Swift battery problems

theteapackets

theteapackets

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Hi,
Is anyone else having problems with leisure batteries in Swift Motorhomes? I purchased a new Rio 325 thirteen months ago and the 80 Ah Yuasa battery, which was never particularly brilliant, has failed. Yuasa have refused to provide a new one under one warranty as, because of it's age combined with the time it was on the dealer's forecourt, it goes beyond the 12-month warranty period.
Is it proper to put a lead battery on it's side under the driver's seat anyway? The Yuasa website says that this battery (the REC80-12I) can be used anyway apart from completely inverted. Any suggestions on what would be a better choice to replace it with? I'm blowed if I'm going to give them any more business!
Any thoughts anyone?
 
They are quite a good battery and i would say its because of long standing time at dealers without a float charge.
Les batterys can go down 40% cycle but if you are not hard or could do with only going down to around 20/25 % then i would go for bosch/varta silver as these new breed used for stop start engines will work ok as les batterys and last 5 years before dropping voltage.
I would stand batterys upright and go up to 100ah or even two batts same size,good idea to have solar panels around 200w to recharge them if wilding for more than a day or so,good luck.
 
2cv said:
Battery Technology Advances mean big savings and better batteries for Caravans/Motorhomes
Click to expand...

Ta bill had this before but lost it when a hard drive went down,what i have been telling folk all along.
 
Cheerful Charlie is our Swift Aficionado, he should be along soon to offer constructive advice :dance:
 
theteapackets said:
Hi,
Is anyone else having problems with leisure batteries in Swift Motorhomes? I purchased a new Rio 325 thirteen months ago and the 80 Ah Yuasa battery, which was never particularly brilliant, has failed. Yuasa have refused to provide a new one under one warranty as, because of it's age combined with the time it was on the dealer's forecourt, it goes beyond the 12-month warranty period.
Is it proper to put a lead battery on it's side under the driver's seat anyway? The Yuasa website says that this battery (the REC80-12I) can be used anyway apart from completely inverted. Any suggestions on what would be a better choice to replace it with? I'm blowed if I'm going to give them any more business!
Any thoughts anyone?
Click to expand...

Yuasa batteries have a very good reputation and the battery manufacturer can not be held responsible for how the battery is being maintained.

Having said that if it can be proved that the battery itself is defective then you would have a case under the consumers rights act.
 
I would think if your lb has been put under the driver's seat on its side you must be very limited for space and choice of battery, as I was with mine. The only long term solution i found was to relocate the lb so you can fit bigger or more . A single 80A battery is for those who are mainly going to have ehu available.
 
Fazerloz said:
I would think if your lb has been put under the driver's seat on its side you must be very limited for space and choice of battery, as I was with mine. The only long term solution i found was to relocate the lb so you can fit bigger or more . A single 80A battery is for those who are mainly going to have ehu available.
Click to expand...




That`s what i did with mine :hammer:

Originally it was in an outside locker on a sliding tray and it got very very cold which as we all know does not do batteries any good what so ever :scared:

I brought it inside under one of the benches, doubled up ( 2 X 125Ah ) and now they are very happy bunnies ......... ooops sorry, batteries indeed :dance:
 
2cv said:
Battery Technology Advances mean big savings and better batteries for Caravans/Motorhomes
Click to expand...

An interesting article there :)
It sounds like the best bettery is not just a "Bosch" or "Varta" but a specific model in their range with this powerframe technology? - so something to check for if buying after reading this article.
(also interesting that neither Bosch or Varta make these batteries but just buy them in and stick their own labels on - I wonder if that is true of other Bosch or Varta non-powerframe batteries?)


One other comment ... there is a big thing made of number of charge cycles being a key factor - and I am sure that they are an indication of quality - and I have seen 'reviews' and advice on the internet, basing buying suggestions/recommendations very much on how many cycles a battery is specified for - and each cycle being equal to one days use - as if the battery would be taken down to 50% every single day and recharged.
So a battery with 300 cycles would need replacing within a year (this is what the 'reviews' I have seen say, not me) - and this is used as a way to typically promote Lithium Batteries ... "you won't need to replace your battery bank every 12 months yada yada yada".

I would suggest that anyone who takes their 'standard' battery down to 50% on a daily - or even frequent - basis needs to review their battery setup and/or power use as there is a definate mismatch of power storage and consumption there. As an example, I have had the Victron BMV installed and monitoring my battery setup for around 8 months now and of the 600 cycles "available" to me as it were, I have used just one.
 
Wooie1958 said:
That`s what i did with mine :hammer:

Originally it was in an outside locker on a sliding tray and it got very very cold which as we all know does not do batteries any good what so ever :scared:

I brought it inside under one of the benches, doubled up ( 2 X 125Ah ) and now they are very happy bunnies ......... ooops sorry, batteries indeed :dance:
Click to expand...

Like the OP mine was on its side under the drivers seat and you can get nothing bigger under, plus they have to be on their side so that limits battery choice greatly.I relocated mine to the back under the bench seat and fit 2 Trojan T105s . Sealed and put vent lines in the caps and run them outside. Run new wire under the van to the drivers seat and joined into the original wiring.
I would think no matter what type the OP replaces with he will have the same problem within a short period of time. His basic problem been capacity and size limitations. Not what make or type of battery.
 
Last edited:
Fazerloz said:
Like the OP mine was on its side under the drivers seat and you can get nothing bigger under, plus they have to be on their side so that limits battery choice greatly.I relocated mine to the back under the bench seat and fit 2 Trojan T105s . Sealed and put vent lines in the caps and run them outside. Run new wire under the van to the drivers seat and joined into the original wiring.
I would think no matter what type the OP replaces with he will have the same problem within a short period of time. His basic problem been capacity and size limitations. Not what make or type of battery.
Click to expand...


80Ah isn't so small, much will depend on usage and quality of charging as to
how long it'll last. The thing is we don't know how the battery has been used
and neither does the manufacturer. If it's been regularly drained to sub 12v or so,
then 2 years might be a reasonable lifespan. Really need to have regime history
before we can make a judgement.
 
trevskoda said:
Any chance of the correct web page or link molly.
Click to expand...
Sorry too. Techy for me but Mr Google finds it OK ,they repair or exchange most ecu and battery charges for motor homes and have a reputation for sorting out electrical problems that other firms can't fix .
 
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