Alarm issues

[Herman]

I have a quick question this morning, our Fiat based 2017 Autotrail has started sounding it's alarm occasionally, now I thinking this is due to cold weather dragging the battery voltage down. The battery is only 3 years old, so I'm expecting another 2 years from it. The strange thing is, the alarm sounds but there's no flashing lights, if I trigger the alarm the indicators flash. but not when it goes off randomly. Has anybody experienced a faulty alarm control unit and what was the syptoms.

 

[merl]

It's almost impossible to diagnose what's happening or going wrong without a complete knowledge of your van and alarm system but my initial thoughts are that because you've posted this issue right now AND it's the middle of winter your hunch about low battery voltage is correct.
If I were you my priority would be to get the van in a situation where both starter and leisure batteries are kept fully charged anyway because nothing kills lead acid batteries quicker than leaving them partially discharged for long periods and if the starter battery is being discharged so low that the alarm is triggering then it'll be knackered in no time. If the alarm triggering stops after you've done this (it probably will) then you have the answer to the problem AND your batteries will now last longer too.
Lots of alternatives on how to achieve this but again without a full detail of your van it's hard to give the best advice. If the EHU charges both batteries then that's usually the simplest way.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Merlin fixed mine, I'm relying just the solar so far to keep it happy.

He fitted a GizzMott he created (Barry has one, maybe Rob too) @ outrageous cost

Despite zero sun here for over a week, it still harvests enough.

 

[r4dent]

I had similar symptoms when my battery was low.
Charge it now, don't wait until next year.

 

[merl]

Merlin fixed mine, I'm relying just the solar so far to keep it happy.

He fitted a GizzMott he created (Barry has one, maybe Rob too) @ outrageous cost

Despite zero sun here for over a week, it still harvests enough.

View attachment 148751



View attachment 148750

Actually Kev, that reminds me, it's not just battery life that suffers , there's also a the issue of ECU failure which is supposedly can be caused by a flat starter battery and a really expensive failure as you know from experience.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

Actually Kev, that reminds me, it's not just battery life that suffers , there's also a the issue of ECU failure which is supposedly can be caused by a flat starter battery and a really expensive failure as you know from experience.

That's interesting. Collection of our new (to us) van been postponed due to a fault with the ECU, which had to be sent off for repair. Should I be emailing them to ask them to check the health of the starter battery?
Van is 5 years old, so possibly the batteries are too.

 

[Herman]

I had similar symptoms when my battery was low.
Charge it now, don't wait until next year.

I've had it on a trickle charge all day so we will see how it behaves now.

 

[merl]

That's interesting. Collection of our new (to us) van been postponed due to a fault with the ECU, which had to be sent off for repair. Should I be emailing them to ask them to check the health of the starter battery?
Van is 5 years old, so possibly the batteries are too.

1, There's only one way of knowing how good a battery is and that's by doing a capacity test, a load test will give you/them an induction but it won't guarantee how long the battery will hold a charge for. IF they test anything at all it'll be a simple load test but more than likely they'll simply put the battery on charge overnight and it'll start the van the next day and they'll tell you the battery is fine.
2, You'll never know how good the battery isn't until it lets you down.
It's typical to buy a used van from a dealer with a knackered battery because people don't normally buy a new battery immediately before selling the van and they often sit on the forecourt for ages without a charge.
I wouldn't ask them to check the health of the battery therefore because you simply won't be able to trust what they tell you, I'd express concerns re the battery and the ECU failing and ask them to check the date on the battery and take it from there. Keep banging on at them and try your best to get the battery renewed anyway as a matter of course. Keep repeating concerns re the ECU going U.S.
Good luck

 

[Herman]

Quoting Merl,

Actually Kev, that reminds me, it's not just battery life that suffers , there's also a the issue of ECU failure which is supposedly can be caused by a flat starter battery and a really expensive failure as you know from experience.


I've already experienced the ECU failure due to a low battery with the previous starter battery, I had a repaired unit off a company in Liverpool {name eludes me}, but found these repaired units weak and unreliable, so bit the bullet and bought a brand new one which has been spot on.

