Total battery discharge with caravan attached.

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jjg70
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:35 pm

Post by jjg70 »

I have just brought my caravan back from France where it has been kept in storage for the last 7 years. My Karoq 1.5 TSI SE L DSG is now just over a year old and although I've only done just over 5000 miles from new, it has not caused me the slightest problem. The towing kit was fitted by a local fitter who specialises in VW Group cars. The car towed my caravan sweet as a nut, even though it has a 1430kg MTPLM, making it a 105% match, which is not recommended, although it is within the car's 1500kg towing limit. I came back on the overnight ferry from Saint Malo to Portsmouth and left the car connected to the caravan electrics as I have always done with my previous motors. The worst possible scenario occurred when we got to the car deck in the morning to disembark and the car battery did not even have enough power to open the central locking. I immediately reported the matter to the Brittany Ferries guys, who are all French and I've got to say, they were brilliant. They were on You Tube and on the phone to their mates in France in attempts to resolve the problem and get the bonnet up in order to jump start the battery. One of them found out about a small key that withdraws from the fob and he used it to open the car somehow. The bonnet was opened and the car started. Then there was the problem of not being able to get the car into Drive and by this time I was holding up disembarkation for God knows how many other vehicle on that car deck. Eventually this problem was resolved and I drove off, keeping the engine running until I was confident that the car battery was recharged. I have since discovered that the caravan battery is incapable of holding a full charge due to the couple of years of disuse and discharge due to covid. In the past, I have always left the car connected up to the caravan during ferry crossing and never any problem, although I've since discovered that some caravanners disconnect during a long crossing. I am hoping that the problem was caused by the caravan battery being defective and discharging the car battery, rather than a fault in the Karoq's wiring. The reason for bringing the caravan back was to get rid of it and buy a smaller caravan, more suited to the car, which I have done. I'm hoping one of you more technical guys might be able to tell me the cause of the problem. Is it, as I suspect, the knackered caravan battery discharging the car battery, or should I get the towing electrics on the car checked out? Incidentally, anyone wondering about the Karoq's suitability as a tow vehicle - even with an overweight caravan, it performed very well. Fuel consumption was only 21mpg, but it could maintain 60mph, although I kept to 50 - 55 to be on the safe side.

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kodiaq
Posts: 841
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2018 6:33 pm
Location: Poole, Dorset.

Post by kodiaq »

Sounds like a drain caused by dodgy 'van battery.
BTW max towing speed for 'van inUK is 50mph!!
Colin Lambert.
Poole, Dorset.
Diploma Auto Eng.
Moderator Karoq & HR-V Fora.
(Kodiaq Forum Moderator, resigned!)
jjg70
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:35 pm

Post by jjg70 »

As I thought with caravan battery. Incidentally, unless the law has changed, it's 60 mph for towing on motorways and dual carriageways unless a lower limit is in force. It comes down to 50 mph on single carriageways. Compliance with traffic laws has gone down the pan anyway since the powers that be decided to decimate Police Traffic Patrol Departments to pander to the public who wanted more plods on the streets.
Sigo
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2018 2:29 pm

Post by Sigo »

I left a cooler box connected to my Karoq Edition (2018) overnight on a ferry, next morning total battery discharge. Crew jump started me and off I went. Once learned never forgotten, plug nothing into the car charging points when immobile.
Ian Grist
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2021 6:08 am

Post by Ian Grist »

Bit of power used by a cooler, ….ok when the motor is running but only to be expected the battery would be drained overnight without any charge going to the energy source
jjg70
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:35 pm

Post by jjg70 »

Having researched the costs of UK Caravan sites, it looks like I'll be continuing French holidays, so will be making regular overnight ferry crossings.
I'm just going to make a point of disconnecting the caravan electrics from the vehicle.
If I get the chance to speak to someone who fits towing kit to cars, I'll enquire with him as to why I got the discharge with the Skoda and have never had it with any other vehicle. I really think that if the car ignition is switched off, this should sever the electrical connection between car and caravan.
Ian Grist
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2021 6:08 am

Post by Ian Grist »

I always pulled the plug between the vehicle and the caravan on any make or model of towing vehicle I’ve used, as I’ve flattened the car battery on a few occasions, so I then took to taking a fully charged battery and installing it in the van storage case and connecting that on overnight stops, then also I had a portable charger which I used to recharge this battery when I was able to use mains electricity
sanqhar
Posts: 142
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:55 pm

Post by sanqhar »

Why not just power the caravan battery via a switched relay. That way the car and van will only be connected when the car ignition is on.

tom
....and today was a good day in the life of....
jjg70
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:35 pm

Post by jjg70 »

I have now taken delivery of my new caravan and the guy doing the handover at Lowdhams seemed quite knowledgeable so I explained the situation to him. He said it depends on who has wired the car up for the caravan connectivity.
Some do it so that it's just connected to the car's live wiring and others connect it so that the car ignition switches off the caravan live feed.
Apparently neither way is right or wrong and he recommends that the electrics are disconnected if the car engine is not run for any extended period, such as a ferry crossing - which is what I intend to do anyway.
Thanks for all the helpful comments.
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