AutoSleeper Rienza vehicle battery issues

Hi All
New to the forum so apologise if there is already something online regarding this.
We have a Rienza 2005 on a Ford Automatic. Since we bought it last September we have had issues regarding the vehicle battery.
A couple of times we have needed jump starts not long after long journeys and it loses its charge really quickly when standing.
It also doesn't seem to charge when the EHU is switched to vehicle but may do when switched to Hab (a bit confused about this). When parked if we are hooked up you can visibly see a difference in the power of the 12V lights when you switch from Hab to Vehicle. It all becomes a bit of a mystery and of course hard to repeat for Marquis with whom we have the warranty because if you have driven there then it is now up and running without a problem. We just left if for a month and now it is totally dead and I can't get it started, I charged it for two nights but the dash lights are all over the place and it doesn't turn over. Marquis of course say the battery must've gone - which it may well be true - but there is more to it than that you just can tell. In the six months ownership it has consistently had issues.

Does anyone have similar issues or take a stab at what is going on? Get this sorted and we have a great van.

Regards

Charles

After a long run your main starting battery should have no issues or problems and within 2 /3 weeks should fire up the vehicle again without any issues unless you have had lights on radio playing etc to discharge it. However 4 weeks is pushing it with modern vehicles you need to either keep a smart charger on them when not starting for long periods or start them and let it run for 10/15mins. Its actually best on a dry day over the winter to take them out for a drive as it keeps everything free if they are not inside and on constant hook up just to keep batteries conditioned.
Modern vehicles every time you turn the key EVEN if you dont start it takes around 20 mins to shut down the whole ecu system again, this takes power and there is a constant though small drain from modern vehicles. Tracker and alarm systems add to this.

In your case though after a run I would say your battery is on its way out or the charging system has an issue. Even if you drive to the dealer if they test your battery under load it should show its proper condition ie bad/fair/good etc. Try a local garage and just ask them to test your battery for you.

If the battery is getting on a bit I would go along with Robbie over drainage from the alarm system/tracker etc being a constant drain.

The Rienza is lacking somewhat on the battery stakes. Last year I saw a couple of these vans where AS had used the Ford fitted Auxillary battery as the Habitation Battery (under drivers seat) and this wont help the engine battery.

On my Transit and other makes of van based on the Transit there is 2 Batteries under the drivers seat.
One is the vehicle battery and the other is an Auxillary battery that Ford fit to assist the engine battery. ie; so the alarm, radio memory etc doesnt drain the engine battery. This of course is more important on the Automatics than the Manual Boxes. The Habitation Battery is in the living quarters.

Hi Thanks for this. Yes I agree with how to look after the battery and will do from now on. However, there does seem to be some things I need to clear up regarding whether the charger does actually charge via the ECU and also whether it is discharging to readily. I will take out the vehicle battery and check it out first and replace if necessary and then see how it goes. once again thanks for the clear reply.

Charles

Hi Roli
Thanks for that - yes I am now learning about this auxiliary. So which one is flat and needs charging or replacing one or both or what?

Hi Chas,

I have a 2006 Rienza and had the same problem last Easter. Needed jumper leads to start when the vehicle had been charging on EHU or shortly after 60 mile journey.

Wife drove the van home whilst i brought the car and canoes. Terrible acid smell in van after driving. Tested by local tyre and battery depot who I trust. Battery done!! (front one)

This was the main starter battery which I then had replaced, no problems since though I expect that the second aux/hab is nearing the end of its days since it is now about 6 years old.

Don't forget that when on EHU you have to select a battery to charge on the rocker switch in the middle of the control panel otherwise the EHU simply powers the various appliances.


Davy

Hi Dave
Thanks for this interesting post. It seems as though your charger works separately for the Vehicle and Hab. I am certain ours only charges on Hab.

Charles

Hi Chas

We had a similar problem on our previous van, a Pollensa (on a Peugeot chassis). Caused us a bit of head scratching at the time. Traced to a faulty relay serving the 'fridge 12V supply- there were two relays in parallel supplying power from the vehicle alternator which close when the engine runs, one serving the fridge and the other charging the habitation battery. The fridge relay was sticking closed and draining the vehicle battery. Don't know if the Rienza's wired in exactly the same way but it looks similar in principle. Worth checking before you shell out on a new battery- pull the fridge relay, or the fuse serving it's line, and see if the problem goes away. The fridge draws about 10 amps so would probably prevent much charge reaching the vehicle battery from the mains charger. The other way to check, assuming you can get the battery to hold any charge, is to pull the negative lead off and measure the current flowing with everything switched off. That test would also pick up any other short to earth You'd need a multimeter capable of reading at least 10 amps.

