Battery life Broadway fb

I have noticed that the leisure battery doesn't seem to hold its charge very long when the van is just parked up, I leave it plugged into the mains most of the time but if I leave it unplugged for a week or more battery voltage is down to 12 volts but control panel says it's got 100% how accurate is the control panel on these vans. It's only 10 months old

Could you beg borrow or steal a volt meter to check direct off the battery and compare with control panel.

Will have to just wondered about how good these control panels were.

I believe the fb has the same control panel as the el duo which i have.I have the upgrade to 80w solar panel on the roof with 2 leisure batterys under the back seating.After a month with no hookup both the hab and vehicle batterys on the panel are into the yellow but showing 12v each

When parked up there should be no load on the leisure battery other than quiescent drain of the control panel which is negligible.
If you are starting off with a fully charged battery c13.2v then after a week it should still be 12.6v or more.
Before concluding that the battery needs changing, which it should not if new 10 months ago, you need to investigate in a logical manner.
1. Is it being fully charged - charge then disconnect and measure voltage after 15 mins - should read 13.2v.
2. Is it holding charge - keep disconnected and measure after 24 hours - should still read 13.2v
3. Is there a current drain - reconnect battery with the positive terminal connected via an ammeter - on mAmp scale there should be less than 10mAmp being drawn.

Backtrax wrote:When parked up there should be no load on the leisure battery other than quiescent drain of the control panel which is negligible.
If you are starting off with a fully charged battery c13.2v then after a week it should still be 12.6v or more.
Before concluding that the battery needs changing, which it should not if new 10 months ago, you need to investigate in a logical manner.
1. Is it being fully charged - charge then disconnect and measure voltage after 15 mins - should read 13.2v.
2. Is it holding charge - keep disconnected and measure after 24 hours - should still read 13.2v
3. Is there a current drain - reconnect battery with the positive terminal connected via an ammeter - on mAmp scale there should be less than 10mAmp being drawn.

Correct me if i'm wrong Backtrax but i believe any drain from the cab battery i.e alarm etc: is replaced via the hab battery making them both level,i have noticed this on my system by turning on the control panal it shows hab at 12v,press button again it brings up condition of both batterys showing orange and 12v....I'M not the sharpest on electrics but thats how it seems to me.When andy f says 100% i think he is talking about the next reading along...will now read the book and explain it better 

Yes that what I mean if the battery voltage is only 12v how can it be 100% in the next reading unfortunately I'am still waiting for the AS user manual so I'am a bit in the dark thanks for the info.any help will do

I think u might be right about 1 battery feeding the other because both battery's indicate the same voltage and condition after a week which seems to much of a coincidence.

Hi Andy, purely on accuracy; when I fitted the second leisure battery I was very keen not to induce any voltage spikes when I connected the second to the first. I checked the voltages with a fairly decent voltmeter and noted that the control panel EC480 was with 0.1 volts different to the meter. So pretty good considering the distance the EC480 was from the batteries compared to my meter.

Not so sure about capacity though   I am inclined to go by the voltage

Broadwayelduo,
I would be surprised if the Vehicle battery and the Leisure battery are on a permanent 'load sharing' configuration, but it may well be that the latest control circuit does this.
At the very least I would have thought you would have the option to switch OFF the load sharing.
My 2010 Broadway has a Sargent 325 control system and this does not have load share.

You will need to study the manual.

In any event if the vehicle and habitation batteries are load sharing and after a week have dropped to 12v from a fully charged position then I would not be happy and would investigate what was going by following the procedure I outlined earlier or assuming you are under warrenty get the dealer to explain it.

Backtrax wrote:
You will need to study the manual.

I agree that it's fairly unusual to have batteries wired in that way, but if they are, don't expect it to be in the A-S manual. My last Transit-based A-S conversion had the two batteries connected together permanently because that's how Ford wired the base vehicle. I had all of the original A-S documentation, including a user manual with wiring diagram, and none of it even hinted that the batteries might be linked.