 

[Herman]

That's interesting. Collection of our new (to us) van been postponed due to a fault with the ECU, which had to be sent off for repair. Should I be emailing them to ask them to check the health of the starter battery?
Van is 5 years old, so possibly the batteries are too.

Definitely, and also make sure they fit a new Fiat part not a refurb.

 

[Herman]

It's almost impossible to diagnose what's happening or going wrong without a complete knowledge of your van and alarm system but my initial thoughts are that because you've posted this issue right now AND it's the middle of winter your hunch about low battery voltage is correct.
If I were you my priority would be to get the van in a situation where both starter and leisure batteries are kept fully charged anyway because nothing kills lead acid batteries quicker than leaving them partially discharged for long periods and if the starter battery is being discharged so low that the alarm is triggering then it'll be knackered in no time. If the alarm triggering stops after you've done this (it probably will) then you have the answer to the problem AND your batteries will now last longer too.
Lots of alternatives on how to achieve this but again without a full detail of your van it's hard to give the best advice. If the EHU charges both batteries then that's usually the simplest way.

Thanks for the reply, the Leisure is charged by solar but the starter isn't, at first glance this morning the van EC board suggested the power was down on the starter but a multimeter measured 12.7V which dropped to 11.4v when the ignition was switched on. So I made sure it had a charge before any attempt to start it.

 

[r4dent]

I had a repaired unit off a company in Liverpool {name eludes me}, but found these repaired units weak and unreliable,

I also had a refurbished unit. Mine was 100%

The Liverpool firm was probably ....

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[Robmac]

I also had a refurbished unit. Mine was 100%

The Liverpool firm was probably ....

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Can't remember where my refurb came from but it has been faultless for a few years now.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

That's interesting. Collection of our new (to us) van been postponed due to a fault with the ECU, which had to be sent off for repair. Should I be emailing them to ask them to check the health of the starter battery?
Van is 5 years old, so possibly the batteries are too.

Mine was subjected to -11°c for a while and dropped to ZERO volts, not sure what killed the ECU, but it had to be replaced with a used one, £300+

What is puzzling me right now is the LB new a few months ago is dropping lower than I expected in relation to the VB.

 

[merl]

I think that the leisure battery has always dropped slightly lower than the starter battery overnight Kev? Different battery type ( AGM) and there's a slight load on it overnight from the solar controller and the vans PDU electrical system. Not much for either but it looks like it's significant in your case this time of year. I think you should switch on the EHU, then by looking the new graphs we can see just how low the batteries are currently dropping and therefore if you've got enough solar at the moment.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

Definitely, and also make sure they fit a new Fiat part not a refurb.

Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to have any control over that.

 

[marchie]

I also had a refurbished unit. Mine was 100%

The Liverpool firm was probably ....

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Fiat produced ECUs for the pre 2016 registered M/homes that were notoriously weak. The 2015 (? re Date of new version) and after ECUs we're more robust, but still prone to failure from low voltage Starter Battery and also build of humidity. We have a 2016 registered Van with a 2021 fitted ECU, supported by an Ablemail AMT12-2

Steve

 

[merl]

a multimeter measured 12.7V which dropped to 11.4v when the ignition was switched on.

Those figures don't appear to be too bad actually assuming that when you turned on the ignition it was powering the glow plugs? (Light on the dash that goes out after a few seconds).
If you've got a couple of hundred watts of solar or more then you'll probably be able to keep both batteries topped up over winter without using the EHU. You'll need to have a decent battery maintainer fitted, something like the Ablemail AMT12 that Steve mentioned above. Alternatively if you're DIY inclined here's the link to the Gizmott unit. It actually maintains the starter battery better than any other commercial device and the parts cost about a tenner.
(38) High performance DIY Battery maintainer. | Wild Camping for Motorhomes https://share.google/YW6S3bAXbAfud2tyg

 

[Herman]

A quick update, After trickle charging the battery for a day, we have not noticed the alarming going off and I monitored the battery voltage for the past 2 days and the voltage has stayed above 12.7v. So is is likely our alarm went off due to low voltage, but still not sure why it was siren only and no flashing lights, unless it is a thing with these Cobra alarms that no intruder was detected so no flashing lights. The small amount of instructions we received {one A5 sheet} with this a has no trouble shooting chart.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Maybe not enough current to engage the relay for the lights?