Flat starter battery

[Amarillo]

Where have you put the fuse on the positive lead? my preference on any lead that could supply power from either end would be to use two fuses, one at each end. If you do only put it one end I would go between the Anderson connector & the battery.

The fuse is right next to the battery.

I don’t think there’s a need for a fuss the other end.

 

[Amarillo]

My mid-term solution is now fully in place.

The dual battery solar charger is in the tool compartment of the Beach boot. An Anderson lead is connected to the Starter Battery terminals of the solar charger.

Power from the solar charger to the Starter battery exits the boot via an extension lead.

The extension lead is held in place with little utility bolts I already had for holding the roof topper in place, and enters under the van’s bonnet.

The extension lead plugs into the starter battery via a permanently connected Anderson socket.

Not much to see here except evidence of the terrible state of our starter battery. The van had a good run yesterday yet already the starter battery is showing only 36% to 61% capacity. When the solar charger is actually recharging the starter battery the indicator shows 3 bars indicating 62% to 86% capacity.

To drive off the extension lead needs to be removed.

Once the system has been thoroughly tested we will replace the starter battery. But real-life testing will be with the old battery.

This is a mid term solution.

The long term solution will be to hard wire the solar charger to the engine battery via connections under the front passenger seat.

 

[Amarillo]

Display unit showing the starter battery being charged.

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

My California 2018 starter battery drains quickly if radio used on standby. Have had battery checked and it’s ok. This is new as I’ve used radio on standby many times over the years. Would appreciate any advice.

 

[WelshGas]

My California 2018 starter battery drains quickly if radio used on standby. Have had battery checked and it’s ok. This is new as I’ve used radio on standby many times over the years. Would appreciate any advice.

Most likely a sign of an ageing battery if it is a 2018 original.
Just checking the voltage is not a good indication of battery health as that just shows the State of Charge, SOC.
You need to test a fully charged battery’s , State of Health, SOH, by measuring the voltage under load, eg: cranking the engine when the voltage would drop to or below 10v on a battery coming to the end of its useful life.
Modern engine batteries have a deteriorating SOH from 5/6 yrs of age.

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

Thanks.