A bit about our van Archie:

Hello all,
We’ve had Archie (née Magda) for 8 months now and we love going out in him. It’s mostly day trips at the moment, but we’ve had one weekend away to Beer in Devon.  The Beer Head Caravan site is on a bit of a slope but the view out over Lyme Bay is gorgeous.

I have a few observations I would like to share to see if they strike a chord anywhere:
We bought Archie from VWKampers and received excellent service from them.  I found the van almost impossible to drive with the standard (RHD conversion) gear lever and brake pedal.  VWK agreed to change the gear lever for an EMPI item and to fit their patent brake linkage intermediate plate.  The improvement with these parts fitted was incredible and made the 90 odd mile trip home much more comfortable.  It was still an interesting experience, never having driven a Kombi further than the short test drive I had before buying.

Both my wife, Sharon, & I found the steering very heavy at times, and the wandering around the carriageway a bit disconcerting.  Neither of us are getting any younger, and we want to use the van for many years to come, so we decided to put the money from the sale of my Volvo (something had to go!) into a new steering set-up.  Consequently Archie went off to Danbury to have rack and pinion / power assisted steering fitted.  That went well, apart from the lack of communication from Danbury, and he now behaves very well on the road and we both love driving him.

Does anyone know whether the leisure battery is supposed to recharge when the van is plugged into the mains?  If Archie is not being used for a few days I usually connect the mains and run my dehumidifier inside to keep things dry.  I would’ve thought this would be enough to charge the leisure battery, but the most I seem to get is two lights on the test panel. Is this normal?
I was also wondering if I had the right sized wheels/tyres (185R14C) as the speedo seemed to be a bit optimistic compared to the roadside speed screens and a sat-nav that I borrowed, but I have since found a thread on the site which shows that I am far from alone in this regard.
One other thing; I was looking under the dashboard and saw that the air vents have been blocked-up with what looks like structural foam in a black plastic bag.  The front exterior vent is still there above the radiator.  Is there a reason that this feature has been disabled? I assume that the lack of ventilator is what necessitated the heated screen, or was it the other way around – we’ve fitted the heated screen so we won’t need the ventilator.
We’re looking forward to some good weather and getting out and about more regularly.  Please give us a wave if you see us.

Andrew.
P.S: Well done to Absinthe in the CCCOTY ‘competition’.  Clearly the highlight of the programme.

Hello Andrew,

We are also among the older members of the forum, and have had similar experience to yourselves. Our van came from VW Kampers, and they fitted Litesteer power steering and an EMPI gearstick for us. We also found the "wandering" difficult to get used to, and had Red9 rack and pinion fitted. We didn't go down the Danbury direct drive route because it would have left us with a surplus Litesteer kit. The steering is now very easy and very precise, although some members of the forum are still addicted to "wandering"

Your leisure battery should certainly charge when connected to the mains. I always plug it in for a day before a trip. Have you tried the test panel when your dehumidifier is not running? All the lights should come on, including the green light at the top. I'm wondering if your leisure battery is coming to the end of its life. It might be worth getting it checked at a tyre centre, although I usually ring round before I go to those places to make sure that I am going to the one which has the best prices.

You live in a great part of the country for campervans. We have a few members in your area. It's worth checking out Dubs in the Forest. Camping tickets are sold out for this year, but there are still day tickets available.

Alan

Welcome Andrew (and welcome back Archie!)

Wandering is a very common issue with our vans and is due mainly to the very old design of the steering components. Owners tend to get used to it after a while and regular servicing and regreasing helps tremendously. Lots of owners, including ourselves, have opted for one of the power steering options to help with small space manoeuvring while others like the authentic feel and regular bicep workouts.

I curious about your leisure battery, I am assuming your dehumidifier is plugged into one of the 240v sockets, in which case it should have no impact on your leisure battery at all, and after being plugged in for a short time (a few minutes, and assuming nothing else is switched on - lights, fridge, stereo etc) all the lights on the battery tester should be lit.

