Help! Engine battery (again!)

mariesnowgoose

mariesnowgoose

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So I bought a brand new heavy duty engine battery with a 5 year guarantee to replace the original which had suddenly dropped to 2 volts a few weeks back. Neil fitted the new battery and the camper has been starting and running perfectly since.

Was planning a trip out in the van today to give it a run and pick up some last minute groceries for Christmas.
Lo and behold the new battery is dead as a dodo and reading 2 volt same as last one!!!

If it ain't one thing sent to try us all its another. This blinkin' camper is turning out to be hard work! 😡 👿

Off out in the car just now instead, will check back in later when we're home with the shopping to see if you guys have any ideas on what might be causing this sudden battery drain... ? 🤔 🥺
 
Starter motor has to be biggest drain - sure it's not a problem with that - probably struggle with a warranty if you have let voltage drop that low
 
I`m not trying to be nasty or funny Marie but ................................................................................................

When was the last time it was started and was it running long enough to put the charge back into the battery after the big drain of starting the engine ?

Had that problem with a neighbour who wasn`t going to use his car for a few months due to unforeseen circumstances.

He went out every few days and started it to check it was alright then turned it off, after a couple of weeks it was completely flat.

Once i`d explained to him why it was going flat he changed his habits and it didn`t happen again.
 
2 volts is way too low at 11 volts it would probably just click - i'd disconnect starter lead if it was me everything else would still be connected - see if battery voltage drops then
 
Have you alarm/tracker working after
a few weeks
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I'd not be surprised its flat if there's no way you can keep it charged always better to disconnect the negative side. Now get it disconnected removed and charged let it stand for a week and see if it's recovered
 
Jon said:
Check your alternator. if the diodes in the voltage rectifier fail you will get a very flat battery. It's a common fault
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I think Jon has hit the mark. I had this problem with my wife's Merc.
Disconnect the live on the battery, if a large spark when reconnecting probably the alternator.
To confirm use an amp meter, after a few minutes connected, should drop to almost no current, my wife's was losing almost 1 amp.
New, Recon, repair alternator.
The alternator was charging but leaking current when parked.

Brian
 
I'm sure some will remember what van you have and how long ago you replaced battery, but for the rest, what van is it (base and conversion), has it got any after market alarms etc., how long ago was it last run and for how long.
 
Just a suggestion buy a DC clamp meter about £ 25 on eBay ,clip it on any cable and it will read out any current traveling through cable down to a few MA clip it on a battery lead it will tell how many amps the alternator is charging at ,clip it on the leisure battery it will tell you how many amps is going in or out off the leisure battery, all in real time try to get an RMS type ,lots of info videos on you tube .also if your battery has dropped below 6 volts most charges will not,start to charge the trick is to jump to another battery the charger then reads the higher voltage and starts to charge disconect jumper battery and battery will charge ,
 
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Theres definitely some parasitic drain going on there. If you do connect an amp meter as suggested, do not try to start engine (unless its a shunt type meter). I would have thought if the diodes had gone in the alt, the ign light would be on, on the dash. We have an alarm and tracker on ours but its never affected the battery. (famous last words). Good luck. (y)
 
There are no fancy gizmos like electronic alarms or trackers etc, on our old bus, so nothing additional outside the engine itself that would put a drain on the battery that I'm aware of.

@Wooie1958 it was taken for a 20 mile round trip about 3 weeks ago (after the brand new battery was fitted by Neil) and I did a 15 mile round trip to do some shopping in it just over a week ago with no problems.

I'm the least mechanical person going, but have asked Neil to check in here and look at all your helpful suggestions, thank you!

@myvanwy - yes, it makes sense to me that there's got to be a parasitic drain somewhere, and the alternator or starter motor sounds like a strong possibility from what's been suggested. Gawd help us - we had enough of a problem getting a new brake cable fitted earlier this year! o_O😟😢

Forgot to say it's an ancient 1998 Peugeot Boxer 2.5 diesel (non-turbo)

harrow said:
If I remember correctly the old battery was also reported as having only 2 volts :unsure:
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Yes, that's exactly what happened suddenly with the old battery.
 
AFAIK that vintage of van are not noted as having the same 'characteristics' of parasitic drain that newer models have, and those two trips shouldn't have caused a problem, so that leaves a fault having developed.
There are doubtless several things this could be, but I wonder if the fridge relay has stuck leaving it permanently on?
 
colinmd said:
AFAIK that vintage of van are not noted as having the same 'characteristics' of parasitic drain that newer models have, and those two trips shouldn't have caused a problem, so that leaves a fault having developed.
There are doubtless several things this could be, but I wonder if the fridge relay has stuck leaving it permanently on?
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Colin, do you mean the fridge really as in the habitation refrigerator?

Why would that drain the engine battery? AFAIK the fridge is powered by the leisure battery, not the engine battery? At least I hope it is! :unsure: :oops: o_O

Or are they connected in some way? Sorry for the stoopid questions, I did say I wasn't the sharpest with electronic engine/battery stuff!
 
This morning, as soon as the van wouldn't start - as in dead as a dodo, engine not even trying to turn over, just to make it clear - Neil disconnected the battery and put it on charge immediately. It charged up to 12 volt extremely quickly, which I know probably means nothing as I gather once a battery has been drained, regardless of how 'new' it is, it is effectively buggered thereafter.
 
hi M the fridge should be connected to the engine battery via a split charge relay . NOT the leisure battery unless it is a compressor fridge . a normal 3-way fridge would drain a leisure battery quite quickly ,so is set up to run off the engine battery ,but ONLY when the engine is running . as soon as the engine stops , the relay should automatically disconnect the fridge .
 
n brown said:
hi M the fridge should be connected to the engine battery via a split charge relay . NOT the leisure battery unless it is a compressor fridge . a normal 3-way fridge would drain a leisure battery quite quickly ,so is set up to run off the engine battery ,but ONLY when the engine is running . as soon as the engine stops , the relay should automatically disconnect the fridge .
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Yes if the fridge was draining the starter battery it would be similar to leaving all the lights switched on, and that could be caused by the fridge being left on 12 volts and the split charge relay stuck operated or the contacts spiked. :(
 
The split charge relay is a good shout. I presume though, everything is turned off on the leisure side? May be an idea to disconnect the leisure battery and then check for voltage at those terminals.
 
If its not the fridge then its the alt regulator, first switch of the fridge if possible, then unplug or remove the feed wire from alt, diodes go open and let current go back to it from the battery, it may feel warm which is a giveaway when the battery is still full.
 
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