Any idea what could be causing a low battery?

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Any idea what could be causing a low battery?

September 13, 2019, 01:57:36 am

I've got an 89 Lazy Daze. Battery has been on green for the last 2 months. I just checked it today and it's red.

I was having trouble with the hot water heater firing up after my last propane refill. And the green fridge light hasn't turned on since either (though I am plugged into shore power).

However, when the hot water heater did fire up, the battery went to green for a second, and then back to red.

Any ideas?

Re: Any idea what could be causing a low battery?

Reply #1 – September 13, 2019, 03:53:40 am

Jacob,

Do you have a voltmeter - very useful for debugging things.
You can check the voltage at the battery itself.

In this link -!Table 2 (down a few pages) shows voltages. Use the 12v number (even if you have two 6vs as they will be wired as a 12v).
Measuring State-of-charge - Battery University

If your charger/converter is running your appliances will run even without good batteries.

Batteries can go low for a number of reasons - check the companion for general information on this topic (link at top of the page shown after you login).

Jane

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

Re: Any idea what could be causing a low battery?

Reply #2 – September 13, 2019, 08:13:14 am

Don't know what the 'green/red' indicator is? Is this the battery inspection window? Doesn't sound like something you would find on any 6V coach batteries. Have these been replaced with something else? Are you referring to the chassis battery under the hood?

Steve

Re: Any idea what could be causing a low battery?

Reply #3 – September 13, 2019, 11:40:23 am

Jacob,
I think you found the propane problem. Low battery.
The original AC to DC converter was likely a Magnatek 6335 or 6345. When plugged in to shore power a relay is triggered and most of the coach runs off of the converter, except the TV 12 outlets and the refrigerators. Magnatek converters of that era were set to charge at 13.6 VDC all the time at 6 amps maximum. My rig was plugged in for three years straight when I bought it. The batteries were boiled dry.
My guess is the battery charger circuit is blown and the refrigerator and possibly an added Propane/CO detector, drained the battery. No Parts were available when I looked in 2015. This happened on my 1991SOB (Some Other Brand)

Re: Any idea what could be causing a low battery?

Reply #4 – September 13, 2019, 12:15:28 pm

So I got it back on! Green light is back on fridge and hot water heater fires up like normals.

Here’s what I did. Unplugged the shore power, ran the engine for a few minutes. Battery went back up to green. Now everything is working fine.

However, batter is back to low again, even though green light on fridge is working and hot water heater is still working.

I think I need to replace the batteries though. Here’s a picture.

Re: Any idea what could be causing a low battery?

Reply #5 – September 13, 2019, 12:36:06 pm

Jacob,

Not being familiar with the Duracell 6 volt battery, I wonder about several things.

Are these “maintenance free” batteries? Can you check the water level of the batteries? Can you add water to them if needed?

I noticed that the battery warns of explosive gasses. This would, most likely, indicate that they are lead acid batteries and not AGM’s.

Prior to my Yellowstone Trip, I replaced the chassis battery of our LD because it wouldn’t hold a charge. Mistakenly, I thought the battery was a “maintenance free” type. I was mistaken. After adding distilled water, the chassis battery held a charge, but due to my travel plans, I replaced the almost 4 year old battery.

If you can check/add water to your “coach” batteries and get a descent charge to then, it may answer your question. Batteries don’t last forever. COSTCO has Interstate batteries at a very fair price.

It would be prudent to check the water level if you can. Sometimes the most obvious/simplest solution is the answer. At least it’s a good place to start.

Kent

Re: Any idea what could be causing a low battery?

Reply #6 – September 13, 2019, 03:16:44 pm

Any idea how old those batteries are?

Looking on the web a bit, it looks like those Duracell SLIGC115s are flooded lead acid batteries. If the coach spends a lot of time plugged into shore power and the water level hasn't been frequently checked and topped as necessary, they could well be damaged. When we had our 2002 MB it was plugged in most of the time. With the original converter, I had to add water fairly frequently, so I added a ProFill watering system (a great thing for flooded cell batteries). I eventually replaced the stock converter with a PI 9270 and the water usage dropped considerably, but not to zero. I still checked and added water every few months.

Art

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