Starter Battery Discharge

[sparkzer]

Tayna and Euro Car Parts (if they have an offer on) are my go to places for batteries

 

[Ads_Essex]

After a long drive on the 8th, ten days later my van struggled to start. That’s with it being left untouched, no opening and closing of doors, and no drain by the L/B.
Definitely time for a replacement starter-battery

 

[Dellmassive]

yeh, if its fully charged you should get at least 3 weeks . . . before going flat.

saying that most battery's are 3-5 years life span. (depending on usage)

how old is your battery?

 

[Scruffy]

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but I think I have a dicky battery. If I go out to the van and put the ignition on, and say the radio comes on and internal lights, and then bugger about locking the front door, loading gear in the back etc etc, and then start the vehicle, it really struggles to turn over. Is it time for a new one?

 

[Ads_Essex]

yeh, if its fully charged you should get at least 3 weeks . . . before going flat.

saying that most battery's are 3-5 years life span. (depending on usage)

how old is your battery?

As old as the van mate - almost 5 years.
I checked on the BM2 - it was at 11.6 when I turned it over.

 

[Dellmassive]

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but I think I have a dicky battery. If I go out to the van and put the ignition on, and say the radio comes on and internal lights, and then bugger about locking the front door, loading gear in the back etc etc, and then start the vehicle, it really struggles to turn over. Is it time for a new one?

Most likely.

How old is the van and battery?

But first try a full battery charge....

24hrs on a decent smart charger.

 

[Scruffy]

@Dellmassive

The van and battery are 4 1/2 years old. Can you recommend a smart charger please.

 

[Dellmassive]

sure . . .

Victron, Noco, Ctek are recognised brands.

i personally have the Victron and Noco 15A chargers, (but i prefer the Victron because it comes with the Bluetooth APP on the phone for monitoring)

ie:

Victron smart 15A charger . . .

VICTRON BATTERY CHARGER Smart 12 VOLT IP65 4/5/7/10/15A UK Plug Free Delivery | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for VICTRON BATTERY CHARGER Smart 12 VOLT IP65 4/5/7/10/15A UK Plug Free Delivery at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

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see below:

Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --

KIT LIST AND STUFF - HOW I DONE IT & WHAT I USE I keep getting asked what I use and where I got it from. . . . Most of my shopping these days is online =] It’s just way too easy now, just click and have things delivered to the door. So to make things easier for myself (and others hopefully)...

www.t6forum.com

and here for the 240v charger thread . . . .

Battery Chargers - How I Did It -

Battery Chargers - How I Did It - So its that time of year again, cold, rainy. . . . . . . flat battery =[ This time we look at Battery Chargers. Our vans will most likely come with a AGM style starter battery, for this type of battery we need a "Smart Charger" . . . . but what does this...

www.t6forum.com

and here for the rest:

Dellmassive’s "How I Done It" blogs.

-- Dellmassive`s -- "How I Done It" -- thread -- ************************************************** Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread ************************************************** Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --...

www.t6forum.com

 

[Scruffy]

Thanks, ordered.

 

[revdecal]

Is it just me or is the battery on the T6 useless?

All I have are dash cams and a leisure battery and if I don't use the van for 2 days (rare but happened this weekend) it needs a jump start. I must have had 3 batteries in 4 years!!

I may have missed something but is it common or am I potentially missing an underlying problem? Any recommendations please?

 

[Loz]

What make is your battery?

 

[revdecal]

What make is your battery?

It's a VARTA 7PO 915 105 A.
12V 75ah 420A DIN

If that makes any sense?

 

[Loz]

Yes, just wanting to see if it was a Moll battery.

Have you tried measuring the draw from the battery when it has settled down to sleep?

 

[Ads_Essex]

Is it just me or is the battery on the T6 useless?

All I have are dash cams and a leisure battery and if I don't use the van for 2 days (rare but happened this weekend) it needs a jump start. I must have had 3 batteries in 4 years!!

I may have missed something but is it common or am I potentially missing an underlying problem? Any recommendations please?

This is worth a read - it turned out to be the battery monitor module

Parasitic Battery Drain [Resolved]

Hope everyone is keeping safe and well. Has anyone had a parasitic battery drain on their van? Just had a new battery on mine and it’s draining after standing for 3 days. Are there any known troublesome components to target before starting to pull individual fuses ? My original battery (Varta)...

www.t6forum.com

 

[Dellmassive]

Is it just me or is the battery on the T6 useless?

All I have are dash cams and a leisure battery and if I don't use the van for 2 days (rare but happened this weekend) it needs a jump start. I must have had 3 batteries in 4 years!!

