Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:08:19 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Another naive battery question
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="UTF-8"; reply-type=original
< guress I didn't send this >
Do you have the two fuses right behind the driver's seat ?
Pulling one of those will cut power to the fridge fan I believe.
I noticed that too..
Had Westy sitting in the sun on a super hot day ..
everything is off. Everything.
Fridge fan sensor sees enough heat ..
it runs that little fan.
I don't think in germany when the designed it they enviisoned westy's in
temps like you are seeing ..
for hours and hours a day, and for days on end.
How weird ..
just being hot enoug can drain a battery that way. Who would think ?
it's their climate in germany .....not blazing hot there that often I don't
think..
and of course now ..we are having much higher temps on average , overall...
than they had back then , when they designed the thing.
sounds like a good application for a solar battery maintainer panel, or
charger panel. Just one sitting on the dash plugged into the cigarette
lighert will keep the main-starting battery up. When it's sunny.
things are a changin' ..
sure looks that way.
glad I got to experience saneness, like say in the 80's and even 90's.
Things weren't that weird at all back then.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Mcneely" <mcneely4@COX.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 8:55 AM
Subject: Another naive battery question
> It has been brutally hot here (central Oklahoma) this summer. Heat is
> hard on batteries. But heat adds another dimension to battery problems
> with the camper (1991 Volkswagen Vanagon GL Campmobile). When the van
> sits in the sun the refrigerator exhaust fan runs. I've noticed it
> before, but this summer, with days and days of 110 F temperatures, it has
> run a lot. (1) How much of a drain on the battery is that, and (2) would
> it make sense to disconnect the fan if the thing is going to sit for a
> while. Actually, I can't think of anything in my van that needs to be
> "online," so would it make sense simply to disconnect one battery post
> (easier to get to than the refrigerator fan). Or, I could just pull the
> proper fuse.
>
> Comments?
>
> mcneely
