Tracking signal

Bonny Broadway wrote:

Mollytardis wrote:Just had email from tracking service regarding flat battery on tracker.
Its a generic email,its vague about sending information, have any other owners had such emails from their tracking service.
Thanks in advance.
John

yes John. my tracker company send low battery emails and text message and have been known to phone as well. This normally means just hook up and plug in and top up battery. 

More often during winter when solar panel is not topping up due to lack of sun. Hope this helps.

My solar panel keeps both batteries 100%full all winter. It is a myth they don't work in winter, they do, only the capacity is reduced. A teeny wee battery for a tracker wouldn't even be noticed.....

I'm guessing that the 2021 Sargent comms/tracker unit still has a non-rechargeable standby battery as mine used to have.  If you have taken out the annual subscription service Sargent carry out a periodic remote check on the condition of the battery.  If it's low they tell you.  If the tracker/comms unit is still under warranty, they will replace the battery or unit under warranty.  This is what they did to mine once.  If you need to replace the standby battery you should contact your dealer who should know where your comms/tracker unit is.  Don't ask on this Forum as it will compromise security.  I have since had my comms/tracker unit replaced with a more up to date Sargent unit which uses 4G instead of 2G and has a rechargeable standby battery. 

In addition to the above, if you have the subscription service the 24/7/365 tracking centre in Bedford should phone you if the leisure battery voltage drops below a certain level (which mine has never done) or if the leisure battery is disconnected in some way e.g. removal of the in-line fuse, removal of the No 2 fuse on the EC700 or removal of the battery.  If you know the leisure battery is to be disconnected you should activate inhibit service on AS Monitor beforehand.

IanH wrote:

My solar panel keeps both batteries 100%full all winter. It is a myth they don't work in winter, they do, only the capacity is reduced. A teeny wee battery for a tracker wouldn't even be noticed.....

It's not a myth on the standard EC700 fit.  If the EC700 PSU has not been shutdown, the solar charge from the standard 80W panel through the standard Sargent controller is insufficient to keep the leisure battery fully charged at this time of year and once it becomes discharged it will drag down the vehicle battery.  This is why at this time of year the EC700 PSU must be shutdown, or, the motorhome must be left on an EHU with the mains charger on.

Well if any electrical load left on to a battery and the load exceeds the charge input, then, of course , the battery will discharge.
That is a very good reason for having simplicity and nothing with Sargent written on it in the van, or, at least, switch it off........

IanH wrote:Well if any electrical load left on to a battery and the load exceeds the charge input, then, of course , the battery will discharge.
That is a very good reason for having simplicity and nothing with Sargent written on it in the van, or, at least, switch it off........

I agree but if your A-S has Sargent's  EC700 you're stuck with it unless you do what Mr Bargee and one or two others have done.  The solution is very much to shutdown the PSU but many don't appreciate this and that's in part because it is not explained properly in the A-S/Sargent documentation.  In the early days I asked my Marquis dealer about the shutdown button and they said don't touch it - leave it on - which is partly why I stopped taking my van back to them!  Even in the summer when there is plenty of solar charge it makes sense to shutdown the PSU, providing the out of use period isn't more than say 3 months.  Sorry - this one of my hobby horses!