BTW the mains charger in our '06 model Rienza is definitely wired to charge either vehicle or habitation battery according to the switch position on the main panel- as described in the manual.

Good luck!
John K

Fairly certain ours is the same as Davy's front one is the starter (Ford Label) the othe one (Varta) is the auxillary (sorry about delay missed your thread)

Thanks Roli and John K

Took the van to Marquis in Tewksbury and they found that two cables fitted by Ford from the batteries were the wrong way round (not sure which). They said it should now work with the battery being charged from the ECU in the correct way. Time will tell as it is hard to replicate the issue as the moment you are on the road it all evens itself out. So far so good though.
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Hi Chas,
Have only just read your original posting so will add my comments for what they are worth.
I have owned a Ford Transit A/S Amethyst for 18 months and have had problems starting the vehicle when left unattended for anything over three weeks.
I have asked a number of 'experts' who all tell me there is nothing wrong with my vehicle battery (which I replaced) , nothing wrong with the charging system, and nothing draining the battery.
I am no auto electrician, but I have come to the conclusion that it is the natural drainage from the alarm system, the radio settings and the ECU unit which are sufficient to drain the battery without any 'exterior' faults.
My van is kept on a secure storage site in winter and I have taken to disconnecting the main battery positive lead whilst not in use. This has solved the problem - but of course it means that the van is not alarmed ! (Not a problem while on a secure site).
My van doesn't have the switching option and the habitation battery only charges when on hook-up or while travelling.
I also have a 4W dashboard mounted solar panel which worked fine while on travels last summer but isn't sufficient to keep the vehicle battery 'alive' in winter.
My question to you would be 'Do you have an alarm fitted ?' if so, be very suspicious ...............
I have a Sigma alarm fitted and spoke to the installer, who recommended disconnecting the battery as I have done. Seemed strange advice as it defeats the object of having an alarm !
However it works for me, but I just comment as your despairing post seemed too similar to my experiences. Hope the adjustments by Marquis work out for you,
Jim.

The system in the later Mk6's and Mk7 Trannies Jim is a bit different to yours, as Ford fit an Auxilliary battery for the Ford fitted alarm, EMU, Radio memory etc and it seems that either Ford, a previous owner or dealer had messed up with Chas's vans sytem.

roli wrote:The system in the later Mk6's and Mk7 Trannies Jim is a bit different to yours, as Ford fit an Auxilliary battery for the Ford fitted alarm, EMU, Radio memory etc and it seems that either Ford, a previous owner or dealer had messed up with Chas's vans sytem.

I tend to avoid contact with vehicle electrics at all costs, but I have have read that there is an auxilliary battery in the Mk6 Transit. Can you tell me where to find it Roger? TBH though I do tend to poke and pry at most things in the m/h, I've never even looked under the driver's seat to check out the batteries there either. With 12v stuff, if it's working it'll do for me, but I'm conscious that I should know at least where these things are...

Tony

Under your drivers seat, you will see two batteries if they are both original one will have a Ford label on and in ours its at the front - thats the starter battery the other is the auxilliary. If you are not going to top up you can see them by pulling the plastic cover out from the front, if you are topping up then fraid its a seat off jobby (not difficult)

Immobile Jim

Thanks for your posting - funnily enough I agree with all that you have said. I think the rather quick drain of the battery is the vehicles nuance and I will have to live with it. The chap at Marquis recommended to me if I can just leave the hook up on permanently and charge the Hab for 3 weeks and the vehicle for one week. Anyway we shall see.
Yes I do have a an alarm and I am sure it drains the battery. Hopefully from here on in I will not get caught and keep on top of things.

Charles

roli wrote:Under your drivers seat, you will see two batteries if they are both original one will have a Ford label on and in ours its at the front - thats the starter battery the other is the auxilliary. If you are not going to top up you can see them by pulling the plastic cover out from the front, if you are topping up then fraid its a seat off jobby (not difficult)

Feel like a real dummy now (it's been a really bad day at work), but if the two batteries under the driver's seat are the vehicle and auxiliary batteries, where is the habitation battery? There's certainly nothing in any of the bed boxes .

Tony

Well ours is under the offside seat base between the front panel and the inner wall of the gas locker (hope the gas locker is safe) It was originally fitted with a little 85AHr battery, not a lot of good for ralliers ok if you spend your life on hook ups.

You have me wondering if yours is done like some of the Rienzas where A-S didnt actually fit a habitation battery they used the auxilliary battery. Its no good Tony we shall have to see your van on a rally or somewhere and see the differences.