If not, there are some things to check:
1) is the battery charger switched on - should be under the seat next to the battery.
2) fuses around the battery and charger and the 30a or 40a one next to the main battery in the boot.
3) is everything switched off - fridge, interior lights, stereo, tv/DVD (if installed)

It may of course be that the battery has 'expired' but worth checking everything else first, and if you can find a battery charger with a reconditioning option you will be able to revive it for a while too.

Hi Andrew , welcome to the forum.

I won't add to Alan and Keith's comments but would recommend you consider attending the Kombi Sleepover on 29th May - 2nd Jun (1 , 2 and 3 Night Camping options are available).

Would be a great opportunity for you to talk through any minor issues you have , meet the gang and check out other peoples vans. A workshop will be running on the Monday morning which will be invaluable to many of us.

Great to see Archie has found a loving home and look forward to seeing you out and about.

Welcome Andrew and thank you for the kind words about Absinthe.

If you can make it to the Sleepover, you won't be disappointed - it's s great weekend with lots of lovely people.

Hi and welcome. When you get a chance it would be great to see some pictures of your Kombi.

I'm wondering if you have the same set up as us with your leisure battery. It charges when the engine is running using a split relay but does not gain any charge from being plugged into the mains. The mains hook up was installed as an independent unit.
I've never seen any more than 2 orange lights either!

Thank you all for your very quick replies.  I have just been outside trying a few of the suggestions, here's what I found:
All appliances are switched off & no dehumidifier connected.  Without the engine on or the mains plugged in, the leisure battery voltage measured 12.55V at the terminals.  I plugged in the mains and the battery voltage still measured 12.55V, so I think that there is no mains charging going on (there are only the middle two lights showing on the test panel all this time).  When I tested the Leisure battery voltage with the engine running (without mains hook-up) the terminal voltage was 14.5V.  I'm now thinking that we have the 'split relay' type charging system.  I have read a little about this but need to find more. My first thought was 'could I mount a small trickle charger in the compartment next to the battery and plug it into the spare socket there' this would provide charging when the mains is connected, but would it be compatible with the split relay system? I will have to do some more research.
I tested the smaller of the two fuses in the engine compartment (see photo), it was ok.
I didn't touch the larger fuse as it appears to be part of the main system & I want to find out a bit more about it first.
The only switch near the leisure battery is a small distribution unit (see photo).  All three levers are in the 'on' position.
Thank you all for your comments & suggestions.  I shall keep you posted with developments and a few photos (after I've got the polish out!)
Andrew

You may well be right, have you checked inside the enclosure with the leisure battery?

The 13a socket in the picture may well have been added exactly for that purpose, adding a charger (trickle or otherwise) will be fine on the assumption that your hookup won't be connected when the engine is running.

See if you can get a Ctech intelligent charger, one with a reconditioning function if poss, we have one and find it well worth the money.

I phoned Danbury, & spoke to Matt, with the intention of finding out what kind of system was fitted to my van.  He was insistent that there would be a charger in the compartment next to the battery. You can see from the photo that there isn't one there, so I had a poke around and, lo-and-behold, there is an electrical box of tricks in the cupboard under the gas bottle.  I had previously assumed it to be something to do with either the gas supply or other electrical business.  I now need to follow Matt's advice and check for a light on the charger and see if it's tripped out!
Thinking back to when I bought the van I think I remember them saying something about the battery charging when the hook-up was connected, but I was trying to take in so much information at the time it slipped my mind.
Archie's all tucked up for the night now so it's a job for tomorrow morning.
Thanks again for the support.
Andrew

This is getting odd: I investigated the electrical installation in the cupboard and found a Danfoss model number on it; it's the fridge controller so no joy there.
So despite what Matt from Danbury says, I have come to the conclusion that I have no mains charger fitted.  I have had a look at the Ctek models suggested by Tallulah and will probably go for one of them.  I can't imagine a retro-fit Danbury charger would be cheaper.
I have attached a photo of the under-seat space, I can't see anything remotely 'chargerish' in there. I shall e-mail it to Matt to get his reaction.
Thank you all for you interest and suggestions.
Andrew

What about in the white boxed in space with the battery itself? The lid should be removable by sliding it back, lifting the front then sliding it forward and out.

