Start Battery Issues

[plyonsMC9]

Great!  Thanks Jeff.  This might make a good thread for the magazine.

Kind Regards, Phil

[txjeff]

I had a chance to check the batteries over the weekend, one was 12.0 the other was 12.2. It seems that adding the disconnect to the 12 volt supply off the vanner resolved the issue. I am still not sure why the battery with the 12 volt tap was holding and the other was discharging. It is strange that after a couple of years that this issue just appeared, but as I said before on a 40 year old vehicle anything is possible. I may still add battery cutoffs to each battery, that way there is no draw at all.

jeff

[buswarrior]

With many years of fooling with equipment and autos, some of it mine, a lot of it in a workplace environment...

Batteries which are faithfully disconnected completely hold up best.

The only complication for some busnuts would be to put a charge to the batteries now and again, if in longer term storage.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[luvrbus]

The Vanner is made in so many different models most use the Volt Master series, they draw 14 milliamps in the standby mode I know it doesn't sound like much but they will choose a battery from the center tap and will kill that battery  


If you keep both batteries above 12.8 they will draw from both batteries best to disconnect when not in use as the voltage lowers in the batteries the milliamp draw increases BTDT that is the way the Vanner people explained it to me

good luck

[txjeff]

BW & luvrbus

I agree with both of you that the best solution is to completely disconnect the batteries. One note I will add for some of the newer members, even with the main Bus disconnect switch in the off position there is still a draw on the start batteries with a vanner.

jeff

[buswarrior]

Yes, a busnut needs to go to greater lengths than a single battery switch, if a vanner equalizer is involved.

Think of it as the cost of doing business?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[gus]

What bw said, I have disconnect switches on every battery in every vehicle I own.

[sledhead]

I checked mine last night and found my left battery at the verner was 11.9 v with a latching solenoid ? and the right side battery was at 12.6 v . I reversed the two bateries to see if the low battery will come back                               dave