To all who have said our alternator might be faulty, we followed your advice and after more diagnostics, it turns out our van's oh-so-smart alternator doesn't kick in until your press the accelerator once the van has started, this brings the voltage of the battery up to 14.1V. We're going to keep checking it, just in case it's not smart and just slow. Keep you updated 👍
Very wise decision! I did bought a 2015 Crafter convert and the battery died on me in the first day. almost every 5 years the battery has to be changed. mine was 90A. keep up the good job guys as always, cheers!
@@FreedomStrider I'm gonna make a video doing all the maintenance of the Crafter at once, 1. Liqumoly engine cleaner right before oil change. (also oil change plus air and oil filter replacement). 2. hydraulic steering fluid flush following up adding additive to it. 3. Changing antifreeze and adding leak prevent liquid. 4. changing back axle and flushing gearbox oil. 5. flushing break-fluid. It might be interesting all in one video isn't it?
Well yeah certainly it will be handy to have as a crash course for someone to check over their vans health - our plan is to release them on a vlog, as it happens basis, but certainly if you put out something like that we'll definitely check up on it, it's a big task. 🙂
Not sure if I saw a vent tube on your installation or not, but beware that most series 49 batteries have two predrilled vent tubes to mitigate toxic fumes. My Sprinter had the vent tube near the Negative terminal, and the replacement battery had the open port on the opposite side (Positive side), so I had to swap out the plug. Everything is now the way it should be, with the factory clear plastic tube inserted on the Negative side. Thanks for your video, the tip about the magnet helped a lot!!
Our original battery indeed had a vent tube however the new battery was a completely sealed one, with no vent outlet on it, so there was nowhere to reinstall the vent tubing, it was a completely sealed unit 👍
Hi Guys. Good idea to fit an AGM battery for van starting. I did not know that these were suitable for high draw uses as they are normally known as deep cycle batteries more suitable for leisure battery use. Great video well explained.
Eek!! Yeah I think the lack of us driving has caused the battery to slowly discharge, it's the lack of long journeys...I think vanlife meetups should be treated as essential at this point! 🤣
Hello van dwellers, my understanding is that a battery usually last 5 years if you're lucky you might get 6 years out of it. But at the end of 5 years you need to always change the vehicle battery. They are usually have some information on top of when the battery was made and go from that.
my crafter still starts but the voltmeter ive plugged in to the 12v socket only reads 11.5, but goes upto 14.3 when engine is running. Im going to remove the battery and charge it for at least 24hours and see if that refreshes it
Hi Guy's ..i'm a bit concerned that when you started your van the battery voltage did not go up high enough. I would have expected to see the alternator bring it up to greater than 14v. You may want to check that.
We do have a smart alternator yes, if the battery is wearing out and not able to hold its charge well, then it might not be great to be drawing 50A out of it 😁 It was more so preventative maintenance batteries should be replaced every 5 years or so, and ours has never been replaced so it's a good time to do it 👍
We had no trouble with the van recognising the battery... though we have a 2014 VW Crafter - there may be a few minor differences. Which van model and year do you have?
Probably the Y cable. I'm dealing with that right now. It would explain why your battery went bad and why you were having trouble with starting. Alternator just never got the battery fully charged
Feels a bit like a firecracker spark, thankfully - but I'm sure you know that a 12V electric shock can't push much Amperage through the skin but you can still feel the spark if that is what you mean
The battery is securely in there... The long bolts only fit it that plastic rig that only fit in the manufacturers battery case and thankful the bolts proved unnecessary. The battery box provides a tight enough fit and all the cables increase the rigidity.
Freedom Strider The bolts are not to be screwed twice. 😳 They are falling into their holes, without any resistance... I have fixed the battery with two woodblocks! Made in Germany is not that, it used to be... 🥺 By the way: Is it also wet beyond your main footmate???
To all who have said our alternator might be faulty, we followed your advice and after more diagnostics, it turns out our van's oh-so-smart alternator doesn't kick in until your press the accelerator once the van has started, this brings the voltage of the battery up to 14.1V. We're going to keep checking it, just in case it's not smart and just slow. Keep you updated 👍
Very wise decision! I did bought a 2015 Crafter convert and the battery died on me in the first day. almost every 5 years the battery has to be changed. mine was 90A.
keep up the good job guys as always, cheers!
Yep, we're just doing preventative maintenance these batteries only last 4-5 years it was time to change it 👍
@@FreedomStrider I'm gonna make a video doing all the maintenance of the Crafter at once, 1. Liqumoly engine cleaner right before oil change. (also oil change plus air and oil filter replacement). 2. hydraulic steering fluid flush following up adding additive to it. 3. Changing antifreeze and adding leak prevent liquid. 4. changing back axle and flushing gearbox oil. 5. flushing break-fluid.
It might be interesting all in one video isn't it?
Good video guys, you need to change the odometer to miles though ha
Well yeah certainly it will be handy to have as a crash course for someone to check over their vans health - our plan is to release them on a vlog, as it happens basis, but certainly if you put out something like that we'll definitely check up on it, it's a big task. 🙂
Nah we prefer km - we changed it specifically 🤪 (although we do need to change the clock and date still...)
Best walkthrough I’ve found, thank you so much for sharing. Used it to replace a battery today 👍
Thank you 😃... Glad we could help out.