I may have missed something but is it common or am I potentially missing an underlying problem? Any recommendations please?

what dash cams (plural !!) have you got and what battery are they running from? (whats the power draw per hr / per 24hrs each?)

a 1080p/4k dash cam can run the starter flat in 2/3days . . . .

if your dash cams are running from the starter, then you need to start there . . .

move them over to AUX battery, monitor the battery power levels. . . .

fit a dash cam smart power cut off or inline USB power bank to save thee vans battery's when parked up.


also running the battery's flat numerous times will drastically reduce the SOH / state of health of the batteries - do it a few to many times and the battery will need replacing.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It --

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It -- Part #1 Battery monitoring is a very important part of your 12v system . . . . whether its just the vans starter battery or your leisure setup keeping an eye on the power in your battery bank will keep you from breaking down and make sure your weekends...

www.t6forum.com

get a BM2 to monitor the battery state of charge . . (I've got one on the starter & one on the AUX battery)

Auto Battery Monitor BM2 Bluetooth 4.0 12V Device Car: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Auto Battery Monitor BM2 Bluetooth 4.0 12V Device Car: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

amzn.to

 

[Dellmassive]

If the dashcam is the issue:



look at fitting a "power magic Pro" to power the dash cam.

it will cut off the power to the dash cam/s when the starter/Aux battery voltage drops to low - saving your starter battery. (at the expense of recording time)

BlackVue Power Magic Pro Hardwire Kit with Parking Mode: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Buy BlackVue Power Magic Pro Hardwire Kit with Parking Mode Switch and Car Battery Protection at Amazon UK. Free delivery on eligible orders.

amzn.to

About this item

• Hardwiring kit for parking mode. Record while the engine is off.
• Battery.
• Configurable shut-off voltage and timer.
• 12 V and 24 V compatibility. Works with most vehicles electric systems (cars and trucks).
• Be safe in the knowledge that your car will be monitored during your absence.

 

[Dellmassive]

they also do a USB BATTERY BANK, to sit inline with the dash cam to power it when parked . . . . but its pricey !!!


i think it would be cheaper fitting a larger or second Leisure battery in the van . . but you get the idea of what it is and what it does.


Blackvue Power Magic Ultra Battery B-124X for Extended Parking Mode Operation and Recording

Blackvue Power Magic Ultra Battery B-124X for Extended Parking Mode Operation and Recording: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

Blackvue Power Magic Ultra Battery B-124X for Extended Parking Mode Operation and Recording: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

amzn.to

 

[revdecal]

Thanks guys. I'll have a read when I get 5 minutes. I have a leisure battery in the van so I might just wire the dash cam into that rather than the main battery (or starter if that's the case).

 

[revdecal]

Yes, just wanting to see if it was a Moll battery.

Have you tried measuring the draw from the battery when it has settled down to sleep?

No but I think I will buy a motor so I can start to see.

 

[Dellmassive]

Yes, just wanting to see if it was a Moll battery.

Have you tried measuring the draw from the battery when it has settled down to sleep?

what @Loz said . . .


have a look over here on how to do it:

Clamp Meters

Any recommendations for clamp meters? They have been mentioned in a few threads but I can’t find suggested products. Suitable for small mA measurements with dc in the van and elsewhere and also if possible up to mains ac. I’m not sure how much I need to spend for a tolerably decent one with the...

www.t6forum.com

***********

To use it . . .

zero the tool with the Z clear button.

clamp around the main battery NEG cable,

take a reading. (DC Amps scale)

lock the van and keep an eye on the reading.

the modules will go to sleep after around 10-20mins.

after the modules are asleep the VW spec is a draw of below 50mA. (0.05A)

keep taking periodic measurements and write them down. (say every 1min)

if the tool goes to sleep and switches off, just remove/Zero/Replace and continue.




remember to flick the bonnet catch so the van sees the bonnet closed. (so th van sees it closed and will then fully shut down the modules)


***********



Edit: . . . . .

What do the numbers mean? :

well if you have greater than 50mA when at rest/sleeping then you are draining the battery with something other than just the Vans OEM electrics, causing the battery to drop faster than expected. ( reading after the 10-20min sleep/shut down)

Prime candidates are:

DashCams, (30mA-1A)
GPS devices (30mA-1A)
Speed Trap detectrors (30mA-1A)
OBDII plugs (like Carista etc) (30mA-1A)
USB chargers (30mA-3A)
LED lights (30mA-3A)
DC-DC charger (0mA-xxA)
MPPT solar (0mA-xxA)
anything else connected to the starter battery


what do i do now? :

start looking over the van to find NON-OEM kit and start unplugging it or removing fuses to locate the power draw.

when you unplug it you will see the DC Amps (mA) start dropping.

you then need to decide whether to relocate the power source to the leisure battery, or other.


The same applies for the Leisure battery and locating power drains . . . for example a dash cam can run a leisure battery flat after a few days !!


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