Battery Capacity T6 vs. T6.1

acer · Apr 18, 2026

Roger Boeken said:
Yes, the message “flat battery , please charge ” appears on control panel and zero bars when 75Ah of 2x75Ah are are left. At that moment fridge and heater are shutdown too. VW protects you against deep discharge of AGM battery.
Before you reach that moment there is also a message “low battery, please charge ” when only 2 bars are left..
You can read about it in SSP 708 (self study program T6.1) in the chapter ‘energy supply and energy management’.
It is available to VIP members in the resource section .

This news might explain a lot. I've posted before about how disappointed I was with the battery on the 6.1 compared to my old 5.1. When I saw 5 blue bars out of 10 on the control panel I assumed that this meant I was at 50% battery capacity and needed to charge up. So, I'm only at 50% when there are no bars at all!?

I'll definitely do that recommended reading. Many thanks indeed!!!

acer · Apr 18, 2026

There’s (at least) one thing that’s confusing me though. When we have let the battery get down to “5 blue bars” I think that the voltage displayed was around “12v”. That technical guide suggests that 3 bars corresponds to 12.3v:

Also, I couldn’t see where it specifically says that zero bars = 50% battery remaining.

I’ve read on here that I should trust the voltage displayed rather than the blue bars. I also understand that having solar panels can mean that the computer can get confused - as confused as I often become when trying to understand my van

.

Can anyone shine light?

Betsycalifornia · Apr 18, 2026

mine isn’t confused by solar panels. The bars are a rough guide, very rough. Voltage is key in the absence of anything better. Trust the voltage.

acer · Apr 18, 2026

Betsycalifornia said:
mine isn’t confused by solar panels. The bars are a rough guide, very rough. Voltage is key in the absence of anything better. Trust the voltage.

Thanks very much. Trust the voltage displayed, not the blue bars. That’s what I’ve read.

However, I was hoping that the charge that was coming in via the solar panels wasn’t reflected correctly by the on board computer because the computer was designed to deal with alternator or EHU charging only.

Sorry, just to be clear, you have solar panels and the computer doesn’t get confused - it provides an accurate reading when on solar? Or, you don’t have solar panels fitted and so your computer doesn’t get confused?

Betsycalifornia · Apr 18, 2026

acer said:
Thanks very much. Trust the voltage displayed, not the blue bars. That’s what I’ve read.

However, I was hoping that the charge that was coming in via the solar panels wasn’t reflected correctly by the on board computer because the computer was designed to deal with alternator or EHU charging only.

Sorry, just to be clear, you have solar panels and the computer doesn’t get confused - it provides an accurate reading when on solar? Or, you don’t have solar panels fitted and so your computer doesn’t get confused?

I have two 100w panels and it doesn’t get confused. From what I see the computer only sees amps and volts. Has no idea where they are coming from or where they are being used. Volts being pushed and amps are pulled.

Roger Boeken · May 2, 2026

Betsycalifornia said:
I have two 100w panels and it doesn’t get confused. From what I see the computer only sees amps and volts. Has no idea where they are coming from or where they are being used. Volts being pushed and amps are pulled.

Don't agree, the control panel knows when you are on ehu or when you are driving and using alternator, it knows the difference between charging current an discharge current. It knows SOC of batteries and controls the split charge relay accordingly. Take good look at the drawing LandT made there is databus all over the place . https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/california-6-1-electrical-overview.61895/