Not sure if I saw a vent tube on your installation or not, but beware that most series 49 batteries have two predrilled vent tubes to mitigate toxic fumes. My Sprinter had the vent tube near the Negative terminal, and the replacement battery had the open port on the opposite side (Positive side), so I had to swap out the plug. Everything is now the way it should be, with the factory clear plastic tube inserted on the Negative side. Thanks for your video, the tip about the magnet helped a lot!!
Our original battery indeed had a vent tube however the new battery was a completely sealed one, with no vent outlet on it, so there was nowhere to reinstall the vent tubing, it was a completely sealed unit 👍
Hi Guys. Good idea to fit an AGM battery for van starting. I did not know that these were suitable for high draw uses as they are normally known as deep cycle batteries more suitable for leisure battery use. Great video well explained.
It's a special type of AGM I believe, it can handle high Amp draw upto 850A :)
Snap!! We need to do the same as well. Our reading during lockdown was 10.8 😬
Eek!! Yeah I think the lack of us driving has caused the battery to slowly discharge, it's the lack of long journeys...I think vanlife meetups should be treated as essential at this point! 🤣
Hi, nice and clear demonstration of a battery replacement 👍. Any issues like codes needing reentering once the battery was replaced?
Thanks 😊 No codes showed up, only the time and date reset on the main dash but that was it
Hello van dwellers, my understanding is that a battery usually last 5 years if you're lucky you might get 6 years out of it. But at the end of 5 years you need to always change the vehicle battery. They are usually have some information on top of when the battery was made and go from that.
Yep, ours said 2014 so that's over 5 years old, it was time to change it :)
Battery quality and maintenance has a great deal to do with battery life. I got 10 years out of my last Bosch lead acid battery.
CCA is also important.
Yes it is, especially for vans, we made sure our CCA was the same as our old battery 🔋
Very nice 👍🏼, VanLifeRocks
my crafter still starts but the voltmeter ive plugged in to the 12v socket only reads 11.5, but goes upto 14.3 when engine is running. Im going to remove the battery and charge it for at least 24hours and see if that refreshes it
Probably best, if after that the same thing happens, the capacity on your battery is shot and eventually it won't start the van 👍
Hi Guy's ..i'm a bit concerned that when you started your van the battery voltage did not go up high enough. I would have expected to see the alternator bring it up to greater than 14v. You may want to check that.
We'll keep an eye on it and do a few tests, our MOT is in a couple of months as well so we'll ask them to check , thanks for pointing that out 😊
Just curious, why would your van battery be under more strain with your habitation electrics? I can't remember if your van has a smart alternator.,👍
We do have a smart alternator yes, if the battery is wearing out and not able to hold its charge well, then it might not be great to be drawing 50A out of it 😁
It was more so preventative maintenance batteries should be replaced every 5 years or so, and ours has never been replaced so it's a good time to do it 👍
You don't need to unbolt anything, you can can slide the floor out one the service thing is popped out. At least you can in my one
You can in our one as well, we didn't know that the 1st time around. 🙂
I understood that you have to get the vehicle to recognise the new battery otherwise a fault code appears?
Or is Mercedes pulling my leg?
We had no trouble with the van recognising the battery... though we have a 2014 VW Crafter - there may be a few minor differences.
Which van model and year do you have?
It should be showing over 14v with the engine running, the alternator could be faulty
Thanks for the tip we'll be looking into it - I think the alternator is still working, but not fully prehaps
Probably the Y cable. I'm dealing with that right now. It would explain why your battery went bad and why you were having trouble with starting. Alternator just never got the battery fully charged
Tell me more about a 12 volt electric shock
Feels a bit like a firecracker spark, thankfully - but I'm sure you know that a 12V electric shock can't push much Amperage through the skin but you can still feel the spark if that is what you mean
@@FreedomStrider no I have worked with 12vdc for 25 years and never felt as much as a tingle
Aha! You didnt tighten the battery?
Good Idea!
The battery is securely in there... The long bolts only fit it that plastic rig that only fit in the manufacturers battery case and thankful the bolts proved unnecessary. The battery box provides a tight enough fit and all the cables increase the rigidity.
Freedom Strider
The bolts are not to be screwed twice. 😳 They are falling into their holes, without any resistance...
I have fixed the battery with two woodblocks!
Made in Germany is not that, it used to be...
🥺
By the way: Is it also wet beyond your main footmate???
Change the Alternator bro 😂😂😂
We did end up doing this a few years after this replacemenet :)
Your alternator isn’t charging
We'll look into it 🙂
Witam. Ale ładowania to nie masz. Jest bardzo małe. Regulator napięcia ze szczotkotrzymaczem out
The alternator does charge the battery it just takes a while. 👍
@@FreedomStrider Witam. Przetłumaczyłem sobie Twoją odpowiedź. Nie bardzo tego nie mogę sobie logicznie poukładać . W końcu na czym polegała awaria?
The battery was old. The battery had lost capasity. So we replaced it with a new one and it all worked fine.
@@FreedomStrider dzięki. Taka możliwość też istnieje. Poprostu akumulator stracił swoją pojemność . Pozdrawiam serdecznie i życzę zdrowia w nowym roku