Yesterday when we came to start the Hymer after 2 nights at Isaba in the mountains of Spain we got a nasty surprise, that slow grinding sound caused by a battery that is almost flat.

We looked at each other and wondered what had run our battery down?

After a couple of more attempts or starting I gave the battery a rest and envisaged waiting for a call out to our remote mountain location.

One more try I thought, then after a few more turns of the engine a sign of life, a few more and YES, the engine caught and burst into life. Now, keep it running, remembering those old car batteries and cold winters of many years ago. So off we went, now thinking that a new battery would be needed.

As we drove on, about half an hour later a different idea came into my head – the fridge! On the days before we stopped we had been driving along very narrow mountain roads, average speed 17 mph for two and a half hours; fridge freezer on automatic so it would be using the 12v supply from the engine, plus air con on. At that slow speed it is unlikely that the alternator would be producing enough current to meet demand – keep in mind that the fridge takes 20 amps.

We stopped and changed the fridge to gas manually then continued.

Next stop Canfranc, 1200 metres up near the French border, with EHU. Would that be enough?

Today I can happily say that Hymer started first time with the ‘normal’ sound and the water pump is making its usual noise too. So it looks like the cause of the flat battery is found.