Reading the owners manual 7-20 it says..
      The EC500 system incorporates a smart charge feature,which monitors both leisure and vehicle batteries automatically adjusts and directs the charger power (and solar power if a solar panel is fitted) to maintain the leisure and vehicle batteries at an optimal level.

broadwayelduo wrote:Reading the owners manual 7-20 it says..
      The EC500 system incorporates a smart charge feature,which monitors both leisure and vehicle batteries automatically adjusts and directs the charger power (and solar power if a solar panel is fitted) to maintain the leisure and vehicle batteries at an optimal level.

It does work very well as have been monitoring mine when both on and off mains. Goes into auto hibernation mode when not on mains. Not sure if it ever takes anything from the vehicle battery though. I don't think it does as the vehicle is the primary battery.

andy f wrote:Yes that what I mean if the battery voltage is only 12v how can it be 100% in the next reading unfortunately I'am still waiting for the AS user manual so I'am a bit in the dark thanks for the info.any help will do

What you are looking at andy f when it shows 100% on the panel beside l/v at the base of this readout you will see a battery symbol and the letters AH inside it,this is calculated capacity(percentage of Amp Hours) it just provides an indication of useable battery power

As you have not got a manual yet try this  Owners Manual 2013 Broadway El Duo
blekko.com/…s/?q=Owners-Manual-2013-Broadway-El-Duo then click on CONTENTS Section Introduction / Warranty / Body Construction ...

Got it thanks broadwayelduo. just had a quick glance and noticed there's a shut down mode switch for storage isolates everything. so obviously just turning off at panel doesn't actually turn it off must still drain battery. Thanks again everyone

Backtrax wrote:When parked up there should be no load on the leisure battery other than quiescent drain of the control panel which is negligible.
If you are starting off with a fully charged battery c13.2v then after a week it should still be 12.6v or more.
Before concluding that the battery needs changing, which it should not if new 10 months ago, you need to investigate in a logical manner.
1. Is it being fully charged - charge then disconnect and measure voltage after 15 mins - should read 13.2v.
2. Is it holding charge - keep disconnected and measure after 24 hours - should still read 13.2v
3. Is there a current drain - reconnect battery with the positive terminal connected via an ammeter - on mAmp scale there should be less than 10mAmp being drawn.

Not sure this is true. not read anywhere that a fully charged battery is over 13 volts. On charge yes. But off charge with all the many batteries i have had from new, about 12.8 is fully charged.
talking lead acid types here.For battery condition A load test is the best way other than checking SG of cells.
I agree that there should be negligible drain on a leisure battery.
For your starter battery off load discharge should be less than <15ma.
this may be late info but i thought it may be of help.
regards
mike

mikethebike wrote:Not sure this is true. not read anywhere that a fully charged battery is over 13 volts. On charge yes. But off charge with all the many batteries i have had from new, about 12.8 is fully charged.
talking lead acid types here.

A 12v lead acid battery is constructed of 6 off 2v2 cells.
When FULLY charged ie. using a charger that delivers a minimum of 13.6 volts, you should get a final 'off charge' voltage of 13v2.
Internal cell leakage should be minimal with a good quality battery, although there will always be some and thus the voltage will deplete over time.

Perhaps your measuring equipment is not that accurate.

?

Sorry Backtrax , i beg to differ.   2.1 volt per cell. lead acid.
Maybe you can tell me where you get you information from.
i have double checked with Wiki, its usually pretty accurate.it was also in my Motorhome book,that's going from memory on that source.
I have used many meters,but it does vary with temperature. But as i say a sg check is the most accurate. IMHO.
But as i say i have had many many batteries.So i talk from personal experience.
Lets leave it at that.I don't want to argue.
regards

mike 

I'm with mike. My knowledge gained 50 years ago said 12.8v fully charged. Anything below 12 needed charging. Somewhere in the garage is my hydrometer which gives the sg's for full, half and discharged.