Leisure battery......Again

[t0mb0]

Not sure but there is mention of a "charging relay" in van instructions.

Ok, if it’s a relay I’m afraid that’s another non-ideal charging scenario as a traditional flooded lead acid battery really isn’t going to enjoy the voltage spikes produced by the regenerative braking. Your battery may be recoverable, or it may not, but I would investigate fitting a DC-DC charger. This would give your current battery a chance of charging properly and even if it does turn out to be knackered, will be of benefit even if you have to get a new battery - get a lithium compatible one to future-proof yourself in case you do end up going down this route.

 

[Hub61]

Thank you, been very helpful. As a stop gap I think I'll get a 5A charger that I can leave permanently plugged in to a 240v socket so I can charge more efficiently with ehu connected. I assume this doesn't stop me using 12v circuit during charging?!
Got a Bluetooth battery monitor too.
Will look in to AGM battery which is a step up from flooded cell.

 

[myoldvan]

Hi there, looks like you've got my old van. I know this is an old post but I just stumbled upon it today.

If I'd kept the van I would have had to do something about the electrics - the charging from the engine was very slow and didn't always kick in when you thought it should (something to do with it being a smart alternator - I was told that there needed to be a signal cable from the ignition to kick the charge relay into use), also a B2B charger would have fixed the problem. The Sargent charger wasn't really a conditioning charger so it might be an idea to by-pass it with a proper charger.

Also, if you still have the original battery then I would suggest that it's about due for replacement. You'd need to get one that the Sargent unit would support or by-pass the charging circutry completely.

Maybe this helps?

 

[Hub61]

Hi there, looks like you've got my old van. I know this is an old post but I just stumbled upon it today.

If I'd kept the van I would have had to do something about the electrics - the charging from the engine was very slow and didn't always kick in when you thought it should (something to do with it being a smart alternator - I was told that there needed to be a signal cable from the ignition to kick the charge relay into use), also a B2B charger would have fixed the problem. The Sargent charger wasn't really a conditioning charger so it might be an idea to by-pass it with a proper charger.

Also, if you still have the original battery then I would suggest that it's about due for replacement. You'd need to get one that the Sargent unit would support or by-pass the charging circutry completely.

Maybe this helps?

Sold it after less than 1 year, took the ££hit, was just too cramped for longer than a few days. Think the solar was kaput too

 

[myoldvan]

OK, I was just searching curious to see where it had got to, the Reg no no longer exists on DVLA site so I assume the new user has put their own number plate on it.

Was a good van for a solo traveller, but electrics more geared to always being on EHU - that could have been fixed but I got to the stage where I wanted onboard shower and less faff setting up the bed.

 

[Hub61]

OK, I was just searching curious to see where it had got to, the Reg no no longer exists on DVLA site so I assume the new user has put their own number plate on it.

Was a good van for a solo traveller, but electrics more geared to always being on EHU - that could have been fixed but I got to the stage where I wanted onboard shower and less faff setting up the bed.

Same