.

mad max

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 09.09.2013 · #3

i heard or read some where that if your batteries were down before you started driving that the trickle/voltage coming from the solar panels would trick the alternator into thinking your leisure batteries were fully charged and it would stop sending much needed volts/amps/good stuff to the leisure batteries,
now i could be wrong here but im sure i will be corrected

if im wrong,
is your method of testing the batteries a trusted method? (i mean accurate method)

a way to over come this would be to temporary pull the fuse from the panel to interrupt the charge from the panel so as that the alternator will give the leisure batteries whats needed, unless you are driving in the dark in which case the panel will not be producing anything

as far as i know after a drive your batteries should be nearer 13.8 or similar with in an hour of stopping after an hours drive, again open to correction

hope this makes some sense and gets the ball rolling sort o speak

digger

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 09.09.2013 · #4

Same as John
Stress free lights only

Ally

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 09.09.2013 · #5

Thanks.

Mine have never been that good, they always seem to be low even before fitting the solar panel. They will read up to 15 when it's really sunny but quickly drop to 12.4 when the sun goes down.
Using them at the weekend I ran them down to 11.4 volts but they seemed to stick at that level .

The meter connected to the solar panels reads slightly higher by maybe up to .4 volts more and I put a battery tester on them and they read higher also. So I can assume the habitation meter is not correct.
Alternator should be charging at 13.6 roughly, so should they not be 13.6 when I stop?

I am tempted to just ignore it as I have never ran out of power, but if I thought I could manage to arrive with an extra volt it would make a difference.

the fat controller

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 10.09.2013 · #6

As you said, you haven't run out of power, so ignore the number after all you have a solar panel to keep you going.

Blag

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 10.09.2013 · #7

Quote by Ally

Alternator should be charging at 13.6 roughly, so should they not be 13.6 when I stop?

They should, the instant you stop your vehicle, but they should then slowly drop to 12.6v and stay steady at that. (in an ideal situation). But if the batts are not brand new and are not totally isolated from your electrical system, they should come up a little short in terms of voltage. Dropping to 12.4v sounds totally normal to me, in fact, it sounds pretty good! Bear in mind the accuracy of most digital panel meters is probably +/- 0.2v anyway.

I like Diggers solution. "Stress free lights only"...

Years ago, we had a pretty good, but basic 12v system on my dads boat. But of course I was a young technician at the time and needed to add farkles to it. Before I added to the electrical system, we only worried about the hab batteries when we saw the cabin lights get a little dim. And then the only way to charge the batteries was to run the engine. But after I fitted a wind generator, solar panel, volt meters, amp meters and a whole bunch of other stuff, I became feckin obsessed about battery status, constantly watching the meters...

Better to not think about it at all to be honest!!

...

Subject:

Re: Batteries

· Posted: 10.09.2013 · #8

Winter trips are the tell tale for batteries with shorter and generally less bright days.

We never got too excited about voltage until we were at a rally in January this year. We have the same LED light system as The Fat Controller and noticed they had less lit than usual. On our second day our LED lights went into red (not ideal). Later that day we had no power at all. Batteries dead.

All this time I had a volt meter as part of my solar system but never really bother reading the state of charge (volts) option.

New batteries fitted under warranty and the LED light system seems to show less lights than when the first set of batteries were installed. This has made me paranoid and I check the meter every time I pass it (sad I know).

Anyway, like Ally I drive for any duration and check on arrival to find about 13.2 - 13.6 volts. This normally drops to around 12.6 ish once things like TV or radio is switched on. Heating drops it to slightly lower readings. It hardly ever shows less than 12.2 volts but the LED lights on the control panel could have reduced so much it is almost in the red. Regardless of what we use at night the panel brings it back up to near 13 volts and we start all over again.

So, are we paranoid about batteries?

I have decided to (try to) forget about it and only let it bother me when the batteries die again.

Blag

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 10.09.2013 · #9

Quote by mark

We never got too excited about voltage until we were at a rally in January this year.

So, are we paranoid about batteries?

Volts aren't so bad, its when you start watching the amps that you can really class yourself as obsessed...

Ally

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 10.09.2013 · #10

12.3 is ok then. I think the main worry is they drop so fast after that also, down to 11.4 at the weekend but seem to stay there and everything worked. Batteries are a year old and have never been much better.

Ally

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 10.09.2013 · #11

Quote by Blag

Quote by mark

We never got too excited about voltage until we were at a rally in January this year.

So, are we paranoid about batteries?

Volts aren't so bad, its when you start watching the amps that you can really class yourself as obsessed...

NO I can't take anymore!

Think I will do my best to flatten them enough so they stop working whilst at home, just to see when/if they do fail.

the fat controller

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 10.09.2013 · #12

My thoughts on when the lights get dim, either go to bed or light a candle

I was obsessed with the trafic light system when I first got the van and probably pressed the button so many times that I made the batteries go flat.

Blag

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Re: Batteries

· Posted: 10.09.2013 · #13

Quote by the fat controller

My thoughts on when the lights get dim, either go to bed or light a candle

I was obsessed with the trafic light system when I first got the van and probably pressed the button so many times that I made the batteries go flat.

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