Often etched into the silver cap on each end and quite difficult to read Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
The fuses are only to protect on the meter when yo sure resigned for current, use the continuity setting to measure if the fuses are OK Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Right, both batteries back in. LB has been on charge for 48 hours and is in the bus. SB had been on charge for 24 hours, and I had driven about..... 15-20 miles on Thursday. The voltage of the SB today was 12.4v..... So it's definitely dropping relatively quickly if that's correct. Should have been aroun 12.6v two days ago. Both batteries are removed from the VSR so we shall see what they each do.....
You need to put a meter across the SB whilst cranking the engine over, see how far the volts drop, if it drops to less than 10v it's knackered
I feel the LB is probably knackered due to being drained fully flat for some time. If you still think its ok, then take it out the van, fully charge it but don't put it back in the van, just keep an eye on it with the meter for a few days. You may have a fault in the van wiring or split charge setup but ideally you should start to fault find with known good batteries. Otherwise you will be chasing your tail on this one.
I think you are just over thinking all of this. Charge your battery up then take it to halfords or a Tyre place and they will test it for you using a load tester. When you have a good battery put it on take a voltage reading. Start the engine and take a voltage reading it should be higher around 14v if not you have a proplem with the split charger If leaving the van for more than 2/3 weeks disconnect the battery's or stick a charger on them.
SB is now down to 12.25. LB still up at 12.7ish. So drain clearly on SB side, as I thought. Going to charge SB and disconnect tracker and see what happens.
Once you've found the issue then get new ones under warranty so you know they will hold charge properly in the future. If they are not totally knackered by this experience then they will at least have a shortened life.
I'm sure it's the tracker. It's the ony thing that really is on all the time. Need to find out the power consumption.
The battery is two years old. Didn't realise it was that old. Unlikely to be in warranty now! Ooooops. EDIT: It has a 5 year warranty! Woo hoo! Let's see what Tayna will do about it.....
You should have been connecting the meter on the 10A range in series with the battery with nothing switched on and running. If you connect the meter on a current range across the battery it will blow the fuse in the meter. I think the fuses will be 10A fast blow sand loaded for the high current and 2A fast blow sand filled for the low current ranges - my meter only has a fuse on the low current mA side of things. The fuses in the meter are meant to blow fast and block 600 volts so are better made than the usual glass ones with a wire through them which can support a metal vapour arc after the fuse has blown with enough voltage, keeping the circuit live. The sand stops that happening.
Apparently the tracker has a 24-32Ma drain. I assume that's per hour? How do I work out how long to drain a 77amp battery? They say it should take 2-3 months. I worked out: 32Ma per hour 768Ma per day 76.8a over 100 days / 3 months(ish)
Post 4 Disconnect the (new) SB when not in use & at least if the tracker is off the LB the van can be located if it's towed away. Oh, & get a small solar panel which can at least cope with the drain above & justify it to yourself as part of the security system...
Whatever smarty pants! Gonna get a 15w solar panel for now, just to sit on the dash to keep the SB topped up. Tayna will replace my SB is tested faulty, but want me to send it to them first. Probably cost me the price of a new battery to send it back to them!
SB voltage now 12.15v!!! Dropping fast. Wow, you guys must be in utter suspense waiting for my Daily Votage Check!!! LB still at 12.65v so all good.
Andy, That seems to be a large draw on SB for just a tracker. I have the same issue with my caravan in storage and the alarm/tracker draining my LB but I usually reckon on 6 to 8 weeks before a recharge. I've now got a Solar panel linked up to solve the problem.
I think that the tracker did genuinely drain the battery down over 2-3 months. But now it's doing it even quicker because the SB is kanckered! New SB to be ordered. I didn't drive my bus between 13/6-26/8 and 28/8 - 10/11. I have no solar panel and I didn't keep the battery on trickle charge. My bad! Must use bus more!
Having just checked the dates there, I would have fitted the Durite VSR in February 2016 time. The bus was fine when I drove it in June. The first I noticed an issue was in late August 2016, having not driven the bus for 10 weeks. I think that's the answer. There is, however, clearly some way that the power still flows from the LB to the SB on the Durite when everything is off!!!
Could you get a bigger battery? This is a complete novice question! However, I don't start my van for a couple of months at a time and it's never failed to start. My take a few turns but does eventually. I don't disconnect the battery or anything. Tho I don't have a tracker so maybe nothing to drain it?
