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Leisure battery
Can someone explain how these are supposed to work? Ours does not seem to be re-charging. Is the main battery supposed to be used when the engine is on?
I have a Ford Hobby T600FC Campervan (2006) 2.0ltr TDCi diesel. I bought this vehicle from you in June 2006
Under the driver's seat (L/H drive) are two 12 volt batteries. As one needs replacing, should I replace both batteries?
I believe one is for starting the engine, what is the other one for?
Can you tell me the full specification, i.e. AH, Amperage & dimensions as I want to make sure I buy the correct batteries.
A third battery is located under the passenger's seat, again can you tell me what this is for.
I cannot find any information in the Hobby manual or the Ford Transit handbook. I searched on various Forums but I get very confusing answers.
I would be very grateful if you can reply to this e-mail or guide me to the correct source for the solutions to my query.
Thank you.
Eamon Curran
Hi
You say you bought the vehicle from me, but campervanlife.com doesn't sell vehicles, and has never had anything to do with Ford Hobby motorhomes.
However, I'll try and help.
You should replace all od the leisure batteries at the same time. If you have an old battery and a new one, the new one will not perform well. So replace them all, ideally with the same size and make for each battery.
It's unlikely that one is for starting the engine. The engine cranking battery should be under the bonnet. Is there a battery under the bonnet?
Replace the existing batteries with the same size and rating. So replace 110 AH batteries with 110AH batteries. Make sure the new ones are not bigger in size than the existing ones, or they might not fit. The new batteries do not need to be the same make as the existing batteries.
Is the third battery under the passengers seat the same make and size as the leisure battery? If so it's another leisure battery.
If you are unsure of anything, visit a motorhome dealer and they will assist you in getting the right batteries.
There are many many different ways that a leisure battery can be connected up so without more infomation of your system its very difficult to offer advice. Darren has mentioned the most likely but there are lots of alternatives.
KS
Camper Van Life is brought to you by Darren Lambert, a big fan of camper vans.
Normally you have a split-charge relay between your engine battery and your leisure battery.
When you start the engine the relay connects the batteries together, so that the engine charger charges both batteries.
Then when you stop the engine the relay disconnects the batteries, so that you can use the leisure battery and flatten it, without flattening the engine battery.
You can also charge leisure batteries from solar panels, or from an battery charger using the mains hookup.
What make is your campervan.
Do you have a Zig unit control panel?