Control panel show constant 1A drain

Hi, has anyone seen anything like this? I assume that the leisure battery drain should show 0A when not in use. The control panel constantly shows 1A being used. I have carefully checked that nothing is on. Including when it is dark. I decided to park up the van and leave it for 7 days. Carefully checking each day to make sure I wasn't actually draining my batteries. Seven days later the reading is exactly the same, 80% charge.I would have expected the batteries to be toast after seven days of 1A drain.

The panel shows the battery charging on hook up or whilst driving. It correctly displays 100% charge and 13V. It shows the battery usage go up if i put the fridge on and play around with the fridge power setting. So it appears to be talking to the batteries.

Normal. Mine does the same. And it's not a precise -1A draw. Could be 0.2 and the system rounds it up. The screen is drawing current just because you activated it. Now if it reads -8A as some report then you have a problem.

Some extra explanation: While driving: due to meeting even stricter emission standards, the alternator switches off even more with the t6.1 and the batteries (car + leisure batteries) are poorly charged 'when necessary' and that up to a maximum of 80%. The car even uses from the leisure batteries (hence a minus for the number before the A). Therefore, occasionally use the maximum charging function during a ride and if you don't drive your Cali a lot (ours is also my daily vehicle), it is best to top up once a month with the cable (or apply the maximum charging function while the engine is running in neutral, also possible). The batteries will be topped to 100%.
If you get the message 'load please' or something, definitely do it because after ignoring the following message 'load immediately', the system may block and you may visit the dealer.
So take a ride with maximum charging and after a while you will be pleasantly surprised by the figure (without minus before) for the A
The data on the screen is rather precise but also instantaneous and very changeable. Don’t let yourself be blinded by it. The leisure batteries last a long time (depending on what users you have of course).
Tip: If you camp, it is best to also install the camping mode because this disconnects the car from the camper area and saves the batteries (otherwise the car constantly monitors the entire vehicle and this consumes electricity / battery: a constant -small- drain).
This and more I learned during a technical explanation in Campercentrum Amersfoort in the Netherlands. They know a lot about the california especially about the t6.1; this is actually a completely different vehicle due to the completely changed electrical installation; it was captivating

calibusje said:

Some extra explanation: While driving: due to meeting even stricter emission standards, the alternator switches off even more with the t6.1 and the batteries (car + leisure batteries) are poorly charged 'when necessary' and that up to a maximum of 80%. The car even uses from the leisure batteries (hence a minus for the number before the A). Therefore, occasionally use the maximum charging function during a ride and if you don't drive your Cali a lot (ours is also my daily vehicle), it is best to top up once a month with the cable (or apply the maximum charging function while the engine is running in neutral, also possible). The batteries will be topped to 100%.
If you get the message 'load please' or something, definitely do it because after ignoring the following message 'load immediately', the system may block and you may visit the dealer.
So take a ride with maximum charging and after a while you will be pleasantly surprised by the figure (without minus before) for the A
The data on the screen is precise but also instantaneous and very changeable. Don’t let yourself be blinded by it. The leisure batteries last a long time (depending on what users you have of course).
Tip: If you camp, it is best to also install the camping mode because this disconnects the car from the camper area and saves the batteries (otherwise the car constantly monitors the entire vehicle and this consumes electricity / battery: a constant -small- drain).
This and more I learned during a technical explanation in Campercentrum Amersfoort in the Netherlands. They know a lot about the california especially about the t6.1; this is actually a completely different vehicle due to the completely changed electrical installation; it was captivating

Click to expand...

Many thanks for the explanation . I have a lot to learn about our camper and this forum is always so helpful.

CaliforniaSeb said:

Hi, has anyone seen anything like this? I assume that the leisure battery drain should show 0A when not in use. The control panel constantly shows 1A being used. I have carefully checked that nothing is on. Including when it is dark. I decided to park up the van and leave it for 7 days. Carefully checking each day to make sure I wasn't actually draining my batteries. Seven days later the reading is exactly the same, 80% charge.I would have expected the batteries to be toast after seven days of 1A drain.

The panel shows the battery charging on hook up or whilst driving. It correctly displays 100% charge and 13V. It shows the battery usage go up if i put the fridge on and play around with the fridge power setting. So it appears to be talking to the batteries.

View attachment 111370

Click to expand...

Thread 'Cube fuse & Leisure batterys & Solar'
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/cube-fuse-leisure-batterys-solar.50150/

I’ve been testing my 3 batteries for 2 weeks now.
Every morning I either see -1A or -4A (fridge on)
I am getting 5 days of fridge on #3 and no Solar.
(Disconnected all Solar for testing)
What’s annoying me is the starter is losing 35% of its SOC every 5 days.
So I 100% have an issue with my starter battery.
Could this -1Amp draw be part of the problem.
I don’t know.
But spoke with the top tech at VW Droitwich and he categorically said that when on EHU the starter motor battery does NOT charge.
Yet mine does.
Both times on EHU this last 2 weeks.
From 12.2v to 12.6v (starter battery)

calibusje said:

Some extra explanation: While driving: due to meeting even stricter emission standards, the alternator switches off even more with the t6.1 and the batteries (car + leisure batteries) are poorly charged 'when necessary' and that up to a maximum of 80%. The car even uses from the leisure batteries (hence a minus for the number before the A). Therefore, occasionally use the maximum charging function during a ride and if you don't drive your Cali a lot (ours is also my daily vehicle), it is best to top up once a month with the cable (or apply the maximum charging function while the engine is running in neutral, also possible). The batteries will be topped to 100%.
If you get the message 'load please' or something, definitely do it because after ignoring the following message 'load immediately', the system may block and you may visit the dealer.
So take a ride with maximum charging and after a while you will be pleasantly surprised by the figure (without minus before) for the A
The data on the screen is rather precise but also instantaneous and very changeable. Don’t let yourself be blinded by it. The leisure batteries last a long time (depending on what users you have of course).
Tip: If you camp, it is best to also install the camping mode because this disconnects the car from the camper area and saves the batteries (otherwise the car constantly monitors the entire vehicle and this consumes electricity / battery: a constant -small- drain).
This and more I learned during a technical explanation in Campercentrum Amersfoort in the Netherlands. They know a lot about the california especially about the t6.1; this is actually a completely different vehicle due to the completely changed electrical installation; it was captivating

Click to expand...

