Charging the leisure battery in the horsebox

ann-jen

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Can someone give me an idiot proof guide?
The battery has always charged off the lorry battery whilst driving and not been a problem.
A few months ago the lorry battery was flat and I had to get someone out to start it.
I did a few short journeys after that so didn't switch the water/light etc on in the living (so I thought)
A week ago, the lorry wouldn't start again and it went to the garage for a new starter motor and alternator.
Again 1 short journey after this.
Yesterday I discovered that like an idiot, at some point I'd stuck the pump/water switches to on in the living and not switched them off. The leisure battery has no juice at all.
So I was doing a long journey yesterday so thought no problem it'll charge up on the journey. Switched the battery charge switch to on and the battery change over switch to leisure. But on arrival still no juice in the leisure battery. Being an idiot, and not being totally sure of the function on the change over switch, did I set this up wrong, or do I need to get someone to look at the lorry to charge the leisure battery in the same way as the vehicle battery if it's completely flat?
Thanks for any advice
 

Goldenstar

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The winter may have killed off your leisure battery you need to check that .
As for how to do that I would have to deploy my OH .
 

meleeka

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A garage would be able to tell you if the battery has had it. If not it would benefit from a proper charge. Batteries don’t like to be kept flat so you may need a new one.

OH is an auto electrician and did a job very similar last week. It cost the customer well under £100 labour to have everything checked on their lorry and for the things that didn’t work to be fixed (it was repairing wires, testing batteries and fuses mostly). It might be worth you doing that for peace of mind.
 

popsdosh

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The winter may have killed off your leisure battery you need to check that .
As for how to do that I would have to deploy my OH .

Yes uncharged leisure batteries are killed by cold weather. Take the battery off and try charging off the vehicle .
 

Bob notacob

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It doesn't sound like a professionally installed system. I always put in a split charger unit (cost about £60 plus labour).This ensures that the two systems remain separate .The engine battery gets first call on the alternator and thereafter ,any available power is fed to the leisure battery. Flat batteries get killed by frost as the electrolyte dilutes and the freezing point becomes the same as ordinary water. Always worth checking the fuses on the leisure battery charging system assuming it has any!
 

Toby_Zaphod

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When the leisure battery is flat in your lorry there is little chance that it will charge up whilst driving along no ,matter how you have it set up. Over the winter the battery has probably discharged & sulphated i.e it's run down & been left run down for so long that it is now incapable of holding charge. Remove the battery from the lorry & put it on charge. Leave it on trickle charge for at least 24 hours. Then put a meter on it to see what charge it is holding. If you cannot do that get a mechanic or electrician to do that for you. They will tell you if there is any life left in the batteru. If it's still flat then you need to buy a replacement..

I have a 120ah leisure battery on my lorry & it's kept charged via a 'Durite' switch. I had to do what I've said in the above paragraph when I first bought my lorry because it had been left standing & unused for months.
 

ann-jen

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Thanks for the advice everyone.... I was just worried I was missing something really simple and not flicking the right switches to get it to charge properly.... but sounds like it needs replacing, so will get it looked at this week.
 
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