Warwick Xl

Having a solar panel fitted tomorow, just thought if anyone was considering one it might be of some help.

Hi A lot of members have been thinking or going down that road.
How did it go ?

regards

Mike

Went ok, they thought it would take about 3to 4 hours, took them about 7. Neat job no wires visible and it seems to be keeping both batteries topped up. Had it done at Simpsons at Yarmouth where we bought the van. Cost £530. It just fitted between the two roof vents.

Hi, 30w, 80w or more?

Regards

mike

Hello Mike, its 80W. Steve.

Thanks Steve. I personally think that's the right one.

Regards

Mike

had an 80 watt factory fit on warwick xl.......makes a huge difference....8 days in germany without hook up....using digital tv and all electric functions in van inc lights . fridge on gas.
factory fit was approx £300 with full A S guarantee
guages still showing full on return home !!

Just an update, its not keeping the batteries topped up in this dull weather. Had to plug it in a couple of times. But there is a tracker fitted so that drains the engine battery a bit.

hi flaggy
our van is in a barn over winter.......cant use due to a shoulder op.......battery completely flat after 3 weeks  !!
I couldnt zap the passenger door door open (battery too flat to activate central locking ) bonnet release cannot be reached unless passenger door open ).
problem....gained access through driver side with key......lifted carpet in cab and access plate to battery located in passenger footwell....then put jump leads onto battery....this gave enough power to open all doors.
van couldnt be jump started from new ford focus diesel....to tally flat.
plugged charger in overnight and all well.
1) have connected a small  " c tek " brand charger to  battery pick up points under bonnet and plugged into mains....just gives right amount of trickle charge...cost £20.
2 ) bought a "ring " brand battery jump starter to avoid any future problems...will keep.in van...useful for tyre inflation  usb port and 12v outlet plus can charge battery from cig lighter socket.
In summary...I was amazed at total flat battery after just 3 weeks...everything...and I mean every thing electrical turned off.
Ive left cars at airports for 6 weeks..with all alarms , trackers, immobilisers on etc and they have started ok..must be a current leak somewhere or a duff battery...i will check in spring and if a duff battery will get replaced under warranty.
incidentally i dont have a tracker...not standard on 2014 mods....insurance company   saga made no difference to premium.....frankly if some low life nicks it...i dont want it back !!

Hi Geoff, That battery was faulty or it may be after going flat.
A good battery will last many weeks.I only disconnect mine when I leave it for 3 to 6 months.
I think 7 months has been the longest, without a problem.
I would get it checked and changed before the spring.
Maybe best to check what is flattening the battery as well.

Hope this helps

Micky

Three weeks is about the longest you can leave a Warwick to stand and still expect it to start. This is especially true if an alarm is fitted.

We have left my wife's Yaris in the garage at home for 10 weeks without a problem, but it does not have an alarm, so the drain is quite low.

We can all quote instances where a car can stand for anything up to 10 weeks and still start, so what is it with motorhomes? Most cars are fitted with alarms/immobilisers so I can't accept that alarms are the problem. Can anyone quote a Boxer van that can stand unused for several weeks? Is just after conversion that we have this problem?

Hi Sorry Paul, my Symphony can go all winter.I have checked the battery and there is no drain.I have it disconnected at present.
The main trouble ,I think , is batteries that are failing.
Cannot think that a motorhome engine battery should be any different to a car. Except that they are not used as frequently.

Regards

Micky

Thanks guys .....lot to think about

Before we had the panel fitted ours went totaly flat after three weeks that was one reason to have it. Had it tested and was ok.

Flaggy wrote:Just an update, its not keeping the batteries topped up in this dull weather. Had to plug it in a couple of times. But there is a tracker fitted so that drains the engine battery a bit.

Hi ,You will not get much output from your panel in the current cloudy short days.
I think you need to check with a meter what your off load current , amp draw, is.
Your battery may be on its last legs from the pasting given earlier. They do not like going below 9 volts.
Hope this helps.

Micky

Our car has an immobiliser, but no alarm and we have left it locked in the garage for up to 10 weeks without any problem.

Our Warwick Duo has both alarm and immobiliser and without a solar panel / battery to battery transfer arrangement, 3 weeks is the max that it can stand and be expected to start. The problem is the relatively high current drain caused by the ultra-sonic motion sensors of the alarm.

It all comes down to two things: a) the state and capacity of your battery, b) the quiescent current drain when the van is left standing, so measure this with the alarm set and after at least 10 minutes (the current drawn, often drops after this time, e.g. the MK7 Transit which shows a marked fall after 10 minutes).

My Lancashire will be down to about 11.5V after a month. That is with everything switchable off but the alarm set. Interestingly, both batteries drop roughly equally. They have never been allowed to drop below about 11.2V.
I'm interested in the reference to an under bonnet terminal for the vehicle battery.  It's a right faff to lift the cab floor to connect a separate charger. Where is the terminal?

Hi Ron;
You are right...its a real faff to get to the battery under the floor passenger side.

Under the bonnet.......on the right hand side as you face the front of the van is a small black plastic box with a flip up cover; this hides a large spade connector......this is the positive connector...I havent discovered a negative / earth specific connector but there are plenty of bare metal locations to fasten your negative crocodile clip to.
.
....

Any convenient metal body/chassis area is normal

geoff brooke wrote:I havent discovered a negative / earth specific connector but there are plenty of bare metal locations to fasten your negative crocodile clip to.
.

On my 2013 built X250, the negative connector is a bolt and it is on display on the passenger side, at the point where the bonnet stay pivots; you don't need to move anything in order to see it and there is an 'earth' label just in front of it.

thanks roli.
...thought it strange that there is no clearly defined negative terminal.
my van is in a poorly lt area of indoor  and i guess i couldnt see it.   will know for future ref.

thanks again

Thanks all - I will look out for that!

I bought an Aiflow battery conditioner a number of years ago after having issues with a previous van. It works continuously keeping the battery ready for use. I also used to get fed up lifting the floor to get at the battery on my Sussex Duo until I remembered that the conditioner came with a lead that can be left attached to the battery terminals and just sticking out from under the carpet. Having done this I can attach the charger in a matter of seconds without having to behave like a contortionist. Simples. I should have realised this years ago. They are still available for £40.

With the cheap Lidl CTEK type you have to press a start button on th echarger for it to work so it is not possible to bury the charger under the floor with the battery as I had hoped!