Hmmm. Thanks - as ever - for the response Roger. Ours is on a 56 plate and is the last of the Mk6s, actually first registered in 2007. The handbook that came with it shows a Mk7 on the front cover, and is where I've read that there are three batteries. I haven't looked specifically under the o/s bedbox for a battery, and certainly don't recall seeing one there, so I'll have a look when I get home tonight. There's not a lot of space under there, what with the water tank and the gas locker intruding, but I can't recall what's in the space you describe (other than the fact that I don't think there's a space there at all - perhaps it is occupied by a battery after all...).

Confused of Ormskirk.

Tony

Hi Tony,
If all else fails ring Mark at AS I have done this several times and he has always been able to help. give him the job number of your van, to be found in the cab glove box, he has details of most if not all vans on his computer, and apart from that he is a font of knowledge on all things Autosleeper.



Brian

The under bench battery is covered with a wooden battery box/cover Tony

I recently replaced all three batteries on my mk 7 Transit based Eaton and found that AS had connected the auxillary battery in parallel with the habitation battery with a 20 amp inline fuse in the connecting positive cable, the two batteries giving a total of approx' 170 ampere hours for habitation use.

I don't know if this system is used on other models but it may be worth bearing in mind when renewing batteries, also ensure you have your radio code available as it will be required to get the radio working again if it is disconected from the 12 volt supply.

John.

Ok - definitively - there is no battery under the offside bed box. Apart from the water tank, there is the back of the gas locker (fibre glass [?] covered in carpet type material) and a gap of about four inches or so between that and the front end of the bed box. I presume this means either the auxiliary battery doubles as the leisure battery, or there is no auxiliary and the leisure battery is under the driver's seat. Looks like, as Murph suggests, I'll be ringing AS.

Why oh why did they supply a handbook for a Mk7 with a Mk6 based vehicle? This is not the first detail difference that I've come across; the hab door is supposedly connected to the remote locking; not on our van it's not!! It's really, really annoying that manufacturers of such expensive items can't get the details right, despite their good reputation!!

Tony

Hi Tony

Regarding the hab' door remote locking, on some models there are contacts on the door and the door frame which make the close /open circuit when the door is in the closed position.
If these contacts are dirty or tarnished the remote close/open may not operate, cleaning the contacts sometimes fixes the problem, not sure if your model has this system if it does the contacts look like smallish silver coloured studs on the frame and door.

Cheers John .

Johno wrote:Hi Tony

Regarding the hab' door remote locking, on some models there are contacts on the door and the door frame which make the close /open circuit when the door is in the closed position.
If these contacts are dirty or tarnished the remote close/open may not operate, cleaning the contacts sometimes fixes the problem, not sure if your model has this system if it does the contacts look like smallish silver coloured studs on the frame and door.

Cheers John .

Nope, no contacts. According to the handbook remote locking is fitted to our van, so when I took the van in to have stuff fixed after our first trip away, I asked that this be sorted too. Turns out that, whatever the handbook says, RCL wasn't fitted any more than than the third battery - which the handbook also says we have - was fitted. That's what I mean about the frustration at A/S who couldn't even supply the right handbook with the (very expensive) van. It's INFURIATING that they can't get the little things right!

T ny

Hi Charles/Anybody Else Interested,

I am also new to this forum and don't yet know the ropes but here goes.
I recently had problems understanding the battery systems on my Rienza with a Transit Mk 7 Cab.After much confusion I concluded the following.
Of the two batteries under the drivers seat the Front 90 Ah Varta powers the Transit electrics.
The rear 60 Ah Ford battery powers the starter.
The power for the habitaion unit CAME from the STARTER battery via a red cable,30A fuse and relay ??
The only cable from the Varta battery WAS a Red/Blue cable used for charging only.
Therefore the charger switch on the control panel charged the Ford battery when switched to Hab and the varta when switched to vehicle.
The Test battery switch only ever monitored the Ford battery.
I suspect that this vehicle was incorrectly wired as it defeats the object of having a seperate starter battery.

I have now swopped the cables from the two batteries so that the Varta now powers the Transit electrics and the Hab unit,and the Ford is used only for starting.
I have also added a switch so that either battery can be individually monitored from the battery test switch.
Maybe somebody has experienced similar problems .
Also the manual states that there are 3 fuses under the seat,a 15a Fridge,30A Hab and 25A Charger but I have an additional 2 Fuses ,5A and 15A and I would appreciate it if anybody knows their purpose.

Apologies for the long windedness but I would be gratefull for any comments

Regards

John