No life in the van

[brenchk]

Stupid question i know but i am not mechanically minded which I know is not a good thing for a van owner...

Thought it was time to take the van out for a run... hasn't been fired up for at least 4 weeks if not slightly longer but there is absolutely no life in her at all. Doesn't turn over and looks like the battery is dead.

My question... given the van has only been laid up for 4-6 weeks should the battery drain completely? There is nothing in the van which would drain power whilst standing still... no clock ticking... no lights left on...

Anything sinister going on?

 

[Clarkson46]

Faulty battery, faulty alternator, dodgy wiring to name but a few possibilities. :mrgreen:

 

[rob]

do you have a radio in it ? this will drain a battery over a long period.

 

[brenchk]

I do have a radio/cd player but it is switched off.

 

[58herbie]

You say you have a radio/cd player is this one with a removable face plate if so this could well be your problem as these do not fully switch off.. even when you remove the face plate they are in standby mode as they have (+) back up in to retain the preset station memory.. So over a period of time this will drain your battery. If you are parking the car/van up for a long period then your best bet would be to disconnect the radio neg wire this will then stop the radio draining the battery.take the battery off and give it a good slow trickle charge with a mains charger..

hope this helps

Jon

 

[ant]

what he said

You say you have a radio/cd player is this one with a removable face plate if so this could well be your problem as these do not fully switch off.. even when you remove the face plate they are in standby mode as they have (+) back up in to retain the preset station memory.. So over a period of time this will drain your battery. If you are parking the car/van up for a long period then your best bet would be to disconnect the radio neg wire this will then stop the radio draining the battery.take the battery off and give it a good slow trickle charge with a mains charger..

hope this helps

Jon

 

[panalvan]

I agree with what jon said also if you leave a cd in the head unit this drains the power as the mechanisum uses power to keep it in when you take the battery off the cd will pop out.Had this problem on a previous car
Cheers

 

[Clarkson46]

The radio or cd is a red herring as it uses a small percentage of sod all, which a healthy well charged battery will maintain for years. Find out what is really causing your problem. Take Bus to a battery specialist and have the battery/charging system checked out.

 

[58herbie]

Clarkson

sorry your wrong. I have had this very same fault so am speaking from experience.

Also with the cold snap we have just had if the battery is on its way out and with a small drain on the cells. They will be dying.

note to everybody:-

If you plan to store your bus over winter, disconnect the battery and trickle charge it with a mains charger every 3-4 weeks. This will keep it in top condition for next season.

 

[Clarkson46]

Clarkson

sorry your wrong. I have had this very same fault so am speaking from experience.

Also with the cold snap we have just had if the battery is on its way out and with a small drain on the cells. They will be dying.

note to everybody:-

If you plan to store your bus over winter, disconnect the battery and trickle charge it with a mains charger every 3-4 weeks. This will keep it in top condition for next season.

Then please explain why our bus stood for over 2 months with a radio fitted with its backup memory, clock etc and the van started first push of the button. A healthy battery that is correctly charged will sustain that drain happily. Remember something the size of a squashed pea keeps your watch running for 2 years or more.

 

[Benyon]

...van started first push of the button.

You have a push button start on your van?? How cool!! :wink: :lol: :mrgreen:

 

[froggy]

I'm having the same problem and i also beleive it to be the CD player.
When i re-fitted the battery after charging it there was a spark when refitting the battery negative so something is draining the battery, after removing the fuses 1 at a time the only thing that caused the spark was the fuse that the cd player is connected to. Also think my battery is cream crackered so gonna change it, fortunately its only a year old and i still have the 2 year guarentee receipt.

 

[58herbie]

Then please explain why our bus stood for over 2 months with a radio fitted with its backup memory, clock etc and the van started first push of the button. A healthy battery that is correctly charged will sustain that drain happily. Remember something the size of a squashed pea keeps your watch running for 2 years or more.[/quote]


Because the battery in your watch is a different type and has a different current draw rating..

