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Robocop
24th January 2012, 06:44 PM
A Quick one...

Drove from Wagga to Leeton (return trip) 1.5 hr each way yesterday.. Went to start the D4 this arvo with a complete flat battery. It was locked & in the garage with the windows cracked & the engle on. The engle is working fine so the Traxide kit & 2nd batt haven't failed. Is there anything else that runs in the background I need to be aware of?

Graeme
24th January 2012, 07:59 PM
The suspension ecu wakes-up every so often to check heights but to wake-up it has to be drawing power, as do some other ecus. However that wont flatten a charged battery in such a short time if all is well, so perhaps your vehicle has a dud battery.

~Rich~
24th January 2012, 08:04 PM
I had a similar issue too:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/129316-leaking-voltage.html

I have noticed with an old Engel that the fridge will keep running even when the auxillary battery is down to 8 volts, possibly even lower.

Ean Austral
24th January 2012, 09:02 PM
Is it possible the traxide unit is wired wrong or the controller is not switching and the engle has drained the main battery first...

Havent had a close look at how its wired, so not sure if this can happen, but sure Tim will correct me.

Just a thought

Cheers Ean

Robocop
24th January 2012, 09:40 PM
Yeah maybe, I'll call Tim tomorrow sometime, I've had the same engle since 2002 & it hasn't skipped a beat. The green led was flashing fast on the Traxide box & I don't know what it means.

connock
25th January 2012, 09:06 AM
I had a similar issue too:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/129316-leaking-voltage.html

I have noticed with an old Engel that the fridge will keep running even when the auxillary battery is down to 8 volts, possibly even lower.

The older engle fridges pre voltage cut out will keep running , till your battery is totaled. Also as the battery gets below 10v the compresor motor in the fridge will start to over heat and then start to delaminate the motor bindings. Keep this in mind as a new fridge is dearer than a battery to replace.:(

connock

~Rich~
25th January 2012, 09:25 AM
Yes a good idea to fit a low voltage cut out switch.

12vdc Low Voltage Cut-Out ideal for Engel Waeco fridge | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12vdc-Low-Voltage-Cut-Out-ideal-Engel-Waeco-fridge-/390280205019?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5ade8352db)

SWH
25th January 2012, 11:11 AM
Robocop

Same thing almost exactly happened to me in Alice in July except had parked overnight after 200 ks trip. Was in and out of car next morning to 10am when I could not open the rear door. This was the first sign of a problem.

The cause was never determined and the car battery was found to be ok after recharging from mains. My main battery was at 8.7 volts when the problem was found.

Could not even jump start the car.

Had no such problem since either.

Spoke to Tim at the time but only could think some dead short of unknown origin.

Have now installed an isolator to disconnect the computer but allows interior lights to work if necessary.

Stephen

perkj
27th January 2012, 08:30 AM
Yeah maybe, I'll call Tim tomorrow sometime, I've had the same engle since 2002 & it hasn't skipped a beat. The green led was flashing fast on the Traxide box & I don't know what it means.


This means the Traxide separated the batteries because it detected the average voltage between the two was less than 12.1V. Sounds like the Traxide did the right thing and is working correctly.

ADMIRAL
27th January 2012, 11:52 PM
A Quick one...

Drove from Wagga to Leeton (return trip) 1.5 hr each way yesterday.. Went to start the D4 this arvo with a complete flat battery. It was locked & in the garage with the windows cracked & the engle on. The engle is working fine so the Traxide kit & 2nd batt haven't failed. Is there anything else that runs in the background I need to be aware of?

Yes...I have experienced the same issue. It seems that if the main battery is not in tip top condition, you will have hiccups. This can mean problems with starting on cold mornings after limited run time to keep the battery fully charged, or running a fridge . I had the fridge kill ( too low to start the vehicle ) the main battery with the Traxide connected. Linking the main and the aux. with a short jumper cable, and the vehicle starts immediately. Points to the main having issues once it has been run down. I did a test recently but need more time to take readings. I ran the fridge overnight in the vehicle, drove it briefly to pick up a paper, and left it running until late afternoon. The main would then not start the vehicle. I suspect my main battery ( just over two years old ) is crook under load. Just have to prove it.