2005 VW Transporter T30 Camper leisure battery location

[jmurray01]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anybody could advise me where the leisure battery is located in the above vehicle, which is kitted out to be a camper van.

I would like to be able to check the connections and the voltage to make sure it is still in good order before any load was put on it, but I can't seem to find where it is. The person who sold it a couple of years ago said it was located under the driver's seat, but if that's the case then I can't find a way to lift/remove it, unless it actually needs to be unbolted from the floor to access? That seems like an awful place to put the battery if it is but being a VW it wouldn't surprise me!!

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[mbeenham]

There are a few places it could be - in the engine compartment, under the driver's seat or under the passenger seat.
Mine is under the passenger seat but if he previous owner said it is under the driver's seat that seems to be the most likely location.
You should be able to see it by moving the driver's seat fully forward. To take the seat out its only a few bolts - less than five minutes to do.
You can check the voltage at any socket served by the leisure battery without removing the seat. More importantly you need to know where the fuses have been placed for the split charge and feeds from the leisure battery. Hopefully it has been done properly.

Cheers

[FrenchAudi]

I find the British way of describing sides of vehicles relative to driver, or nearside and offside, as very confusing for people driving on the other side.

My T25,which is LHD, is nothing like a T30, but the leisure battery, is under the Left hand (driver's) seat and the start battery is under the Right hand (passenger's) seat.

However, a steel plate with a centre post had been bolted over the well below the RH seat, with a turntable carrying the seat runners rotating above it, to enable the seat to swivel to face the back of the van.

I removed the contraption for access to the battery and never replaced it.

[jmurray01]

There are a few places it could be - in the engine compartment, under the driver's seat or under the passenger seat.
Mine is under the passenger seat but if he previous owner said it is under the driver's seat that seems to be the most likely location.
You should be able to see it by moving the driver's seat fully forward. To take the seat out its only a few bolts - less than five minutes to do.
You can check the voltage at any socket served by the leisure battery without removing the seat. More importantly you need to know where the fuses have been placed for the split charge and feeds from the leisure battery. Hopefully it has been done properly.

Cheers

Thanks I'll move the seat all the way forward and see.

Am I right in saying though that the sockets should be providing 230-240 volts when the inverter is turned on otherwise I don't know how to test the voltage (I.E that it is at least 12.7 and therefore still healthy).

It should all be wired up correctly as the van was converted and then rented out by a local camper van company before being sold.

[jmurray01]

How long to leisure batteries normally last? I don't know when this one was last changed and it hasn't been under any load whatsoever for at least 2 years so may it be worth replacing anyway?

[mbeenham]

The best way to tell is to use it and see how much charge it is holding. When it is no longer able to hold a useful charge it needs replacing.
How long it will last depends on so many things but mainly how well it is recharged after a deep discharge. That will depend to a large extent on the type of charger you have.
Modern smart chargers can extend the life of a battery considerably. There is a lot of literature on the subject which a web search will reveal. If this battery has been standing idle for 2 years without being charged it may not have a lot of its original capacity left.

[jmurray01]

The best way to tell is to use it and see how much charge it is holding. When it is no longer able to hold a useful charge it needs replacing.
How long it will last depends on so many things but mainly how well it is recharged after a deep discharge. That will depend to a large extent on the type of charger you have.
Modern smart chargers can extend the life of a battery considerably. There is a lot of literature on the subject which a web search will reveal. If this battery has been standing idle for 2 years without being charged it may not have a lot of its original capacity left.

I was under the impression that when not being used it would still get a charge from the alternator when the engine is running? If that isn't the case then it probably is toast by now.

[mbeenham]

If the engine has been run on a regular basis and the split charge is working then it may be OK.
Try it out and see how well it performs.
There are a lot of unknowns here!
If it is a 100Ah battery then that's 10 amp for 10 hours. At 12v that's 120W
If running a load via an inverter say 100W to allow for losses.
This is the maximum, you should be happy with 75% of that.

[jmurray01]

If the engine has been run on a regular basis and the split charge is working then it may be OK.
Try it out and see how well it performs.
There are a lot of unknowns here!
If it is a 100Ah battery then that's 10 amp for 10 hours. At 12v that's 120W
If running a load via an inverter say 100W to allow for losses.
This is the maximum, you should be happy with 75% of that.

OK, thanks! Last question, presumably I can test the split charging by running the engine and testing the leisure battery voltage which when charging should be 13-14 volts?

[mbeenham]

That's correct, normal voltage out of the alternator is 14.4 volts but they can vary a bit.
15v then you've alternator problems.
Happy camping, may your lights never go out...

[jmurray01]

Well I tested it yesterday and initially the voltage was 12.34v without touching it (the van having been driven 3-4 hours prior), and with the engine running the voltage at the terminals increased to 13.5v, which I presume is normal as the system will be designed to charge the leisure battery slower than it would the starter battery, which I know charges at 14.4v from testing previously.

After running the engine for 20 minutes I shut it off and the voltage then remained at 12.7v, but under load (refrigerator and lights) it dropped to less than 9v after only 1 hour.

Therefore I conclude that the charging system is working correctly but the battery itself has likely seen much better days. In a last ditch attempt to revive it I have disconnected it and put it on a slow charge which I'll leave on for 24-36 hours then load test it again and see if the results are any better.

It was indeed under the driver (right hand side) seat, and easily accessable by moving the seat all the way forward. I can't believe I missed it before!! In fact, I think I could actually remove it through the gap without having to remove the seat at all which would be a bonus.

[mbeenham]

That implies that either the battery is at end of life or simply not fully charged. On a positive note I don't think 20 minutes of engine running would put a lot of charge back in the battery...

Not knowing what charging system you have in the vehicle the 13.5 V could indicate a 1v voltage drop from the alternator, a diode split charge rather than a relay or inadequate cable.

Putting it on a charger (ideally a smart charger) as you have done will hopefully revive it - if not then a new battery I'm afraid.

As I said before removing the drivers seat is not an arduous task - six bolts if I remember correctly bolt the runners down.

Good luck!

[jmurray01]

That implies that either the battery is at end of life or simply not fully charged. On a positive note I don't think 20 minutes of engine running would put a lot of charge back in the battery...

Not knowing what charging system you have in the vehicle the 13.5 V could indicate a 1v voltage drop from the alternator, a diode split charge rather than a relay or inadequate cable.

Putting it on a charger (ideally a smart charger) as you have done will hopefully revive it - if not then a new battery I'm afraid.

As I said before removing the drivers seat is not an arduous task - six bolts if I remember correctly bolt the runners down.

Good luck!

Yes well I couldn't see a visible relay or hear any click so I'm thinking it may be a diode.

Charged it up for 24 hours in situ (disconnected) and upon reconnecting and putting under load for 2 hours with the lights and refrigerator it only dropped to 12.3v, so I'm feeling positive about the battery but if it needs replaced then so be it.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!