A healthy battery that is correctly charged will sustain that drain happily....You have now just contradicted yourself and said the same as me..

Do you leave your TV in the house on standby?????//

because this uses 60% of the power consumption of the stated amount when left in this condition..

so do you really believe that a stereo uses so little.. if the battery is good it will cope but if not fully charged and in A1 condition it will suffer and fail.. i see this regular on the PSV's i work on.

:roll: :roll:

 

[rev-al]

Er.....how about......just KEEP driving your van ? !
That way - the charging system will continue to regularly do its job-battery will remain FULLY charged- and you will enjoy your VW more frequently :lol:
:!:

 

[Clarkson46]

Then please explain why our bus stood for over 2 months with a radio fitted with its backup memory, clock etc and the van started first push of the button. A healthy battery that is correctly charged will sustain that drain happily. Remember something the size of a squashed pea keeps your watch running for 2 years or more.

Because the battery in your watch is a different type and has a different current draw rating..

A healthy battery that is correctly charged will sustain that drain happily....You have now just contradicted yourself and said the same as me..

Do you leave your TV in the house on standby?????//

because this uses 60% of the power consumption of the stated amount when left in this condition..

so do you really believe that a stereo uses so little.. if the battery is good it will cope but if not fully charged and in A1 condition it will suffer and fail.. i see this regular on the PSV's i work on.

:roll: :roll:[/quote]

Believe what you want to believe. But, a battery the size of squashed pea runs my watch for over 2 years. Yes it is different technology but that is irrelevant. A modern CD/radio/cassette player when switched off draws no current, it requires a standing voltage to maintain the memory and clock, assuming it has one, which draws a current measured in nanoamps (10 -9). So a battery with a rating of 45 ampere hours will go flat in a day with that current drain? Please explain. I would remind you that if you disagree with whatever is posted on this or any other forum, it is the opinion of whoever posts it and it is not polite to tell them they are wrong, you merely post an alternative view and let the world make its own decisions.

 

[58herbie]

So a battery with a rating of 45 ampere hours will go flat in a day with that current drain? Please explain.

Clarkson46... i suggest you go to specsavers as the the battery is losing charge over 4-6 weeks not a day..

and how many nanoamps does it use then come on please tell????

 

[Tofufi]

So a battery with a rating of 45 ampere hours will go flat in a day with that current drain? Please explain.

Clarkson46... i suggest you go to specsavers as the the battery is losing charge over 4-6 weeks not a day..

and how many nanoamps does it use then come on please tell????

The most efficient (on standby) car stereos I've seen draw in the region of 50 μA, not nanoamps. However, I agree with Clarksons point of view that if your van is well maintained and working correctly, there should be no problem with leaving it connected. I left my bus for 6 weeks without driving it, and it started up first turn of the key with no problems. If you have a very old battery, you might find yourself having problems. But then again, I don't like leaving mine for so long without driving it.

Even with a 50 Ah battery, the 50 μA current draw would only use 1/50th of the battery power in 833 days. I don't consider that a significant drain

 

[58herbie]

Yes if the bus is well maintained and cared for. But and a big but how many people who own buses actually look after te Electrics.. they always get forgoten. until it plays up..we spend money and service the brakes and engine etc but do you look at the wires and connectors and the battery etc.. check the charge rate...most people.. NO they dont not even garages now.

people spend thousands on resto's and reuse the original looms coz they look alright.. WHY the wire is as old as the bus and breaks down just like anything else..

so even a small drain like this is enough to flaten a battery when not looked after..

 

[steve92]

you could get the battery tested at a spares shop.charge your existing battery, or swap it for another battery thats known to be good. see if you still have the problem. if you still have a problem then start digging deeper. in my experience the batterys the 1st port of call.

 

[halfpint_fighter]

My stereo has a little flashing led when the face plate is taken off and that definitely had an affect on my battery but over a few weeks never made it go flat, i have a battery cut off switch fitted now so turn off the battery when it's parked up.