Alpha Hydrae

I might be using the wrong terminology, but mine is a voltage sensitive relay that only allows current inbound from the main battery. I'm quite happy with it that way. You're correct that it means I can't use the leisure battery to provide backup if I get flat main battery. But that's a risk I'm willing to take as it's about 15 years since I last needed a jump start and that was a camping trip in the days before I had a dedicated leisure battery to be used for charging phones etc. This recent incident was an actual battery failure, and again I'm willing to accept the risk as it's very low likelihood it'll fail suddenly while I'm away from home.

Hi, I took out the old battery and it was exactly as you say, shot ! I've seen this before when one of the 6 cells dies and only gives about 10.6V max. I put a new battery in, engine started immediately, problem solved. When I got home I checked everything with my CTEK MX5 and alternator is fine. I meant to say there is an isolation switch between the 2 batteries, and I'd already used this to cut-off the feed to the leisure battery. I realise now why the leisure battery kept going flat, I'd forgotten the split relay is a 'smart' version that isolates if the supply voltage drops below about 12V. So my leisure battery would probably have only been getting some charge when the engine was running, and I'd not been using the car much throughout summer. I don't know exactly what voltage it would have been receiving when the engine was running. It takes its feed directly from the main battery (not the alternator) so the supply voltage might have been getting dragged down to near the split relay cut-off threshold. As for why one of the cells failed on the main battery, I'll never know. It's at the local recycling centre now.

My 2002 2.4 Alphard's engine wouldn't turn over yesterday, which was odd as I'd used it a few times this week. There was some clicking, and all electrical items such as lights/radio/central locking are working fine. I managed to jump start it using a big heavy duty charger/booster - this was following about 5 minutes charge on the 'High' setting, and I drove about 5 miles away and parked it. It ran as smooth as ever when driving. A hour later it wouldn't start again. Tried jump starting from a friend's Aygo but either it was too small, or his jump leads weren't up to it, but I could hardly even get my engine to turn over. I've purchased a new battery and planning to head over to where the car is and replace it. However, I've remembered something else. For the past couple of months I've noticed my interior leisure battery had been dying quicker than normal (the 12-240V convertor beeps when its 12V source is too low). I assumed it was just my kids plugging in phone chargers more than usual, and I also thought maybe the split-charge relay was failing, but I'm now wondering it was an early sign that my alternator was failing. And perhaps now the alternator isn't giving enough charge to the main battery. As I said, the engine started and ran fine using the booster. I suspect if I fit the new battery it'll start OK, but in a couple of days I might be back where I started and have wasted money on a battery I didn't need. Hence I'm wondering if I need to also buy an alternator and replace that in-situ (I should point out I don't have a breakdown recovery subscription, which I know is silly, but there's a valid reason which is another story entirely !). Any thoughts on this? Advice for alternator model ? I'd obviously prefer a Denso, but can't keep everything original all the time.

I'm wanting to head through Germany to north-West Poland, which ferry crossing do you recommend. Obviously you'll say from Hull 😅 - which is OK for me as I'm in Manchester. I've looked at ferries to Hamburg as it'll save a lot of driving, but it can be expensive.

Has anyone had any luck getting insurance between 2 vehicles alternating every 6 months? I want to use the Alphard during summer and then SORN it for winter, while I use another car. Hope that makes sense. I've asked a few companies, no-one can do this.

Totally agree Arthur, I'm lucky as mine has the factory fitted camera and I couldn't live without it (amazing that it was an option back in 2002!). Better than parking sensors. Apologies for the dusty stereo/dashboard 😔

Hi all, I actually got my Alphard a month ago but spent the last few weeks dealing with my lovely Volvo V70 that's been written off due to someone crashing into me (their car was in a much worse state so the Volvo had the last laugh). So now getting used to an Alphard as my only vehicle, love it to bits so not missing the V70 too much. It's a 2002 2.4 2WD, runs very smoothly, it's been well cared for. I've upgraded the stereo to the latest Xtrons unit with nice front camera as 'dash-cams' are essential these days. Also installed leisure battery and 240v inverter at the rear (might post something on that in the 'camper' section). Looking forward to chatting here, giving and receiving advice.

Just done a 900 mile camping trip to Scotland from Manchester. 4 passengers, pets, bikes, paddleboards, 1 week's food supplies....rammed full! Counted the miles between filling up tank twice, 30.3mpg average! I'm fairly light footed and tend to stick between 60 and 65mph on motorways.

I'm choosing where to mount a leisure battery and the option of engine bay mounting is very appealing. However, would that not mean the inverter needs to be installed quite close to the engine bay, e.g. under the glove box? Otherwise you'd need quite long cables between the battery and inverter if the inverter was under the passenger seat, or at the back (which is where I want it to be). I'm aware I will need to feed cables from the alternator/SCR to the leisure battery, so I guess either way, I'll have to install some relatively long cables high capacity cables. Curious to know what other people have done.

Presumably you don't yet have a tow bar fitted? I think it would be difficult to reach high enough to mount bikes on a van roof rack. My preference would be a tow bar mounted system. I'm not sure if vertical rear door mounted racks exist for the Alphard (e.g. the VW Transporter type rack). At the moment, I just fold up the rear seats in my Alphard and there's space for 4 bikes between them, and 4 passengers in front, great for days out.