All batteries replaced and software updated but still losing 10% every 2 days when van is not in use

[Jonathan77]

Hi again

Ok T7 van with with dealer again, 2nd time they had it, its a 2025 T7 ocean and 4 months old, this time they tell me they have replaced all 3 batteries and done the battery update again. I dont drive this an everyday, sometimes will be sat for a week plus, when I got the van home lesuire battery is on 100%, 2 days later lost 10%, guys what lose are you getting when not used, im so confused I thought it would be minimal the dealer tells me there is a drain inline with other calis in store, if you leave your van how much drain over 48 hours, what is draining lesuire batteries when not in use ?

Do you all have to hook up every week to charge when not in use ?

Is there a contact at VW UK?

Thanks Jonathan

 

[PK1958]

My ocean diesel is the same. I have had the software update. It would be nice to know what is using the leisure batteries when not in use.

 

[Jeanette E]

Hi Jonathan,
I’ve just got my V7 Ocean hybrid back from the dealership, got it back on Saturday morning. I checked the leisure batteries yesterday afternoon and they were still at 100%. Before the “fix’ they were draining about 30-40% per week, Cali was only bought in June. So it looks to be better but one of my big concerns is how long the batteries will survive in camp-mode off hook up, one commentator from Germany was saying it was less than 24 hours, my dealership reckons 3 days / nights so let’s see.

So I’m going to do the following today:
1. Take Cali for a bit of a spin so everything is fully charged then take a screen shot.
2. Put my Cali into camping mode when I get back minus hook up. Fridge will be on setting 3, I will occasionally run the taps, open the doors like I would when I’m camping, won’t bother with putting the roof box up, Bluetooth will be on. I will document the results / screenshot as appropriate.

P.S. Shouldn’t need to hook up every week just when the batteries are nearing 20%, 10% over 2 days doesn’t sounds that bad and that figure will be rounded so it might be less / more than that. Maybe need to check the drainage over a longer period of time?

I was contacted by VW customer care on 0800 7834 909 when my Cali was in van hospital and they liaised with the dealership, they were pretty helpful and kept me informed.

I’ll keep you posted.

Cheers
Jeanette

 

[Toneb]

I was one of the first to recieve my T7 Cali Ocean back in March. The dealer rang today say that they were unable to do the recall and that here are obviously greater issues. Well yes!
Cant say I'm surprised.

 

[Jeanette E]

Quick update on my ‘experiment’.
I put my Cali into camping mode minus the hook up around 11:30 yesterday morning. The main battery was on 70% and the leisure batteries on 100%. The fridge was set to level 3 and has been on that ever since. I’ve opened the back doors a couple of times, accessed the camping control panel via Bluetooth many many times (in the name of research), run about 4 litres of water through the tap and as of now the main battery is still on 70% and the leisure batteries is also 70%. I’ll run my experiment for a full 48 hours and report back. Please take into consideration I haven’t had the lights on, pop top box up and the weather isn’t cold.
P.S. the software version is 2650.

 

[Peter Chequers]

Just went to check on mine
Last driven Saturday
Leisure battery today down to 10%
Nothing switched on

 

[Jeanette E]

Hi Peter,
What percentage was your leisure battery on Saturday as a matter of interest?

P.S. I was told by my dealership that too much power was going into the batteries so eventually a fuse went, it was down to the software. before that I did notice that the camping console kept coming on so even if everything is switched off there is no doubt stuff (technical term!) going on in the background. Not great is it.

 

[Jonathan77]

Just went to check on mine
Last driven Saturday
Leisure battery today down to 10%
Nothing switched on

So my understanding of batteries are if you run them to 0 your are damaging them, I just dont get it, i cannot leave my van for morebthan a week with out plugging in ?

 

[Peter Chequers]

Hi Peter,
What percentage was your leisure battery on Saturday as a matter of interest?

P.S. I was told by my dealership that too much power was going into the batteries so eventually a fuse went, it was down to the software. before that I did notice that the camping console kept coming on so even if everything is switched off there is no doubt stuff (technical term!) going on in the background. Not great is it.

I didn't check on when I got home on Saturday but I drove about 40 miles and the day before it was plugged in and at 100%

 

[sticky1]

If you are running the fridge expect to be consuming over an amp per hour!!

 

[Peter Chequers]

Fridge not on ... Vehicle parked outside my house with nothing switched on

 

[Jeanette E]

So from Friday / Saturday at 100% to 10% today (leisure batteries) with nothing switched on, sounds like another trip to van hospital is needed maybe with some screenshot evidence, it shouldn’t drain like that.
P.S. When I’ve finished my leisure battery experiment, I’ll take my Cali out of camping mode, switch everything off and monitor the battery drainage with it sitting on my drive. I also have the hybrid on a 25 plate.

 

[Jonathan77]

I didn't check on when I got home on Saturday but I drove about 40 miles and the day before it was plugged in and at 100%

That would be a massive drain omg

 

[Wannabecamperman]

So my understanding of batteries are if you run them to 0 your are damaging them, I just dont get it, i cannot leave my van for morebthan a week with out plugging in ?

For acid and gel batteries, yes. I understand that the T7s have 2 x LifePO4, so no issue draining to 0% (apart from the fact they then can't be used without charging up again).

