# Electrics & starter battery issue; Hymer B544 (1989); Help please!



## Watoh (Jul 7, 2014)

*FIXED: Electrics & starter battery issue; Hymer B544 (1989); Help please!*

Hello all,

I recently purchased a 1989 Hymer B544.  (and starting to regret it!).  I hope someone here can help me with my latest issue.  Dead starter battery.

Until now i've had no issue with the batteries.  I was having starting issues that turned out to be the starter motor & solenoid. Got this reconditioned, and the MH stared no problems.  Drove it home from the garage.  This was two days ago. Just went to start it and nothing. The battery monitor shows the starter battery to be about 9v.

I spoke to the mechanic who did the work on the starter motor and he says it can't be anything to do with what he did, says he only disconnected the earth off the battery and it would not have started if it was not reconnected. I do trust him, but he could have cocked something up i suppose.

I don't understand how the starter battery has drained. My understanding is that the starter battery is disconnected from the 12v system when the engine is off.  So how could it have drained?  Nothing has seemingly been running off it.

Can I only charge the starter battery when the engine is running.  I plugged in the 240v supply hoping it would charge the start battery... but it does not seem to, only charging the leisure battery, is this normal, i suspect it is. 

Any ideas for what i can test and check?  I unfortunately have not got my head around the electrics yet...

Thanks for any help.


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## Campermad (Jul 7, 2014)

How old is the starter battery


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## Watoh (Jul 7, 2014)

Campermad said:


> How old is the starter battery



Don't know i'm afraid.

Just seems odd that it was holding charge without issue, then left for 2 days its dead.


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## StevenJ (Jul 7, 2014)

Bite the bullet and get a new battery , if that fails in a cpl of days your mechanic has buggered something up and he owes you a free repair and the cost of a new battery


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## Campermad (Jul 7, 2014)

New battery would be my first change especially  if you have no idea of its age


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## n brown (Jul 7, 2014)

your starter,or van battery [VB] is only charged by the alternator when the engine is running,so connecting the EHU ,the 240v supply, will not affect it,it will only charge your leisure battery [LB]. you need a separate charger for the VB- buy a battery charger and try it overnight


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## Tallyman (Jul 7, 2014)

*Electrics &amp; starter battery issue; Hymer B544 (1989); Help please!*

Hi before you rush out and but a new battery it might be an idea to disconnect  it from the van and charge it overnight then if it charges fully leave it for while and then test it , if it is holding a charge reconnect and see if it drains ! That may highlight any problem


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## Robmac (Jul 7, 2014)

On my van, there is a switch to set the leisure electrics to run from either the leisure battery or van battery, so if my LB ran out I could always run lights etc from the VB. (not a good idea!). Similarly I can switch it to LB to start the van if the VB is dead.

Do you have such a switch? and could it be switched to VB and something in the leisure circuit is draining the VB?


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## Deleted member 775 (Jul 8, 2014)

your starter or main vehicle battery battery still runs certain circuits even when the ignition is turned off ,ie power for the alarm,and interior lighting, clock if fitted and the memory side of any radio/cd player  things like that . its only the ignition side thats isolated when you turn the ignition off , but having said that any drain on the battery should be negligible really  .did the mechanic fit a recon starter or a new one ,or did he recon the starter motor himself .if everything was ok re your battery holding charge before the work on the starter motor was carried out then it seems to point to a fault with the new starter motor .try to disconnect the battery and see if it holds charge or check to see if there is a drain on the battery with a meter .you could even do this by connecting a volt meter between the terminals of the battery that will show any discharge or drain on the battery . if you have a switch in the van that enables you to run the leisure side of things off your main battery  then its always worth giving that a look at as well just in case it has been activated by mistake . batteries usually show signs of deterioration over time not suddenly i have found .as for the age of a battery ,you will usually find it on a label on the battery ,it will state first charge date


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## K9d (Jul 8, 2014)

What was the issue with the stater motor/ starting the van?
Batteries can go suddenly, some seem to last for ages others can be fine one day gone the next, had a Citroen C5 years ago jumped in started it fine, drove 100yds loaded the car with camping gear went to restart and the battery was dead.
The only drain I can think with the Hymer is possibly the radio left ON, I'm pretty the lights go OFF with the ignition.
As others have said charge the battery overnight, if you have no voltmeter leave it in the van and use the meter in the van to check its charge, making sure everything is switched OFF.

Have you checked the fridge, it shouldn't work on 12V without the engine running but perhaps there could be an issue there.
Don't regret buying the Hymer once you sort out a few niggles they are great vans


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## Deleted member 967 (Jul 8, 2014)

Check the voltage at the battery not the meter inside the van.   If it is low it is the battery not holding charge or being discharged.   If it is normal at the battery but 9v at the internal meter suspect the meter shunt.   This is hidden away on my van behind the habitation fuses.  This fault happened to me and taking the fuse out and bypassing it has temporarily sorted out the voltage issue.   Hymer have discontinued the old shunt and now supply a much larger unit that will not fit in the original location.

As has been said, recharge your battery off the van and leave it disconnected for 24 hrs.  It should settle at about 12.8v without any load.


