Battery Bother.

I recently replaced my vehicle battery but when I tried to start my Nuevo after about two weeks it was flat.
I wasn't concerned as I know that various equipment draw power when the vehicle isn't moving.
However, when I selected VEH on the control panel it started to charge and then shut the whole power down after about five minutes and it continues to do this every time I try to charge it.
I jump started it and the battery did take a charge from the alternator so it seems to be fine and everything is fine when the control panel is on HAB.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

The behaviour of the power control systems when a battery voltage is low vary considerably, depending on make and model. It's not unusual to have a threshold at which it will either shut down or attempt to switch to the other battery. What make/model of power control system do you have?

With the vehicle battery fully charged, does it continue to shut down when VEH is selected?

Thanks for your helpful advice Roopert.
I have the MES control panel and I suspect you are right about the low battery behaviour, I jump started it then drove about five miles after which it started again but the charge must have been minimal.
I will use my trickle charger to fully charge the battery and see what happens then but that will have to wait for a few days as Santa is coming and I hope that he brings his tool kit!
Cheers.

It's odd because the Fault Guide in the MES user manual says "Check Habitation Battery voltage on Screen if Low or 0v then the screen will not allow charge to be switched to the VEH Battery." which doesn't really match what you are seeing. But it's possible that this behaviour may vary depending on the exact software release of the control panel.

Be aware also of the possibility of blown fuses if you perform an engine start when the vehicle and leisure batteries are at a significantly different state of charge.

The Habitation battery level was low when I checked it and that might have a lot to do with my problem but I doubt that any fuses are blown as everything did start up before shutting down.
The Hab is on charge tonight so I will see what tomorrow brings.
Thanks again Roopert.

I have a 08 Devon with the MES touch screen panel and a standalone battery charger under the passenger seat. I experienced the same thing that you are seeing with battery selection and found that with veh selected once the hab battery falls below a certain level the charge is switched to hab and you can’t switch back to veh until the hab battery reaches a reasonable level.
I also found that the charger has a charge/float switch and mine was set to float for some reason. If you check the voltage on the panel when the battery starts to charge you should see approximately 14.2 if the switch is set to charge or 13.8 if it is on float.
You can also put the panel to sleep when not using the van and reduce the current draw.

Thanks for the reply Willy.
When I try to charge on VEH it doesn't change to HAB but shuts all the power down. I have had it on HAB charge for a day but still no change.
I will have to use my separate trickle charger to top up the battery and then see what happens but that will have to wait until next week due to pressure of work.
I will let you know the outcome.

It would help to know what voltage the MES system is seeing from each battery - are you able to note that before it shuts down?

Hi Roopert,
I will see if I can get the readings tomorrow evening, I have left the HAB on charge in the hope that it might switch to VEH once it is full. The battery,although new, is also under suspicion as everything worked fine before I changed it but I won't know until I can get a charge into it from a remote charger and I will have to wait until Monday to do that.
Thanks for your replies, I really appreciate your help.

The instructions for the MES panel say that if the hab battery falls below 10 volts the screen will show a low battery warning. If the battery is not then charged and falls below 9 volts the system will power down, however if you are on ehu the onboard charger should then be connected to the hab battery. I know that this works on my setup as I monitored it with a multimeter, this is a more reliable way than relying on the screen. Do you have the instructions in the handbook ? Do you know what make of onboard charger you have ?

Hi Willy and thanks for your time.
I have had the van on EHU for three days now but it seems to be making little difference to the vehicle battery.
I read the screen tonight and it was registering HAB 13.5 volt Good, but the VEH was fluctuating between 11.5 to 12.1 Volts Good, and was showing the dotted line at the bottom of the screen to be full.
I don't know the make of the charger and I don't even know where to find it to be honest.
I have charged a vehicle battery from flat with my onboard charger and that is why I find it so strange now.
I will charge the battery with a remote charger on Monday, can't do it before then as hectic at work, and see what happens then.
My sincere thanks to those who have taken the time to offer solutions, I'll get to the bottom of this yet.

Well I had a bit of a Christmas Miracle today.
I tried to charge the VEH from the onboard charger and it shut down the whole system after a few minutes as usual so I decided to attempt to start the engine before hooking the battery up to a remote charger, I had left the HAB on charge for a few days as it had no problems.
Hallelujah!
The engine started first kick and the MES was showing a full battery at 12.5 volts.
I have no idea what has been happening but I will take it.
Big thanks to Roopert and Willy Eckerslike for taking the time to try solving my problem.
I suspect that the battery was fully charged and the charger shut down with nothing to do but I only drove it for about half-an-hour from being flat.
Anyway, problem seems to be solved.

Taylormade fit my 2011 Sprinter fine. Were you using the "hedgehog" closures on the side?

Also another question if I was to keep this battery. I’ve seen comments suggesting AGM batteries are a complete waste of money, One person suggested a standard sealed batt for 10years and AGM 3 years. They suggest they fitted a standard batt disconnect the sensor on the Negative pole so the Alternator gives a constant charge instead of a pulsing charge and they operated as old school with no stop start no warning lights.
Not sure this is right so if anyone knows definitively that’s the case please could you advise.
Many thanks 
Brackjo

Having time to really address my battery problem I checked my Hab battery despite it showing fully charged on the MES.
On examination the viewing port on the battery, which should show green when charged, had only a faint white light within when I shone a torch into it.
I was suspicious now so I removed the battery and found that there was virtually no electrolyte in it at all.
I have to confess that I have never checked it as I wrongly assumed that most batteries are maintenance-free these days but obviously not!
Would I be right to think that when I switched my MES to Veh and that battery was fully charged that it would then switch to Hab and shut down due to a dud battery?
I will now replace the leisure battery and hope that my problem is now solved but I would welcome any recommendations as to which one I should buy.

mcalid wrote:Having time to really address my battery problem I checked my Hab battery despite it showing fully charged on the MES.
On examination the viewing port on the battery, which should show green when charged, had only a faint white light within when I shone a torch into it.
I was suspicious now so I removed the battery and found that there was virtually no electrolyte in it at all.
I have to confess that I have never checked it as I wrongly assumed that most batteries are maintenance-free these days but obviously not!
Would I be right to think that when I switched my MES to Veh and that battery was fully charged that it would then switch to Hab and shut down due to a dud battery?
I will now replace the leisure battery and hope that my problem is now solved but I would welcome any recommendations as to which one I should buy.

In my experience I believe that when veh is selected the charger remains there until it is switched manually on the control panel. But while the veh battery is selected the hab battery is still running the panel plus any hab electrics which might be switched on. Once the hab battery falls below about ten volts the panel switches off and the charge goes to the hab battery.

Thanks for the reply Willy.
It is all adding up now, I originally suspected the vehicle battery but after finding the habitation one dead and still deceased after charging in the garage for two days I will just have to buy a new one and I am sure that will be an end to my problem.
All the best.