Aux Battery help

[rochjas]

Guys,

When I purchased my GU IV around 6 weeks ago, it came with a dual battery system already installed. I also have recently purchased a Waeco CF50 fridge ..... Its about 8 years old... but in great condition.... Last weekend I went camping and around this time last week I put the fridge in the back of the patrol just to see how it went etc.... The chap that owned the patrol before me also had a 12v outlet installed directly to the Aux battery...

I did a bit of driving for work with the fridge connected in the rear...After a few days I noticed that the error light was flashing once every 4 to 5 seconds.... According to waeco this means that there is not enough power for the fridge and this would disappear after about 1 minute after starting the car....

So on the weekend I was able to get a powered site and the fridge ran off a 240v to 12v Weaco converter with no issues at all...

I hooked the fridge up to the car for the run home an all seems ok. Today I took the Aux battery out and noticed that 3 out of the 6 cells were very very low on Water/acid. Could that be the end of my battery? Also I have charged the battery up after topping up with distilled water. I have the battery on the Gararge floor and the fridge direct connect to the battery... The error light again has come on.... once every 4 to 5 seconds.... Thought guys.... Am I up for a new battery?? Not sure what to do....

[lorrieandjas]

If you have a multimeter might pay to check out what is going on with the battery. From recollection the error is low voltage getting to the fridge? If so you can easily check what is happening with the battery. Might also be that the aux is not getting fully charged depending on type of battery, battery management system, etc. Or it could be a dying battery - multimeter will help you isolate the issue.

[oncedisturbed]

sounds like your battery is clagged and time for a new 1. if it was running on only running 3 / 6 cells, would more than likely have damaged it.

try borrow another battery and see if the light comes on, if not then your battery is knackered

[MudRunnerTD]

If the battery is stuffed and it sounds like it may well be then even if you have 12v at it on a Multi Meter it may not stand any load draw and will drop below 11 when you plug the fridge in.

Test it on the floor in the garage. put the fridge on it and test the voltage then. test again when the error occurs.

Buy a new battery ;)

[threedogs]

NEVER put a battery on the floor insulate it with some timber planks or similar, rubber matting
may have save battery but doubt it, Might be getting to 12v but not holding it.
As Mudrunner suggests test with your Multimeter To be sure

[nissannewby]

NEVER put a battery on the floor insulate it with some timber planks or similar, rubber matting
may have save battery but doubt it, Might be getting to 12v but not holding it.
As Mudrunner suggests test with your Multimeter To be sure

This isnt so bad any more with new age materials and the materials used in the battery. If you can the best thing would be to load test the battery this is the best way to know if a battery has had it. Throw it on your main battery for half an hour and see if the same thing happens. It could even be a voltage drop in the wiring if it has to travel a distance to your 12v outlet.

[2TROLLFAM]

Just asked the boys in the workshop about this and they all agreed with above diagnositic tests :) interesting about the battery sitting on the floor, general consenous was not to put it on a concrete floor for any extended period of time as it 'can' (not will) cause the cells to collapse prematurely.
Good Luck :) Batteries aint cheap - just replaced Amelia & Franks then added a 2nd to Amelia ... ouch!!

[threedogs]

I'm old school newby, plus son and Brother in law auto sparks

[megatexture]

id check it with a multimeter also and i think you will find its not holding its charge
battery world can run a load test on it for you but i dont think id bother by the sounds of it, just flip out for a new one for piece of mind also last thing you want is a waeco full of spoilt food or hot beer! if you do decide to get a new one check out this site http://www.allpurposebatteries.com.au/index.php
personaly i dont like to risk putting a battery on the floor either batterys have come far but i dont think that far yet

[the evil twin]

snip...

I also have recently purchased a Waeco CF50 fridge ..... Its about 8 years old... ...

Aahaaaa... the dreaded Waeco low voltage light problem eh....

Problem number 1 is the age of the Waeco. The low voltage sense in the early Waeco's is an absolute PIA and even with a good battery will go into "error" after several hours. The CF80's were esp bad for it.The later ones since about 3 or so years ago are better. Some (maybe all) models have a selector switch, usually a three position slider which you can set to the lowest value. The only other fix I know of is to have a higher capacity battery in good condition with a great connector (ciggy plugs totally suck) and short as possible leads to the fridge.