The battery space contains only the battery.  I have taken a couple of photos but it isn't very clear.
I've emailed Danbury but I don't expect a reply until later this week.

Andrew

I'm certain that when your van was originally converted it did not have electric hook up. At some point a previous owner had it installed but didn't wire it up to charge the leisure battery whilst plugged in.

Mine has the same set up. I had the mains hook up installed after I bought the van and it doesn't charge the leisure battery when hooked up. I've looked into attaching a Ctek charger to the battery and then connecting it to the mains but to be honest I get 3 days of supply from the leisure battery off a full charge and I wouldn't camp anywhere for longer without a hook up to power a separate fridge etc. In the long run I might look at a solar option but it would need to be cost effective.

harryhornet wrote:

I'm certain that when your van was originally converted it did not have electric hook up. At some point a previous owner had it installed but didn't wire it up to charge the leisure battery whilst plugged in.

I think you could be right.  The previous owner is a member of this forum, and I've read back through their posts and found no mention of this issue, so it may have been like it from the outset.
Do we get enough sun to make a solar charger viable? I like the idea though.

Andrew

Yes, solar panels only need daylight to provide charge now. Obviously you get more power in stronger sunlight but the panels are much more efficient than they used to be.

I've had another thought about a Ctek trickle charger:  With a bit of cunning wiring it could be used to keep the leisure battery and the engine battery in good condition.  I need to do a bit of reading around to see if this is a realistic idea.

I'll post back here when I get some more information.

Andrew

I fitted a Ctek charger that was powered from the hookup socket.

Have a look HERE

kiteman wrote:

I fitted a Ctek charger that was powered from the hookup socket.

Have a look HERE

Kiteman:  Thanks for the link, that's great information.  It seems that most questions have been answered somewhere on this forum at one time or another.

Kiteman & Tallulah: Please could you let me know which model of Ctek charger you used?  I think I will be going down that route.

Thanks & best regards,

Andrew

Mine was the XS0.8. If it's only being used to keep the battery topped up then it should be fine.

kiteman wrote:

Mine was the XS0.8. If it's only being used to keep the battery topped up then it should be fine.

Thank you.

Ours is an MXS 5.0

Tallulah wrote:

Ours is an MXS 5.0

Thank you also.

Andrew

I've got an OptiMate - I think fitting it like Kiteman did would be a great idea.

AbsintheKombi wrote:

I've got an OptiMate - I think fitting it like Kiteman did would be a great idea.

Thank you for that - now I've got more research to do

I like Kiteman's fitting method, although I do have a spare socket inside the box under the seat and could use that as it's not much use for anything else.

Andrew

I've now bought & fitted a Ctek 5.0 charger.  It sits in the well under the seat and plugs into the spare socket on the battery compartment bulkhead.  I bought a 2.5m extension at the same time so that I can connect to the main battery as well if needed.  I bought the gear from smartchargers.co.uk who were very helpful.  I asked them if the charger would be ruined if I had it working and then started the engine. They assured me that it would be ok.  Subsequently I received the same answer from Ctek themselves, they wrote:
"HI, No it will not be ruined.  If CAN go into error mode, as it will not really understand the incoming high power from the generator.  
In that case, you disconnect from both ends, and turn of the engine, then connect and charge again, if needed.  
Med vänlig hälsning
Best regards,
Teresa, CTEK SWEDEN"

I received no reply from Danbury so went ahead with this method which seems to work well so happy days!

Thank you all for your help and suggestions, I hope that I can return the favour some day.

Andrew