Leisure battery question.

[Joncali2023!!]

I have my tailgate and side door open and nothing else is turned on.
Any idea what’s using 6Amps?

 

[dspuk]

Nothing - that is amps into the batteries, not out - assume your engine is running or you are plugged in?

 

[Joncali2023!!]

Nothing - that is amps into the batteries, not out - assume your engine is running or you are plugged in?

Silly me, yes engine is running. I thought it was Amps being used by the battery ? As usually it’s -1A when nothing is on.

 

[dspuk]

Silly me, yes engine is running. I thought it was Amps being used by the battery ? As usually it’s -1A when nothing is on.

-1 is the power used for the screen to show you -1.

 

[Joncali2023!!]

-1 is the power used for the screen to show you -1.

So any figure showing - (minus) is being used. And any other figure (6A) is what’s going into the battery?

Sorry I’m a novice , only picked the Cali up last week.

 

[dspuk]

So any figure showing - (minus) is being used. And any other figure (6A) is what’s going into the battery?

Sorry I’m a novice , only picked the Cali up last week.

Generally. A lot of people think the monitor is an exact science but in reality is fluctuates and tries to make a best guess.

Anything that is a negative is a "draw" on the leisures - fridge, lights, anything in a 12V behind the cabin seats, heater.

Anything that is a positive is charging them so alternator if running, EHU (which also trickle charges your starter)or in our case a solar panel.

The fridge for example when you first put it on is a large draw as it's effectively got to go from room temp down to fridge temp. When this happens the screen can show only 12H of battery left, which is true, if the fridge had to keep pulling that much out constantly. It does not though - once at operating temp it switches off and then fluctuates as it goes on an off to maintain the temp, at which time it will go back to a much more sensible number like 36+H. Same for heater - when the glows are on it goes back down, once the cabin at the temperature set, on and off, back to normal.

Best rule of thumb, with normal use, the van should last 3 days off EHU. You can (and will) drive yourself mad watching the screen numbers - just keep in mind it's all a best guess game by VW.

Our tip is we put the fridge on the night before and let it get to operating temp overnight. Then on the drive to our venue to put the max charge on via the console to keep it all topped up and then when away we rely on solar if not on EHU, which extends that 3 day estimate to 5+ days, depending on the sun.

You can't see the starter battery on the monitor so we bought a 12V voltage reader for the plug that we plug into the front cabin socket that tells us what the starter battery charge is. I'm also about to change my MPPT to have a dual use on it so it charges the starter and leisure when off EHU.

 

[Joncali2023!!]

Generally. A lot of people think the monitor is an exact science but in reality is fluctuates and tries to make a best guess.

Anything that is a negative is a "draw" on the leisures - fridge, lights, anything in a 12V behind the cabin seats, heater.

Anything that is a positive is charging them (and trickle charging your starter) so alternator if running, EHU or in our case a solar panel.

The fridge for example when you first put it on is a large draw as it's effectively got to go from room temp down to fridge temp. When this happens the screen can show only 12H of battery left, which is true, if the fridge had to keep pulling that much out constantly. It does not though - once at operating temp it switches off and then fluctuates as it goes on an off to maintain the temp, at which time it will go back to a much more sensible number like 36+H. Same for heater - when the glows are on it goes back down, once the cabin at the temperature set, on and off, back to normal.

Best rule of thumb, with normal use, the van should last 3 days off EHU. You can (and will) drive yourself mad watching the screen numbers - just keep in mind it's all a best guess game by VW.

Our tip is we put the fridge on the night before and let it get to operaitng temp overnight. Then on the drive to our venue to put the max charge on via the panel to keep it all topped up and then when away we rely on solar if not on EHU, which extends that 3 day estimate to 5+ days, depending on the sun.

You can't see the starter battery on the monitor so we bought a 12V voltage reader for the plug that we plug into the front cabin socket that tells us what the starter battery charge is. I'm also about to change my MPPT to have a dual use on it so it charges the starter and leisure when off EHU.