Problem number 2 is the suss battery. If you aren't up to speed on how to troubleshoot batteries(correctly) with a multimeter then simply go to any friendly auto eleccy and they will usually load test the battery for free.

Problem number 3 about batteries and concrete floors etc. A hangover from the good old days when they also used to sell the Batteries dry IE they came with the electrolyte in a container and you (or the servo/sparkie/whoever) filled the battery yourself when it was sold/installed.
Very valid problem years ago but the technology of the composition of the case of modern batteries has all but totally eliminated the issue which was the extremely low but omnipresent discharge current path from plate to plate thru the case material via the concrete because the case was not a very good insulator.
Nowadays the main issue is if the battery vents (esp if it is being recharged) or you spill some electrolyte on the concrete so still not a practice to be encouraged but won't affect the battery itself like it once did..

[rochjas]

Thanks all for your replies. I am heading to a mates place to have it all looked at. I to think its the battery becuase 3 out opf the 6 cells appeared to be a bit dry..... Anyway I'll keep you posted....

[TimE]

As said above check out the battery, but ............... what sort of plug is attached to the Waeco power lead?

If it is a cig type plug then I suggest you replace it. They work loose as you drive along, can heat up to the point of melting and obviously in this state not be getting enough power, hence power loss flashing error light. A lot of people have used merit style plugs and sockets to overcome this, but after stuffing around with those for a while I eventually replaced the cig plug with a 50amp Anderson plug, never had a power problem since.

[my third 256]

i was having the same problem with mine and it had a new battery would only last 12 hours found the selector switch on high
set the selector switch to low and now get 48 hours without charging
also had a slightly burnt out plug that goes into fridge and was causing low voltage (replaced with new from bcf )problem solved
Some (maybe all) models have a selector switch, usually a three position slider which you can set to the lowest value

[rochjas]

i was having the same problem with mine and it had a new battery would only last 12 hours found the selector switch on high
set the selector switch to low and now get 48 hours without charging
also had a slightly burnt out plug that goes into fridge and was causing low voltage (replaced with new from bcf )problem solved
Some (maybe all) models have a selector switch, usually a three position slider which you can set to the lowest value

Mine does not seem to have the selector switch. I have the emergency switch and thats it. I would asume that the Low Med and High switch would be near there...

[the evil twin]

Mine does not seem to have the selector switch. I have the emergency switch and thats it. I would asume that the Low Med and High switch would be near there...

Yeah mate, I wasn't sure what size/model Waeco's had 'em and what ones don't...looks like you missed out on that model.

Further to my prev post... easily the best plug style for fridges is the Engel type with the screw on backshell.
Any connector with large pins for good contact and cannot fall out or loose contact with a knock or whatever is the go.
After that style (screw on) probably the Merit however they sometimes suffer from bent contacts on the positive in the female so keep an eye on that.
Ciggy plugs are absolutey bottom of the list.

[rochjas]

Ok an update.... Purchased a MultiMeter... Hooked up the fridge and also the Multimeter to the Aux battery.... The voltage was dropping as quick as the seconds ticking by once the fridge turned on..... Hooked the Fridge up to the Main starting battery... Dropped .2 of a volt them seemed to drop very very slowly.... Tested solenoid and its working fine. Started car and Aux battery was charging at around 13.90 volts.... Looks like battery is not holding charge under load..... Also found the switch on the waeco :-P .... set it to low.... helps if you take the themo cover off when looking for things....

[nissannewby]

Sounds like the second battery has had it.

[snewin]

FWIW I had a CF-80 from new with the same problem as you described. Real PITA in the middle of the night camping when the low battery audible alarm goes off.

I got a new 2nd battery, changed the rear power from a ciggie plug to an anderson plug, re-wired it with the thickest high-copper wire I could get and problem solved.

Crappy thing bust a refrigerant line(?) in a non-repairable spot about a month out of warranty, but that's for another thread another time.

[rochjas]

Ok last update... I hope... Purchased a new century deep cycle battery yesterday... Installed it and tested all connections.... all looked fine. installed the fridge into the car and filled it with cans of drink. It ran no issues.... Got up this morning and it had cooled them all just nice. Looks like... fingers crossed... problem solved. Thanks for all your advice

[happygu]

Great to hear that you have it all resolved.....the multimeter will come in handy for years to come anyway.

[threedogs]

I have a wet pump set up tto fill battery, best thing IMO thats my aux , Well worth the money IMO