18-11-2020, 06:34 PM
On these last two dark, dingy afternoons I’ve been doing a job in the caravan so I’ve needed all the lights on. I’d noticed that, in spite of all the lights being LED, the battery voltage has been falling quite quickly. So, before I finished for the day, I got out my battery meter and ran a test on the battery. Sure enough, the meter confirmed that the battery was on its last legs.
But it’s no big surprise. It was about to have its fifth birthday this month. In late November of 2015, I’d just spent my second night in the van at Salamanca when I was awakened in the early hours by the carbon monoxide alarm chirping. Since I had no gas appliances lit, I assumed the alarm had developed a fault, so I removed the battery and went back to bed. In the morning, I replaced the battery, but within half an hour, it was sounding again. Once again I removed the battery. Later in the day, I became aware of an unpleasant smell so I started to investigate. Sink, fridge, cupboards, under-bed lockers. They were all checked, but the smell seemed strongest under the bed. Eventually, I looked in the battery box and immediately saw thin wisps of smoke. I touched one of the terminals and found they were too hot to touch. I quickly removed the 230v plug and frantically went looking for spanners in the car. I’m convinced the battery was about to explode.
I would need a replacement battery but it was too late in the day to go looking. I spent the evening on the internet and discovered that on the far side of Salamanca, there was a Carrefour Superstore. It was to there I went the following morning. On their shelves, I found an identical battery to that which is under the bonnet of my car – a high duty 096 model. I bought it, and returned to the van to fit it. Over its five years lifetime, it’s given sterling service, coping well with some long manoeuvres on the motor mover. Its replacement should arrive tomorrow.
But it’s no big surprise. It was about to have its fifth birthday this month. In late November of 2015, I’d just spent my second night in the van at Salamanca when I was awakened in the early hours by the carbon monoxide alarm chirping. Since I had no gas appliances lit, I assumed the alarm had developed a fault, so I removed the battery and went back to bed. In the morning, I replaced the battery, but within half an hour, it was sounding again. Once again I removed the battery. Later in the day, I became aware of an unpleasant smell so I started to investigate. Sink, fridge, cupboards, under-bed lockers. They were all checked, but the smell seemed strongest under the bed. Eventually, I looked in the battery box and immediately saw thin wisps of smoke. I touched one of the terminals and found they were too hot to touch. I quickly removed the 230v plug and frantically went looking for spanners in the car. I’m convinced the battery was about to explode.
I would need a replacement battery but it was too late in the day to go looking. I spent the evening on the internet and discovered that on the far side of Salamanca, there was a Carrefour Superstore. It was to there I went the following morning. On their shelves, I found an identical battery to that which is under the bonnet of my car – a high duty 096 model. I bought it, and returned to the van to fit it. Over its five years lifetime, it’s given sterling service, coping well with some long manoeuvres on the motor mover. Its replacement should arrive tomorrow.