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## Obanboy666 (Jul 8, 2014)

Similiar thing happened with my Micra last year.
Started ok, drove to daughters 1/2 mile down the road and parked up.
15 mins later nothing when i turned the key. Called green flag out aand he checked the battery which was dead.
As others have suggested, take battery off and either try charging it or take it to a local motor factors. They will check it for you.


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## Watoh (Jul 8, 2014)

Thanks all.

Yes the battery might have suddenly given up. I was not aware they could suddenly fail, I've only experienced batteries slow loosing performance.  Unfortunately I don't have a battery charger, but i'll get my hands on one.  I do have a multi-tester.  I'll probably jump it and take it for a run to the garage and ask them to test the battery for me.

I assume the alternator is charging the battery, it certainly seemed to be previously, but it will need to be tested. I don't actually know how to test to see if the alternator is charging, but I'm sure google can answer that.  But if anyone wants to chime in please do 

I'll try testing to see if the 'shunt' is at fault.  What the hell is the 'shunt'?

To address some of your questions and suggestion:

I don't think there is a switch to flip between leisure and starter battery to run the habitation area, i'll look but pretty sure it does not have one. 
The issue with the starter motor was the solenoid was sticking, tapping it with a crowbar was needed to get it to turn-over.  It was reconditioned, not replaced for new. (Don't think they are available new)
Fridge is defiantly off.

Thanks Wintonia, yes she is an old girl.. who is frustrating me right now, the niggles and issues are getting me down, the more I fix the more seem to turn up right now.  Hopefully I'll get them all sorted soon and be able to enjoy her rather than her frustrating me and draining my pocket. It's in for a fairly length list of mechanical issues on the 10th, if i get it back from them without costing my an arm & a leg i'll be much happier.

Thanks all, I'll report back and likely ask a few questions later today.


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## n brown (Jul 8, 2014)

to test if an alternator is charging, set test meter to DC volts ,put probes on battery terminals reading should be 12v something . start the engine and do it again ,the reading should be over 13volts ,if so , the alternator works
if you can afford it ,try and get a ''smart'' battery charger. they are much better for the battery


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## Watoh (Jul 8, 2014)

Well thanks all.

*sigh*

It appears to be nothing more than the battery has failed.  It's down the garage and they have told me it was the battery failing.  I'm a bit miffed as i tried to jump start it from one of my other vehicles that has a large starter battery and I was unable to get it to turn over.  Which is unexplained.  (Jump lead connection..maybe, but i've used them several times recently with no issues).  Got it towed to the garage, assuming the reconditioned starter had failed. :mad2:

There seem to be a number of coincidences that is making me a little uncomfortable.. but they do say **** travels in threes.  Starter motor fails > Within 48 hours battery fails > Jump leads fail.

Well I have learnt one new thing.. batteries apparently can suddenly fail & mechanics don't believe in coincidences.

:rolleyes2:


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## K9d (Jul 8, 2014)

Your knackered battery could have been draining all the power from your good battery, I wouldn't worry to much about conspiracies and relax in the knowledge your battery is now a known quantity.


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## Watoh (Jul 8, 2014)

K9d said:


> Your knackered battery could have been draining all the power from your good battery, I wouldn't worry to much about conspiracies and relax in the knowledge your battery is now a known quantity.



LOL I'm not worried about conspiracies, I do trust my mechanic.  I just prey the flood from my wallet stops soon!  Having to get two tow trucks in a week for completely different starter problems has just been the tip of the iceberg.  it can only get better!


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## pgandt (Jul 8, 2014)

If it's any consolation I brought my old girl b564 in March. Needed a new alternator within a day, got that changed and a service done by a commercial garage in Evesham and they overfilled the engine oil.  Cylinder head gasket went on the way back to Ireland.  Priced up a skim etc and they wanted nearly three grand for the work to be done.  Through a close friend took out the complete engine and gearbox, turbo and fuel pump and sent them to Hungary.  I now have a completely remanufactured engine, gearbox, turbo, fuel pump,injectors, new clutch, stater motor and anything else you can think of.  Cost 5 k all together.  Thinking that was that I set off for the uk again last week only for the wash wipe relay to pack up so I need to source one of those now lol.

Oh and the gas element in the fridge isn't working properly now.


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## trevskoda (Jul 8, 2014)

one point i should say,if a battery fails or drops that low never jump start as the battery behaves as a voltage stabilizer /condensor thus damage may happen to voltage sensitive equipment.


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## maingate (Jul 8, 2014)

Many people (myself included) have changed 'lazy' starter motors, when it was a sudden battery failure. By the same token many people (including me) have bought new batteries when it was a failing starter motor. 

You have a motorhome ...... this is what they do ....... drive you round the bend. :dance:

It's good when they are behaving themselves though.


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## ChrisInNotts (Jul 9, 2014)

At the end of the day its an old vehicle so its going to give you some hassle for a while.  Stick with it, once you have sorted the problems it will be fine.  

Keith


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## Watoh (Jul 9, 2014)

trevskoda said:


> one point i should say,if a battery fails or drops that low never jump start as the battery behaves as a voltage stabilizer /condensor thus damage may happen to voltage sensitive equipment.



Good to know, thanks.


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## sasquatch (Jul 9, 2014)

Invest in some Bat Aid tablets from Halfords,these break down the sulphate deposits that short them out.


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