Grand Cali Battery Drain

M

Mary-JaneP

Messages
3
Location
EH45 9hz
Vehicle
Grand California 600
Hi, apologies in advance for the long post!
I bought a Grand Cali brand new at the end of June and since taking delivery of it, the leisure battery has always appeared to have a drain of 1amp although everything is switched off and nothing is being demanded of the battery. I can leave it parked at my house on a Monday morning at 100% and when I get home on a Friday it is down to 20% so I am having to plug it in to charge every week, which is not something I have had with any other van I have owned. (This has been throughout the summer when there wasn't any frosty weather).
It has been back in to the VW dealership twice, once for three weeks and then most recently for five weeks for them to try and identify the problem. They have not found what is causing this and they asked VW Technical if they could get approval to replace the leisure battery to see if this could resolve the problem. VW Technical have come back and said no, they are not prepared to do anything, and suggested I might want to get a solar panel fitted to help!!
So my question is, what are other peoples experiences of what to expect when your van is parked up with no demand on the battery - how quickly would your leisure battery discharge?
Also, has anyone else had this problem with a new Grand Cali?
Any thoughts or advice are very welcome, as at the moment I am telling the dealership to take the van back and give me my money back. But I really don't want to do this as I love the van other than this issue!
Many thanks in advance, Mary-Jane :)
 
Hi, apologies in advance for the long post!
I bought a Grand Cali brand new at the end of June and since taking delivery of it, the leisure battery has always appeared to have a drain of 1amp although everything is switched off and nothing is being demanded of the battery. I can leave it parked at my house on a Monday morning at 100% and when I get home on a Friday it is down to 20% so I am having to plug it in to charge every week, which is not something I have had with any other van I have owned. (This has been throughout the summer when there wasn't any frosty weather).
It has been back in to the VW dealership twice, once for three weeks and then most recently for five weeks for them to try and identify the problem. They have not found what is causing this and they asked VW Technical if they could get approval to replace the leisure battery to see if this could resolve the problem. VW Technical have come back and said no, they are not prepared to do anything, and suggested I might want to get a solar panel fitted to help!!
So my question is, what are other peoples experiences of what to expect when your van is parked up with no demand on the battery - how quickly would your leisure battery discharge?
Also, has anyone else had this problem with a new Grand Cali?
Any thoughts or advice are very welcome, as at the moment I am telling the dealership to take the van back and give me my money back. But I really don't want to do this as I love the van other than this issue!
Many thanks in advance, Mary-Jane :)
Firstly, if the GC control panel is anything like the California it will always show a current draw if the panel is illuminated and this drops to zero when the panel goes to standby or switched off.
Secondly the % battery reading uses an iffy algorithm based on spot data consumption often reset by Ignition On/Off or Panel On/Off.
Lastly, the voltage is accurate.
What is the voltage at 100% and 20%? Voltage should be noted at least 30 minutes after charging or driving.

SoC-AGM.jpg
 
Firstly, if the GC control panel is anything like the California it will always show a current draw if the panel is illuminated and this drops to zero when the panel goes to standby or switched off.
Secondly the % battery reading uses an iffy algorithm based on spot data consumption often reset by Ignition On/Off or Panel On/Off.
Lastly, the voltage is accurate.
What is the voltage at 100% and 20%? Voltage should be noted at least 30 minutes after charging or driving.

View attachment 116982
Thanks so much for your reply WelshGas - when I get my van back from the dealership I'll have a check of the voltages.
 
Hi, apologies in advance for the long post!
I bought a Grand Cali brand new at the end of June and since taking delivery of it, the leisure battery has always appeared to have a drain of 1amp although everything is switched off and nothing is being demanded of the battery. I can leave it parked at my house on a Monday morning at 100% and when I get home on a Friday it is down to 20% so I am having to plug it in to charge every week, which is not something I have had with any other van I have owned. (This has been throughout the summer when there wasn't any frosty weather).
Many thanks in advance, Mary-Jane :)

Just turning on the control panel will make it show a discharge.

When you say you turn everything off, do you turn the big red master switch in the electrical cupboard? Our battery would be substantially discharged within a week if we didnt use the red switch. With that turned off it would be ok for a couple of weeks.

I used one of these connected to the leisure battery to let me monitor the state of it without having to go into the van & fire everything up. The app on my phone tracked discharge over time & showed the current voltage.IMG_1728.jpeg
 
Just turning on the control panel will make it show a discharge.

When you say you turn everything off, do you turn the big red master switch in the electrical cupboard? Our battery would be substantially discharged within a week if we didnt use the red switch. With that turned off it would be ok for a couple of weeks.

I used one of these connected to the leisure battery to let me monitor the state of it without having to go into the van & fire everything up. The app on my phone tracked discharge over time & showed the current voltage.View attachment 116985
Many thanks for your advice andyinluton - no I haven't been switching off the red switch - is that the isolator? I thought switching that off might mean I would have to reset the time on the panel etc whenever I would switch it back on, is this right, or does switching it off only mean that the battery keeps it's charge a bit better with no negative issues? Really appreciate you taking the time to respond, thank you! I might well get one of those battery monitors too, thanks.
 
For the dealer to say they can’t find an issue is utter horse sh1t. It either has a parasitic drain or it doesn’t. If it does then it’s not hard to trace it.
 
For the dealer to say they can’t find an issue is utter horse sh1t. It either has a parasitic drain or it doesn’t. If it does then it’s not hard to trace it.
I don’t think it’s necessarily an issue that can be resolved. On a GC even with everything switched off there’s still a lot on if that makes sense. That’s why the isolator switch needs to be used.
 
Many thanks for your advice andyinluton - no I haven't been switching off the red switch - is that the isolator? I thought switching that off might mean I would have to reset the time on the panel etc whenever I would switch it back on, is this right, or does switching it off only mean that the battery keeps it's charge a bit better with no negative issues? Really appreciate you taking the time to respond, thank you! I might well get one of those battery monitors too, thanks.
Use the red switch, clock won’t need resetting, it keeps the charge much better not just a bit better. Try it, you’ve got nothing to loose.
 
Hi Mary-Jane et al
I am now on my 3rd battery and no closer to VW determining the issue of what is causing the battery to drain. First battery was like a Mellon and on verge of explosion. VW are aware this battery drain is an issue (10% / 24 hours) unless isolator switch is turned to off. Cabin battery should not drain even if isolator is left on and no appliances in use. I do not believe VW in general are taking the issue seriously enough and will be writing to their most senior technical team this week to seek advice and solution. I am of the opinion there is a major design fault in the system leading to battery discharge and putting all grand cali users at a safety risk as VW dealers cannot explain what is causing the discharge. Also had 3 taps replaced under warranty as electrical sensor issue with the tap leading to water pump kicking in without tap in use. VW HQ will hear from me soon and I will be happy to update on progress. Stay safe. D
 
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