This guide is written for complete beginners, avoids technical jargon, and focuses on ensuring the reliable use of your lithium battery. It has been written specifically for motorhome owners who use their vehicles during the main March-October season, store their vehicles out of season, and have a lithium leisure (habitation) battery.

Lithium batteries are very reliable, but only if they’re stored and used correctly. Most “out-of-the-blue” failures happen because the battery slowly discharged while in storage without anyone realising, or the battery hasn’t been calibrated recently.

The guide is designed to prevent the most common winter‑storage failure:

“The battery said it had charge ..... but then it suddenly died for no reason!”

1. Before you store your motorhome

Step 1 — Charge the battery to about 80%

This gives the battery a safe buffer so it cannot accidentally drain too low during winter.

Step 2 — Turn the battery OFF

If the battery has a power button, use it to turn the battery off.

This is the single most important step. Turning the battery off stops:

·         Hidden power drains in the motorhome, like a clock or a light that wasn’t turned off.

·         The battery management system (BMS) using power. This is the small computer inside the battery that monitors and controls the battery. If the battery is turned off, the Bluetooth and BMS are asleep, limiting the power drain on the battery.

Step 3 — If the battery doesn’t have an off switch, disconnect it from the motorhome

Many devices draw a small amount of power when they are on, but not actively operating, for example, a TV on standby. This power drain is small, but over a prolonged period can still drain the battery completely if it goes unnoticed. Disconnecting the battery prevents this issue because nothing is connected to it.

If you can’t do that or it isn’t practical, then the next step adds a layer of preventative care.

2. During winter

Recharge the battery once every 3 months

Some manufacturers have this as their official recommendation. They state this because, even with the battery turned off, it still undergoes a natural self-discharge of around 2-3% per month. Recharging every 3 months prevents the battery charge from getting too low.

How to recharge it

1.     Turn the battery ON if it has a power switch

2.     Plug in a charger with a lithium charging profile

3.     Charge until the battery app on your phone shows no current being drawn (0A)

4.     Leave the charger connected for 2 additional hours, as this allows the battery to balance the cell voltages

5.     Turn the battery OFF again

6.     Put it back into storage

3. A yearly recalibration cycle

This process helps keep the battery’s State of Charge (SoC) reading accurate, ensuring the percentage charge shown in the battery app is correct.

It is recommended to do this once per year, ideally before winter or at the start of spring:

1.     Turn the battery ON

2.     Use normal appliances to discharge it to 10–15%

DO NOT discharge your battery to 0%

3.     Next, fully recharge it

4.     Leave it on charge, at full, for 1–2 more hours

5.     Turn it OFF for storage

This helps the battery’s internal computer (the BMS) “learn” where empty and full really are.

4. Spring wake‑up

When you take the motorhome out of storage at the beginning of the season:

Step 1 — Turn the battery ON

Step 2 — Fully charge it once

This gives the BMS a clean starting point for the season.

Step 3 — Check everything powers up normally

If the lights, pump, and fridge behave normally, you’re good to go.

5. The most common mistakes to avoid

❌ Leaving the battery connected all winter and NOT regularly checking on it

This can allow the battery to slowly drain until the BMS shuts down. Then the battery appears “dead” in spring. This can often void your battery warranty, so it is important to never allow your battery to become over-discharged.

❌ Not recharging every 3 months

Even tiny drains add up over winter, so if you don’t have a solar system, this step is important.

Even if you do have a solar panel and charge controller, remember that fuses can blow and equipment can fail, so regularly checking on your battery’s health is important.

❌ Never giving the battery a full charge

If the battery is never fully charged, then the BMS never gets a chance to balance the cells. This lowers battery performance and can lead to unexpected shutdowns.

❌ Never recalibrating

The battery’s reported charge level (SoC) can become inaccurate, leading to sudden cutoffs, so the annual recalibration should not be skipped.

We hope this simple guide has given you a few tips about caring for your lithium battery.