Wish you could have asked how long the starter motor battery is meant to stay charged.
My 14 year old Saab only needs a top up once a month if not driven. Battery is 7 years old.
It can’t be so, the Cali needs to be started once a week to charge my starter motor battery.

When I did drive it (The Cali) twice in the last two weeks, I put max charge on all journeys as I don’t want to lose the charge back to the starter battery via the split charge relay. Yes I get the 80% of charge for regenerative braking etc.
yet apparently the EHU does not charge the starter motor.
I’ve tested the split charge relay and it’s working as it should.
Checked continuity of cube fuse between front & rear BATT. Checked 80, 100 and 200 amp fuses.
All good)

Still have no idea how the starter gets charged by EHU.
There’s only one point of entry into the vehicle from starter to Lesuire under Passenger chair.
The split charge relay…..

Californication69 said:

Wish you could have asked how long the starter motor battery is meant to stay charged.
My 14 year old Saab only needs a top up once a month if not driven. Battery is 7 years old.
It can’t be so, the Cali needs to be started once a week to charge my starter motor battery.

When I did drive it (The Cali) twice in the last two weeks, I put max charge on all journeys as I don’t want to lose the charge back to the starter battery via the split charge relay. Yes I get the 80% of charge for regenerative braking etc.
yet apparently the EHU does not charge the starter motor.
I’ve tested the split charge relay and it’s working as it should.
Checked continuity of cube fuse between front & rear BATT. Checked 80, 100 and 200 amp fuses.
All good)

Still have no idea how the starter gets charged by EHU.
There’s only one point of entry into the vehicle from starter to Lesuire under Passenger chair.
The split charge relay…..

Click to expand...

Hellow. Regenerative braking? A transporter does not have this; maybe the next hybrid or fully electric generation but not this one? Or do you mean something else? Maybe lost in translation.
When driving without the max. load function in, the alternator charges the batteries only to the necessary charge to start, among other things; so they are being charged just not to the fullest so I think there can't really be a problem there and just being empty after a week is weird. You don't have to recharge the starter battery every week, if you do, something else is probably wrong. Or -as you ask- the starter battery really does not hold his charge for a long time (maybe the constant little drain of the monitoring isn’t that little?). I would feel free to ask them that, but it's not that I have a personal line there so it could be without answer.
A 14 year old Saab is light years from the electrical system of the t6.1 california and certainly does not have the constant monitoring of the electrical system like the cali. So no constant drain.
Have you actually had any actual starting problems? The starter battery is indeed not charged at EHU, that has not been the case with any cali (also t3 - t4). Only with the maximum charging function on is this also charged to the fullest (and coincidentally I heard today that the starter battery is charged first and then the leisure batteries when max. loading on; whether this is I don’t know -yet-). Of course the car battery is charging when driving without the max. load on.
Anyway: have you already traveled with your cali? If so, did you have any problems with your leisure batteries? If not: no problems, if so you will have to look further. Then good luck with that.
Although this is of no use to you, I have no problem with the electrical system, the batteries (or the heating). That's fine because I already had several other annoying things with our now over one year old california. Now everything is in tip-top order and tomorrow we leave to the Spanish Basque Country for our summer holiday.

Just to contradict the “starter does not charge on EHU” point as mine does.

When staying in my daughters garden in France a few months ago I was dumb enough to leave the keys in one day. After 3 days the battery was dead and the Cali would not start - couple of turns but a classic dead starter problem.

So I hooked it up and left for 30 minutes. After that the starter worked and got the van going fine.

So the starter is being charged by the EHU just fine.

dspuk said:

Just to contradict the “starter does not charge on EHU” point as mine does.

When staying in my daughters garden in France a few months ago I was dumb enough to leave the keys in one day. After 3 days the battery was dead and the Cali would not start - couple of turns but a classic dead starter problem.

So I hooked it up and left for 30 minutes. After that the starter worked and got the van going fine.

So, somehow, the starter was being charged by the EHU just fine.

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Exactly !
How is this possible !
Even top VW California tech says EHU dosent charge starter.
But it does …. On MY23 Cali Ocean
Thanks for a +1

Californication69 said:

Exactly !
How is this possible !
Even top VW California tech says EHU dosent charge starter.
But it does …. On MY23 Cali Ocean
Thanks for a +1

Click to expand...

There are quite a few posts on here discussing how the T5 facelift on trickle charges the starter on EHU.

Post in thread 'Engine battery flat'
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/engine-battery-flat.5265/post-45753

Thread 'Which Californias (trickle) charge the starter battery?'
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/which-californias-trickle-charge-the-starter-battery.34569/

Californication69 said:

Exactly !
How is this possible !
Even top VW California tech says EHU dosent charge starter.
But it does …. On MY23 Cali Ocean
Thanks for a +1

Click to expand...

it is even in told the manual !

I have my starter battery instrumented on my MY22 and on my vehicle, the split charge relay closes when I hook up the EHU. I can hear it close and I observe the same voltage on both busses.

If the starter battery was dead flat I'm not sure if the responsible unit would be able to close the relay.