Buy all your VW California Accessories at the Club Shop Visit Shop

Where is my leisure battery?

McGoogly

McGoogly

VIP Member
Messages
61
Location
Gloucestershire
Vehicle
T6 Beach 4Motion
Hi, firstly, please forgive me if this is a really stupid question. We have just picked up our new Beach (three rear seats version) this morning from a dealership in Coventry. After a fairly uninspiring handover during which it quickly became apparent that the salesman didn't know much more that we did about the vehicle, we got home and started poking around and playing. We have a million questions about the multiplex board and the comfort mattress and making up the bed etc but I know I'll find the answers to these questions on the forum somewhere. But what we cannot fathom is where the leisure battery is. The salesman told us that it was under the front passenger seat and that we should trickle charge it once a month. It clearly isn't under the passenger seat but we can't find it anywhere else and the handbooks doesn't appear to say where it is either. He also told us that is powered the three 12v sockets in the rear of the vehicle, then he changed his mind and said it did the rearmost two sockets but the socket directly underneath the 240v socket behind the front passenger seat was powered by the main van battery, not the leisure battery. We also have a parking heating fitted and he informed us that this was powered by the leisure battery too. Can anyone clarify for us where the battery is and what runs off it please?
 
it should be under the passenger seat please take a picture of under the seat
 
On a Beach it's under the left front seat under a cover. If it's not there you have a problem.
 
On a Beach it's under the left front seat under a cover. If it's not there you have a problem.
9C432C43-677A-440D-B36E-1571D00B3BA5.png
On a Beach it’s sometimes hard to figure out what socket runs off which battery, since there is no voltage meter. It’s easy to find plug in meters so that you can test for yourself. In theory everything behind the first row runs off the leisure battery. On mine the dash top socket runs off leisure, but the ashtray socket runs off engine battery. Yours may be different, but it’s easy to test by plugging something in and watching the voltage. The table in the photo will tell you what voltage corresponds to what level of leisure battery charge.
Edit: sorry for the copied text with the photo, ignore.
 
Last edited:
I forgot to say - it's a 2019 model.

The garage did have to change the front seats because neither of them swivelled so they sent it to a local conversion company to do the work. Now I'm wondering if they removed the battery tom of the work and didn't put it back. I'll search again tomorrow when it isn't pouring with rain and nearly dark. Many thanks for the replies so far - we really appreciate your patience with newbies!
 
  • Like
Reactions: MGC
I meant just ignore the one sentence below the photo, the rest was my answer to your question about what battery runs which socket.
 
The garage did have to change the front seats because neither of them swivelled so they sent it to a local conversion company to do the work. Now I'm wondering if they removed the battery tom of the work and didn't put it back. I'll search again tomorrow when it isn't pouring with rain and nearly dark. Many thanks for the replies so far - we really appreciate your patience with newbies!
Wow. I think swiveling seats are default standard equipment on a Beach, but if the comfort height adjustable seats are ordered, the swiveling function is eliminated. This all sounds very strange.
 
Wow. I think swiveling seats are default standard equipment on a Beach, but if the comfort height adjustable seats are ordered, the swiveling function is eliminated. This all sounds very strange.
My Ocean has the comfort seats, the dealer installed some after market swivel plates before I collected it, this may be what has happened here.
 
It has the comfort dashboard, mattress and the factory fitted parking heater and the front seats are all electric adjustable and heated - BUT, they didn't swivel which seemed rather to defeat the object to us, so we agreed a sale but only if they changed the seats to ones that would swivel. Not sure what's going on there really but we love it already! And once we locate the leisure battery we will be very happy!
 
It has the comfort dashboard, mattress and the factory fitted parking heater and the front seats are all electric adjustable and heated - BUT, they didn't swivel which seemed rather to defeat the object to us, so we agreed a sale but only if they changed the seats to ones that would swivel. Not sure what's going on there really but we love it already! And once we locate the leisure battery we will be very happy!
Make sure you have a parking heater outlet on the lower B pillar. The parking heater is optional on the Beach, so if you don't have the B pillar outlet, you may have the optional programable coolant heater, which has its uses, but is not adequate for heating through the night due to high battery usage.
 
Make sure you have a parking heater outlet on the lower B pillar. The parking heater is optional on the Beach, so if you don't have the B pillar outlet, you may have the optional programable coolant heater, which has its uses, but is not adequate for heating through the night due to high battery usage.
 
That's what we've got - definitely a parking heater. The hunt will resume shortly for the leisure battery.
 
It should be under a rubber cover under the passenger seat, hopefully the attached picture will work.

1BCBDD62-2E81-41CB-9DC1-05B85FDD340E.jpeg
 
I've taken pics of the front passenger seat in the most forward and backward positions - and I can't see a battery or see how to access the area under the seat .either.image.jpegimage.jpeg
I can see a number of fuses but presumably they are for all the seat electrics?
 
I've taken pics of the front passenger seat in the most forward and backward positions - and I can't see a battery or see how to access the area under the seat .either.View attachment 50959View attachment 50960
I can see a number of fuses but presumably they are for all the seat electrics?

The rear plastic cover just pulls off, fairly easily. You should then see the battery.
 
That grey plastic cover on the back of the base pulls off then you will see what is, or is not , there .....
 
Snap !!!!

actually ‘duplicitous’. not ‘snap ....’
 
Last edited:
We've found it! We managed to remove the mounded grey plastic piece at the back of the seat base and that gives us access to it (not easy access but better than nothing). Thanks to everyone for the help/suggestions. Now we're off to wrestle with the MFB and mattress!!
 
It looks like your swivel seat, or at least the ground plate is not original.
That is why it is harder to find the aux batterie.
 
It looks like your swivel seat, or at least the ground plate is not original.
That is why it is harder to find the aux batterie.
Agreed, I have exactly the same after market plates fitted to mine, and I have never seen this battery either.
 
We've found it! We managed to remove the mounded grey plastic piece at the back of the seat base and that gives us access to it (not easy access but better than nothing). Thanks to everyone for the help/suggestions. Now we're off to wrestle with the MFB and mattress!!
Why would you need to access the leisure battery? To charge it you just need to hook up to mains electricity for 24 hours every so often.
 
I've taken pics of the front passenger seat in the most forward and backward positions - and I can't see a battery or see how to access the area under the seat .either.View attachment 50959View attachment 50960
I can see a number of fuses but presumably they are for all the seat electrics?
There are fuses for all sorts of things under there not just the seats.
 
I added a fused connection ending in an Anderson connector to my leisure battery which is accessible under the front of the passenger seat. Mainly to run my fridge from but I figured I could also use this to attach a trickle charger if I ever needed to and couldn't use the hook up for some reason.

Lots of information here which is where I got the idea from:
 
Back
Top