Battery Charging Issue May 30, 2021, 04:16:28 pm Started in Hot Springs, AK and had plugged into 110V all night. Driving from Hot Springs to Houston on Friday and after about 3 hrs, stopped for gas. Engine wouldn't start. Gauge needles were dancing and there were clicking sounds. Chassis battery was 11.4V. Jumped using House battery, no luck. Tested and the House battery was at a similar voltage of ~11.4V. Tried again and RV started (yea Trojans !).House batteries seemed hot. But I've never checked that before and have no comparison to "normal." Water levels were fine. Disconnected the House battery negative connection for drive home to see if alternator would charge Chassis battery when leaving the House battery out of the system. It did. Chassis battery was fully charged when arriving home and still at 12.8V today after sitting at home a couple of days. Engine starts fine. Tested House battery again today and it has 12.7V (6.3 and 6.4V). Not sure how this is possible. The Neg cables were detached. Even with the alternator running during the drive and then the power cable hooked up at home to use the 120V, nothing should be charging the House batteries (miracle or poor connection with the voltmeter when testing at gas station?).So, batteries all charged and today while running engine and after reattaching the House battery's negative cables, the alternator was supplying 14.6V to Chassis and 14.8V to House batteries.Nothing looks wrong. But something caused the drain while driving and both batteries to have the same 11.4V at the gas station. Any ideas?
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #1 – May 30, 2021, 11:44:07 pm Hi Greg. I don't know what type of batteries you have. Right about 2006 LD changed from really wet lead acid to AGM type house batteries (Still wet but mat separators, and you don't add water. ) To me it sounds like the water could be really low, and the acid was boiling, if it was only half full. The house batteries cooled off, and read the normal voltage, but they won't store or deliver as many watt hours as they should. How old are the batteries? and are they regular T-105's, or AGM's RonB
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #2 – May 31, 2021, 06:24:13 am Almost like you had an electric heater running, but still the alternator would have kept it going. Probably come down to a loose connection some where, maybe you already fixed it.
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #3 – May 31, 2021, 12:58:24 pm RonB - Standard wet T-105s. Don’t know the age. But they hold a charge well when boon docking. Water level was fine when I left and when I returned. I check that carefully every trip. The heating and cooling makes sense on the voltage. But I don’t see a reason for the heating in the first place. There’s no draw other than control boards and displays while driving. And the night before, we had shore power. So, in the morning when heading out, the battery should have been fully charged. The confusing part is that both the Chassis and House batteries were at 11.4V at the gas station. If one was low and the other high, it would clearly be a battery issue and I’d just get new ones. But with both low and the alternator putting out 14.8V (at least at home), I’m stumped. I’ll pull the batteries and test them. Maybe just cleaning and retightening the cables will solve it. My father was a EE for AT&T. He used to say that when having electrical problems to loosen, clean and retighten the cables. If not working, do it again and if not working do it again. He was usually correct. 1 Likes
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #4 – May 31, 2021, 04:28:48 pm The dash air consumes a lot of power. Check battery voltage with all lights on and A/C on. Might have a problem with the alternator output power.
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #5 – May 31, 2021, 04:53:21 pm Quote from: RonB - May 30, 2021, 11:44:07 pmRight about 2006 LD changed from really wet lead acid to AGM type house batteries....For the record LD changed to AGMs during or after 2007. Our 2007 came from the factory with Trojan T-105s. It was completed on July 1, 2007 and registered on July 15 of that year.Charles 1 Likes
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #6 – June 01, 2021, 08:55:05 am Alternators require battery voltage to function. Start with the battery and terminal cleaning
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #7 – June 03, 2021, 04:07:46 pm I'm not having problems with charging, but with corrosion buildup on the house batteries. What's the best way to clean them? Safe way! I don't know why it builds up so easily. The water levels are always checked before trips, so I don't think that's a concern here.
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #8 – June 03, 2021, 05:21:39 pm Quote from: seesaw60 - June 03, 2021, 04:07:46 pmI'm not having problems with charging, but with corrosion buildup on the house batteries. What's the best way to clean them? Safe way! I don't know why it builds up so easily. The water levels are always checked before trips, so I don't think that's a concern here.This can happen due to overcharging, but also if the batteries are going south. disconnect the batteries for an hour and check their voltage. You could have a shorted cell, which would be masked if there is a charging source.Steve
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #9 – June 03, 2021, 08:51:52 pm It is likely the house batteries have been chronically overcharged. The over charge drive hydrogen gas out of batteries which was the cause of corrosion. As a result of overcharging, battery water level could be low and batteries no longer function well. Take a look at the water level, add distilled water if needed. 1 Likes
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #10 – June 05, 2021, 03:57:56 pm The batteries were replaced in August 2018. The old batteries did the same thing. My newer batteries were from Camping World, but before this last replacement - which had to be done immediately, I used to only use Trojan-105s. I check water levels regularly. There is a disconnect switch I use when rig is stored (in a garage storage). I do have solar panel (one), and use a 30 amp circuit when parked at home. Rig did not get a lot of use prior to this past winter. I normally dry camp. Am I doing something wrong or is this just a common issue?
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #11 – June 05, 2021, 05:17:19 pm Quote from: seesaw60 - June 05, 2021, 03:57:56 pmThe batteries were replaced in August 2018. The old batteries did the same thing. My newer batteries were from Camping World, but before this last replacement - which had to be done immediately, I used to only use Trojan-105s. I check water levels regularly. There is a disconnect switch I use when rig is stored (in a garage storage). I do have solar panel (one), and use a 30 amp circuit when parked at home. Rig did not get a lot of use prior to this past winter. I normally dry camp. Am I doing something wrong or is this just a common issue?Odds are the old converter is overcharging the battery, a known problem in older rigs.Consider upgrading to a 4-stage 'Smart' charger. I like the Progressive Dynamic converters.Another problem seen in older rigs with a battery switch is bad or burned contacts in the switch, this can cause all sorts of electrical issues, the switches are not sealed and can be damaged by battery acid flumes. replacement is the cure.Larry
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #12 – June 05, 2021, 07:24:36 pm The battery terminal corrosion is a strong evidence of the overcharging "crime" committed by the old converter. Our 2004 MB has similar problem before our solar upgrade when we got rid the old converter. Larry made a great suggestion of replacing the old converter with a multistage smart charger. The smart charger will also preserve the battery life anyway.
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #13 – June 05, 2021, 08:14:04 pm Back to the Original Topic for the thread:HBN7HJ - Thanks for the idea. But that doesn't seem to be the problem.Engine Running:With no loads - 14.2 Chassis and 14.2 HouseWith everything I can run turned on in chassis and house - 13.5 Chassis and 13.8 HouseEngine off and Shore Power Connected:With all the loads turned back off - 12.9 Chassis and 13.6 House (so no back feeding from House to Chassis through Isolator)I'll still go get the batteries tested. But so far, everything on the charging side seems fine.
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #14 – June 05, 2021, 09:23:16 pm Can you measure the house battery current with engine not running and shore power not connected, what is the current of drain?
Re: Battery Charging Issue Reply #15 – June 05, 2021, 09:49:46 pm Quote from: cli288 - June 05, 2021, 09:23:16 pmCan you measure the house battery current with engine not running and shore power not connected, what is the current of drain?CLI288 - Is this a question for me or the thread hijacker? 1 Likes
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