i have just joined this website having purchased a silverline outback a couple of months ago. The van is just on three years old and the previous owner used it sparingly and onply in caravan parks.
I bought the outback to travel off the grid and found that the first time I free parked , after a week of caravan parks with 240 v mains power, the drifter panel indicated a low battery even though the solar panel was exposed to sunlight all the three days
I had parked using the leisure battery and on the third day the battery level was down to 6 minutes. It stayed that way all day till I powered up with the tow vehicle.
I had an RV repaire firm have a look and they claimed to have fixed it but the next night at 11.30pm the low voltage alarm went off. The battery was down to 11.5 volts and I had to hook up to the tow vehicle and run the motor for a few minutes.
in no appliances are turned on in the van the battery stays charged but a s soon as I use any battery power " tv and two sets of LED lights" the battery ends up discharged overnite
where do I turn?,,
i am having the state of the battery tested on Wednesday
Welcome to the forum, Stfreddy I am not an electrician, and hopefully a techie will come along, and explain things better that I, or other laymen can
Do you know exactly what the RV repairer firm did, when they said they had made repairs? They may have written it on their invoice The more information you can supply, the easier it will be for the real techies on this forum, to give good advice to you
I am not exactly sure what you mean when you say I had parked using the leisure battery and on the third day the battery level was down to 6 minutes. It stayed that way all day till I powered up with the tow vehicle.
I had an RV repaire firm have a look and they claimed to have fixed it but the next night at 11.30pm the low voltage alarm went off. The battery was down to 11.5 volts and I had to hook up to the tow vehicle and run the motor for a few minutes. I will assume that you have some sort of electric meter, which said that you only had 6 minutes of time, before your battery would be run down It is not possible to charge a normal deep cycle battery, by running a vehicle for only a few minutes
The battery/s going down to 11.5 volts, means one of three things. The battery is reaching its useful life, and is not very good anymore. The load of TV and lights, multiplied by the amount of hours they were on for, is greater than the solar panel input to the battery/s. There is a fault between the solar panel/regulator and battery, either not allowing current from the solar panel, or when darkness comes, allowing the battery to feed back to the solar panel
The following is what I would do to check my own system First thing is what you have already planned, having the battery load checked, because a run down battery sometimes does not accept a full charge, anymore
It is easy enough to load check a deep cycle battery After the battery/s has been charged, disconnect it from the charger, (in your case the solar) Put a known load on it, (in your case the TV and LED lights), you may find using a clamp type amp meter, (or if your built in meter may tell you), how many amps your TV is using, if you can not get half your rated amp hours of your battery, then it may be time for new battery/s
(Example only) a 100 AH battery should give you 50 amp hours of use Assuming your TV and LED lights come to 4 amps, then they should stay on for 12½ hours (50 AH divided by 4 amps per hour use)
The second thing I would do is to put my el cheapo (about $45), 12 volt amp clamp meter on a wire from the solar panel to the battery, (near the battery), to see what amps are coming through If not enough amps are reaching your battery/s, then you will damage any new battery/s you fit
The final thing I would do is after dark, with the TV and lights off, (using a torch), I would check the same wire near the battery, to make sure that there were no amps, draining from the battery, going back to the solar panel/regulator
If you are in a free camp, then ask around, you may come across someone, who will have a look for you Many of us, are just as helpful as we can be, when travelling Some of us do carry a 12 volt amp clamp meter
Are you attempting to run a Dometic three way fridge (absorption fridge) on 12 V? They are not to be run off 12 V power unless the alternator of the tug is supplying the power. The 12 V operation is only to be used whilst travelling when you should not be operating it on gas.
An absorption fridge should be operated from 240V when it is available. If it is not available and you are parked up if should be running it on gas. Pn 12 V operation the fridge will draw 15 A or more current. This is more than your solar system will charge at. It will also flatten a battery a battery too quickly if no charge is being applied.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
G'day Stfreddy,
Welcome to the forum & the deep end of all faults (batteries).
Can you physically examine the battery? That is see that there is no bulging of the sides (this could mean that the battery is stuffed). When I bought our Eagle in 2009, the previous owners told me that they only charged the battery when they were going camping. I checked the battery voltage - was around 5v & the sides were bulging. Not willing to spend $400 immediately, I tried charging it, discharging & recharging & eventually I got it up to something reasonable. I eventually replaced it.
Batteries are very easily damaged by misuse.
The system installed in Jayco vans centres around the expensive SETEC power pack/charger - the later units (series 2 & 3) are more intelligent multi-stage units than the older series 1. I proved it one night while doing a series of tests with Tony Bev.
I trust you're doing what the others above have mentioned. For a good set of readings have a look on this page of postings at one called "Doing the Maths".
The best I can suggest is to buy a cheap multimeter if you haven't got one or get the Jaycar one that plugs into a cigarette lighter (12v) socket - costs around $20.
Let the voltage drop to 12v - no lower! Then turn off all the loads (appliances), charge it up for ten hours, remove the charge & let it settle for around 1/2 an hour & read the voltage. If the battery is any good, it should be reading about 13.3 to 13.8v & steady, not dropping.
All the best,
Warren
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
Warren. 13.3v 13.8v steady and not dropping. Over what period? I have vitually new full rivers. Have never been below 12.7v and after a cool night when fridge has not kicked in much sometimes reading is still 13.1v. I think anyone should be happy with 12.8 and not dropping with no load and no input. I certainly would be.
Hi Stfreddy and welcome to the snake pit..... I mean electrical/battery section of the forum :lol:
As far as your planned freedom camping, depends just what luxuries you want while off the grid as to the system you will need to build to achieve it. Some are happy to be tucked into bed as the sun goes down, run all LPG appliances and maybe a single LED on for a mid night trip to the loo. If that is all you want then replacement batteries in the set up you already have will probably see you right.
If, on the other hand, you expect a lot more than that from the system or realistically the rest of the family expects a lot more, then you really need guidance to build the system that will give you what you need to keep everyone happy.
remember the old saying: A happy wife is a happy life
T1 Terry
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