Leisure battery alert

Hi Everyone,received a text message at 5 o’clock this morning saying that the leisure battery alert has triggered on our motorhome,is this any thing to be worrying about.Our van is at the dealership as we speak. We have a 22 plate Warwick xl.TIA regards. Mark.

I don't think many dealerships bother to put vans on EHU while with them, but could be wrong.

I suspect that is why my leisure battery failed at 18 mths and the vehicle at 3 years. 

All good now in my control after 7 years.
Richard

If your dealer is still on Christmas holiday and van is not connected to EHU,( you should see this on voltage reading on you remote monitoring)there is nothing you can do before his return.
It obviously needs to be put on charge soon as,hopefully it will recover. I would make the dealer aware that this situation has arisen whilst van in his custodianship as it may a result in your battery going defective prematurely and you will have to replace it.
Hope all turns out well, don’t worry over something you cannot change and deal with it when you can.

Marky717 wrote:Hi Everyone,received a text message at 5 o’clock this morning saying that the leisure battery alert has triggered on our motorhome,is this any thing to be worrying about.Our van is at the dealership as we speak. We have a 22 plate Warwick xl.TIA regards. Mark.

If you didn't shutdown your EC700 when you left your van with your dealer and he didn't connect the van to an EHU, the EC700 will be flattening your LB at this time of year and at any time of year if the van is under cover.  The EC700 drain is at least 35Ah per week.  If your LB goes completely flat your EC700 will start flattening your VB and you will get a phone call from the manned tracking centre at Bedford if you have Sargent's subscription service.  

If a lead acid battery's voltage drops below about 12.2V (50% charge), its life and maximum capacity are likely to be reduced.  When the EC700 is not shutdown, you are able to monitor the voltages of both batteries in real time from home using Remote Access & Levels on AS Monitor.  You can also see a historical record of the voltages.

Kdc wrote:...... I would make the dealer aware that this situation has arisen whilst van in his custodianship as it may a result in your battery going defective prematurely and you will have to replace it.
.....

I'm no lawyer but I would have thought that if the OP didn't shutdown his EC700 the fault is his and not the dealer's.  It only becomes the dealer's fault if the dealer turns the EC700 on and then leaves it on without connecting to an EHU.  That said, any reputable dealer or technician should have understood this from the outset and made sure the EC700 was shutdown when it was not being worked on.

Marky717 wrote:Hi Everyone,received a text message at 5 o’clock this morning saying that the leisure battery alert has triggered on our motorhome,is this any thing to be worrying about.Our van is at the dealership as we speak. We have a 22 plate Warwick xl.TIA regards. Mark.

I was not joking on the other post about the dealer not putting the batteries on charge and yes will be damaged from going bellow the minimum voltage as it says on the battery warranty will not be valid if discharge below this voltage .so yes they need to now be replaced and yes this does happen a lot even by a workshop talked about a lot on this forum .the next is the damage that can be done when they jump start and not charge the batteries as should be done and from the jump start damage ref day running lights ecu and other items to many to list

I had thecsame problem with my new Kingham,researched it and as I was about to put it into storage,I switched off the EC700 as I didnt need the solar panel to run anything,
When i put it into storage the leisure battery was showing 12.7 and van battery was showing 13.6,
Checked it last week after a month,and its exactly the same,started up first time and let it tick over for 20 mins,
Shut it all down again and the only thing continuosly on,is the tracker,which has its own battery,
Ive learnt to switch everything off if not in use, mainly because I didnt want anymore email alerts, not because Im clever
Hope your leisure battery is ok

Kev.c wrote:...
Shut it all down again and the only thing continuosly on,is the tracker,which has its own battery,
...

You are correct, the tracker is on continuously and it does have its own battery but the latter is for backup purposes only.  The tracker will continuously draw about 0.01A (about 10mA) from the leisure battery when the EC700 is shutdown.  However, if the leisure battery is fully charged to start with and is in good condition it should be fine without charge for several months.  As you have found, it won't be OK without charge if the EC700 is not shutdown.

Lots of useful info,  thanks.
I have been struggling with keeping the battery charged/tracker alarm issue on my warwick xl. Hopefully I now have the solution. 
Happy New Year

billyc wrote:Lots of useful info,  thanks.
I have been struggling with keeping the battery charged/tracker alarm issue on my warwick xl. Hopefully I now have the solution. 
Happy New Year

The solar mod is the only solution  as what A/S have fitted is only good for the sales talk

Kev.c wrote:I had thecsame problem with my new Kingham,researched it and as I was about to put it into storage,I switched off the EC700 as I didnt need the solar panel to run anything,
When i put it into storage the leisure battery was showing 12.7 and van battery was showing 13.6,
Checked it last week after a month,and its exactly the same,started up first time and let it tick over for 20 mins,
Shut it all down again and the only thing continuosly on,is the tracker,which has its own battery,
Ive learnt to switch everything off if not in use, mainly because I didnt want anymore email alerts, not because Im clever
Hope your leisure battery is ok

The vehicle battery will not be showing 13.6 with out a charge going to the battery and can only get a correct voltage when the vehicle has been stopped for a period of time

glyne lock wrote:

billyc wrote:Lots of useful info,  thanks.
I have been struggling with keeping the battery charged/tracker alarm issue on my warwick xl. Hopefully I now have the solution. 
Happy New Year

The solar mod is the only solution  as what A/S have fitted is only good for the sales talk

The benefit of the solar mod (bypassing the EC700 with a dual battery controller) during storage should be kept in perspective.  The system A-S has fitted with the 80W solar panel is designed to keep the VB fully charged during storage indefinitely when the EC700 is shutdown which I have proven it does including over the winter.  This is good because in storage the main load is on the VB (if the vehicle electrics haven't been shutdown) and if the VB is allowed to go flat the engine won't start and you're stuck.  The A-S system isn't designed to keep the auxiliary LB fully charged in storage which over time will become discharged.  However, lead acid LBs are designed to be discharged to 50% of their capacity and the load on the 90Ah LB is so low when the EC700 is shutdown that 50% will not be reached in 3 months, if the battery is fully charged to start with and is in good condition.  I know this because I have tested it.  If a van is going to be out of use for more than 3 months the risk of the LB becoming over-discharged increases but I would be more concerned about the harm being done by the prolonged inactivity and lack of maintenance to the vehicle's mechanics, tyres, aircon, water system, bodywork etc.  However, for those intent on not using their van for periods in excess of 3 months, the solar mod helps the LB because it will recharge it daily indefinitely including during the winter.  I know this because I have tested it.  It should also keep the VB adequately charged indefinitely but not always as well charged as before.  This is because the dual battery controller's float charge voltage for the VB may be less than the LB's float charge voltage, as it is on my Votronic DuoDig controller.  I haven't tested it rigorously but after about a month out of use, my VB resting voltage seems to have dropped by as much as 0.2v from the 12.8/12.7V it was before I carried out the mod to about 12.6/12.5V after the mod.  I would be interested to hear if other people have found this and whether they have measured their VB's resting voltage over longer out of use periods.