Our 2002 Familia 310 has a Leisure Battery / Charger etc. fitted. I presume from new, it looks all original c/w German instructions / stickers. The battery is 3 yr old or so.
We have never overnighted off grid and have no intention of doing so. Last week when in France I noted the leisure battery was really hot ( like scary hot ! )
The charging light was staying on yellow, it should change to green if the battery is charged so I figured either the charger or the battery had gone south.
My knowledge of electrics is pretty basic so I disconnected the battery, isolated the connecting clips ( bagged and taped up each of them ) and so far so good: everything seems to operate whilst connected to the mains and also when connected to the car. So I figure I will just jettison the battery altogether. Am I missing something ? Electrics are a black art, so I hope there ain't a shock ( no pun intended ) in the long grass awaiting me !
Appreciate a yea or nae from folk that know things .
Many thanks,
Chris

Thanks for that Colin,
As a matter of interest, did you connect up and leave the smaller battery in permanently ? Seems like a great idea if so. I leave the van covered when not in use and turn the lights on now and again when loading it etc. A small battery would be ideal - the 7A/h battery: Anything special about the type ? I fear frying a battery if we head off for the day and leave it hooked up to the standard charger.
Thanks again,
Chris

Just referring back to the hot battery mentioned.... a hot battery is a potential bomb and should not be moved until it has cooled down.

Understood. I didn't actually remove it until we got home. I did disconnect it totally.

Thank you for the information on the Battery type. Seems like it's the perfect solution .
Best Regards,Chris

An answer to the LED lights flickering is to use ac/dc LEDs these don't flicker and you don't have the weight of even a small battery.
Dave

I am not sure, but doesn't the water pump run on 12v ? Mine does on a 1990 Puck.

Just to finish this post in case anyone is looking to replace their large leisure battery in the future with a much smaller one:
So I did exactly as Colin suggested, many thanks Colin . I purchased a Yuasa 7A/hr battery. A small battery weighing about 2 Kgs. I guess. It cost me € 26.00 delivered. The large original battery case ( the plastic one under the seat ): I got a piece of 50mm polystyrene and cut it to the interior shape, then cut a small rectangle out the same size as the little Yuasa Battery, popped it in, changed the connection terminal thingies to suit the new battery and bingo. Plugged into the mains: the battery was fully charged up in a couple of hours, all the lights work fine from it as does the water pump. I presume it will operate all of the lights ( total 6 bulbs ) for several hours so that will do me fine. No more lugging around the large original leisure battery. I appreciate folk will want the larger battery for longer stays off grid but for those that don't perhaps this is a worthwhile mod.
Chris