solar battery maintenance

Cheers Dave

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

internal discharge in one or more of the batteries.

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How do I check for this?

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

a diode on one winding of the alternator going leaky but not completely failed yet.

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would this have an effect without the engine running?

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

a relay that drives something thats sticking in the on position even though the relay is de-energised.

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I've been having issues with the suspension compressor, recently replaced but showing an intermittent fault, so well worth a check. How does one check a relay's function?

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

something installed aftermarket thats interferering with vehicle operation or is in itself a drain (some cheap USB sockets draw up to 500mA if your using them or not)

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Hmm, I recently installed an anchor USB hub but it was on a key controlled circuit. I'll disconnect it and see if it makes any difference.

to check for internal self discharge the simple way is to drop the terminals off do a load check on the battery, leave it a week and do it again. if the test varies the battery is dying

a leaky diode will have an effect as the output terminal is live to to the battery all the time.

pull the relay measure for resistance across the solenoid terminal to all other terminals then check from the common terminal to both the NC and NO terminal then from NC to NO terminals.

common to NO should show infinite resistance Common to NC should show zero and NO to NC should show infinite.

I have 4 outlets that are permanenatly on the aux battery for emergancy use and charging if I get desperate or want to plug in a trickle charger. My USB's are very old and have a contact switch built into the socket that controls the 12V supply, if nothing is plugged in they are turned off.

Does it require specialist equipment or is there a DIY method for load testing the batteries?

I'll pull the relay tomorrow and check it as desscribed

I'm not that happy with the USB mod so it'll come out. I'll keep your of fitting a switch in mind for the replacement.

I pulled the suspension relay and put a photo up of the diagram. The only continuity is between terminals 1 & 2. I pulled a second identical one and the readings were the same so I assume its functional. I'll check the others in the morning. In the mean time I've left the EAS relay out.

I also pulled out the USB hub, its too late in the day to see if its made a difference, I'll check tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by Magnet6x6

Does it require specialist equipment or is there a DIY method for load testing the batteries?

I'll pull the relay tomorrow and check it as desscribed

I'm not that happy with the USB mod so it'll come out. I'll keep your of fitting a switch in mind for the replacement.

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Yes but its nor particualary accurate and reads a lot of false positives.

Put a known heavy load on the battery (all of your lights for 2 minutes) and read the voltage while the load is on, let the battery settle for 5 and check the voltage again.

repeat the check after a week of sitting if the voltage has changed significantly its self discharging.

of course a really bad battery will drop voltage in the 1/1000th and 1/100th range while you watch it with no load save the multimeter.