 

[sticky1]

For acid and gel batteries, yes. I understand that the T7s have 2 x LifePO4, so no issue draining to 0% (apart from the fact they then can't be used without charging up again).

Yes occasionally doing a full cycle can be good for the battery management system, but ideally you don’t want be doing that regularly. Good practice is to get the charging from about 20%.

 

[Wannabecamperman]

Yes occasionally doing a full cycle can be good for the battery management system, but ideally you don’t want be doing that regularly. Good practice is to get the charging from about 20%.

You're referring to Depth of Discharge, which yes does generally mean that if you can avoid going below 20% or even 50% too often, you will get more cycles from the battery.

That said, even regularly discharging LiFePO4 below 20% will still typically grant 3000+ cycles, which is more that ten years' usage for the most typical scenarios. Ergo, not an issue at all unless using all day every day.

 

[pluc99]

Hi Peter,
What percentage was your leisure battery on Saturday as a matter of interest?

P.S. I was told by my dealership that too much power was going into the batteries so eventually a fuse went, it was down to the software. before that I did notice that the camping console kept coming on so even if everything is switched off there is no doubt stuff (technical term!) going on in the background. Not great is it.

Wouldn't a fuse blowing as a result of too much charge going into the battery prevent it from being charged, but wouldn't explain drainage when nothing is turned on.
If the inverter is easily accessible, could you check if the inverter's temperature was above ambient temperature. A powered on inverter, even without any devices drawing power, would still drain the battery fairly quickly.

 

[Jeanette E]

Wouldn't a fuse blowing as a result of too much charge going into the battery prevent it from being charged, but wouldn't explain drainage when nothing is turned on.
If the inverter is easily accessible, could you check if the inverter's temperature was above ambient temperature. A powered on inverter, even without any devices drawing power, would still drain the battery fairly quick

 

[Jeanette E]

Hi there,
Not meaning to tempt fate but it looks as though my battery drainage issue is fixed. I’ve completed my first test, the van was put into camp mode minus the cables for a full 48 hours, the results are as follows:
Start: Main battery at 70% and leisure batteries at 100%
Finish: Main battery on 60% (was still on 70% at 08:00 this morning) and leisure batteries down to 50%.
The test had the fridge running on setting 3 but not much else.
So 2 nights off grid looks to be fine, 3 nights may be getting a bit tight but could be a good excuse for me to buy a suitcase-style battery and a solar panel but that’s a whole new discussion.

 

[WelshGas]

Hi there,
Not meaning to tempt fate but it looks as though my battery drainage issue is fixed. I’ve completed my first test, the van was put into camp mode minus the cables for a full 48 hours, the results are as follows:
Start: Main battery at 70% and leisure batteries at 100%
Finish: Main battery on 60% (was still on 70% at 08:00 this morning) and leisure batteries down to 50%.
The test had the fridge running on setting 3 but not much else.
So 2 nights off grid looks to be fine, 3 nights may be getting a bit tight but could be a good excuse for me to buy a suitcase-style battery and a solar panel but that’s a whole new discussion.

The % will be a calculation based on the amps draw at the time of the calculation but the voltage is more important and normally accurate.

 

[Jeanette E]

The % will be a calculation based on the amps draw at the time of the calculation but the voltage is more important and normally accurate.

Hi there,
In voltage it’s as follows
Start: Main battery 12,3V and leisure batteries 13,5V
Finish: Main battery 12,2V and leisure batteries 13,1V
Does this look OK, I’m not an expert?

 

[WelshGas]

Hi there,
In voltage it’s as follows
Start: Main battery 12,3V and leisure batteries 13,5V
Finish: Main battery 12,2V and leisure batteries 13,1V
Does this look OK, I’m not an expert?

The engine battery is an AGM battery and coupled with the Smart Alternators used today , in normal use, will only be charged to 80% or so to leave room for charge from Regenerative Braking all part of the Euro 6 emissions control.


Lithium batteries are different.

 

[Jeanette E]

The engine battery is an AGM battery and coupled with the Smart Alternators used today , in normal use, will only be charged to 80% or so to leave room for charge from Regenerative Braking all part of the Euro 6 emissions control.
View attachment 140689

Lithium batteries are different.

View attachment 140690

Thanks for the information, I’ve taken a screenshot so that I can access it easily. Also looks like my batteries are fine which is good news.

 

[omaralrawi]

Hi there,
Not meaning to tempt fate but it looks as though my battery drainage issue is fixed. I’ve completed my first test, the van was put into camp mode minus the cables for a full 48 hours, the results are as follows:
Start: Main battery at 70% and leisure batteries at 100%
Finish: Main battery on 60% (was still on 70% at 08:00 this morning) and leisure batteries down to 50%.
The test had the fridge running on setting 3 but not much else.
So 2 nights off grid looks to be fine, 3 nights may be getting a bit tight but could be a good excuse for me to buy a suitcase-style battery and a solar panel but that’s a whole new discussion.

Thank you the information really helpful. I’ve been trying to find out how does the parking heater in continuous operation works on the PHEV. On the updated brochure it clearly says that there is no fuel operated parking heater on the PHEV. When you’ve been off grid for 2 days, did you use the parking heater in continuous mode?

 

[Woodstock25]

Last drive mine last Wednesday. Just checked this morning and mine is at 80% - 47.5 hours remaining.

Does the display go down in 10% increments?