Thank you very much. This information is a great help.

 

[Joncali2023!!]

When I’m driving it’s always been >60hrs - does anyone know what this 9hr 40 means?

 

[Stu@rt]

When I’m driving it’s always been >60hrs - does anyone know what this 9hr 40 means?
View attachment 111662

The algorithm that comes up with the Hrs / mins left will drive you nuts. It really is a finger in the air job. When driving / charging it does indeed come up with numbers that make no sense.
To get the best idea of battery status, they need to be "at rest" for a while and I prefer @WelshGas 's chart in this post to be honest.

HELP! Voltage Plausibility Fault!

Hello- We're based in Bristol with our California we've had for about a year, but used for 5 years previous under my parents ownership. Had some challenges due to the CFCA, so had a DPF blank and now today Voltage Plausibility Fault! So are going to have to take some time to try and resolve...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

The paranoia gained whilst watching those number is real and at first, can dominate what is supposed to be a relaxing van experience.

The >60hrs is the most it ever shows when the batteries are full and you will see those hrs/mins numbers go up and down wildly depending on the draw at the time. Basically its saying "carry on as we are and this is what is left". But in reality/real world usage the fridge cuts in and out, lights go on and off etc etc and the numbers go back up when the load is reduced. My wife uses 150W GHDs in the inverter and the algorithm goes into full on comedy mode

 

[dspuk]

When I’m driving it’s always been >60hrs - does anyone know what this 9hr 40 means?
View attachment 111662

See my previous reply.

 

[Roger Boeken]

The algorithm that comes up with the Hrs / mins left will drive you nuts. It really is a finger in the air job. When driving / charging it does indeed come up with numbers that make no sense.
To get the best idea of battery status, they need to be "at rest" for a while and I prefer @WelshGas 's chart in this post to be honest.

HELP! Voltage Plausibility Fault!

Hello- We're based in Bristol with our California we've had for about a year, but used for 5 years previous under my parents ownership. Had some challenges due to the CFCA, so had a DPF blank and now today Voltage Plausibility Fault! So are going to have to take some time to try and resolve...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

The paranoia gained whilst watching those number is real and at first, can dominate what is supposed to be a relaxing van experience.

The >60hrs is the most it ever shows when the batteries are full and you will see those hrs/mins numbers go up and down wildly depending on the draw at the time. Basically its saying "carry on as we are and this is what is left". But in reality/real world usage the fridge cuts in and out, lights go on and off etc etc and the numbers go back up when the load is reduced. My wife uses 150W GHDs in the inverter and the algorithm goes into full on comedy mode

The display when not charging gives estimated power capacity left in the battery. For example 20h -4A means 20x4 =80Ah left of theoretical 150Ah (2x 75Ah leisure battery). If there is no or very little energy taken from the leisure battery (shown as 0 or -1A) it shows > 60h. As soon as you draw more than 2.5A from the leisure batteries it will show less than 60h because 2,5x60=150Ah is the theoretical max capacity of the batteries. I have no background info on how the controller keeps track of consumed energy but from my observations I believe it uses battery voltage to estimate % of capacity left. Therefore it can only give a reasonable value while the battery is under load because battery voltage drops under load (and more under heavy load) . Just did some test in the cali Take in to account these figures are rough : voltage is measured +/0.1V but current is rounded to nearest whole figure. Time is rounded to nearest 10min.
Just did another test start running continous heating confirming my observations:
6h40min 12.3V/-10A = 67Ah left
8h30min 12.3V/-8A = 68Ah left
9h40min 12.3V/-7A= 68 Ah left
22h30min 12.3V/-3A= 68Ah left
33h40min 12.4V/-2A= 67Ah left
all readings max 1 minute apart..
since battery is not 100% charged (not on EHU) this is well within expectations.
Also battery /ambient temperature plays a role .
A good good summary can be found at battery-types you can read also in pdf attached.