battery drain limiter

[dvrdwn]

I have a 1992 coachhouse with original equiptment charging system. Will my system automaticly shut off when the batteries get down to 50%?

[hbn7hj]

Not a chance of that happening. It will tell you when it hits 0 but that is about it.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by dvrdwn

I have a 1992 coachhouse with original equiptment charging system. Will my system automaticaly shut off when the batteries get down to 50%?

No, for that vintage coach there is no system for controlling battery depletion and probably nothing more than a voltmeter to indicate battery voltage.

The charger is single state and has long since been discontinued in favor of by multi-state chargers in later production.

The original batteries were in all liklihood flooded cell and have probably been replaced a number of times. What is currently in place could be flooded cell or AGMs.

It's probably time to do some updating.

[dvrdwn]

Well,out of curiosity I went out and noticed my battery teetering between 3/4 and 1/2 so I ran all my lights etc and my meter started beeping when It got a solid 1/2 light. Probably won’t stop draining but that’s a good that it beeps

[Guitarman]

Hello, I’m a uk owner of a great west van classic supreme,2001
I have recently encountered a problem with this van and hope some of you guys can help.
Sometimes when i put key in ignition the petrol gauge will not move and show empty (even though the tank is full) then the van wont start, but when i jiggle around with the wiring loom, and the 3 connectors going into the ECU unit, then it would show petrol and the van would start, but then while driving it could just stop at traffic lights and cut out. Then I could also have a management light on with “no oil pressure” which i ignored as false reading. Ive also have a code “no bus” coming up, nothing has helped, ive been to 3 mechanics in uk, who are just taking my money, then telling me its fixed, and its clearly not.
I was advised to send the ECU to a company that bench tests them, i was happy that finally i will find out one way or another what is wrong.
Sadly today they called me and said they are not able to bench test it, as its not a unit that they understand, so basically, I’m more money adrift and the unit is being sent back to me, so I’m back to square one, they today as its American, they cant help. So now my lovely Great west van, is going nowhere. Can anybody help??? I know you cans open these units up and repair , but I haven’t a clue about that...

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by Guitarman

Hello, I’m a uk owner of a great west van classic supreme,2001
I have recently encountered a problem with this van and hope some of you guys can help.
Sometimes when i put key in ignition the petrol gauge will not move and show empty (even though the tank is full) then the van wont start, but when i jiggle around with the wiring loom, and the 3 connectors going into the ECU unit, then it would show petrol and the van would start, but then while driving it could just stop at traffic lights and cut out. Then I could also have a management light on with “no oil pressure” which i ignored as false reading. Ive also have a code “no bus” coming up, nothing has helped, ive been to 3 mechanics in uk, who are just taking my money, then telling me its fixed, and its clearly not.
I was advised to send the ECU to a company that bench tests them, i was happy that finally i will find out one way or another what is wrong.
Sadly today they called me and said they are not able to bench test it, as its not a unit that they understand, so basically, I’m more money adrift and the unit is being sent back to me, so I’m back to square one, they today as its American, they cant help. So now my lovely Great west van, is going nowhere. Can anybody help??? I know you cans open these units up and repair , but I haven’t a clue about that...

First etiquette of the internet forum -- do not double post.

[booster]

Originally Posted by dvrdwn

Well,out of curiosity I went out and noticed my battery teetering between 3/4 and 1/2 so I ran all my lights etc and my meter started beeping when It got a solid 1/2 light. Probably won’t stop draining but that’s a good that it beeps

I assume you are referring to a set of lights on a control panel that say battery capacity in percent? If so, they are famous for being inaccurate in most cases. They trigger off of voltage so are very susceptible to reading low due to loads being on like when you had all the lights on. You likely has more than 1/2 left when it started to beep, and it might even have gone back up a light a hour or two after you shut them off.

The best way to monitor battery state of charge is with a battery monitor like a Trimetric, which will be extremely accurate but will not shut off the power when you get too low. Second best would be a good voltmeter, but it would also be inaccurate when the batteries have load on them or haven't been rested an hour before checking. If you happen to have wet cells, a hydrometer will also give a very good reading.

IMO, you shouldn't get hung up on the 50% state of charge being the minimum you can discharge. Some research we did here on the forum a while ago, using information from the various manufacturers depth of discharge vs cycle life, indicates that the extra wear on a battery from going to 20% state of charge is much less that the old 50% rule we all have heard about so much, for years. Some places would have you think that if you go lower than 50% your batteries will almost immediately fail, and this is just not correct, from all the information we could find. There certainly will be some people that disagree with this, but we have never been presented with any data that would show the 50% rule to be correct when talking about how much total energy the battery can store and recover in it's lifespan. The 50% rule appears to be based on how many cycles you get at various discharge levels, not how much energy you store and use, so is not an accurate reflection of battery life in the real world.

[Guitarman]

Second thing is, i dont need you to tell me that, firstly, it was a mistake , crystal?