Battery Woes June 23, 2022, 09:58:26 pm Earlier this week while working on the LD, I wanted to run the engine for a few minutes. It wouldn’t start or turn over. I jumped the LD with the Subaru and it started right away. According to the UltraGauge the alternator was charging at 13.5V. This battery was only 14 months old. None of the 12V components were on or plugged into anything. “Dang” I said to self … “do we have a parasitic drain?” Yuck and more yuck. I reluctantly removed the battery and took it to the auto parts store where I bought it for a load test. (It only took some sweat and bruised knuckles in 103 degrees to remove it.). A few hours later the store called and said we have a bad battery!! A much better problem than a parasitic drain. So I received a new battery at no charge and after a bit more sweat and bruised knuckles, we’re back in business.Now that’s a pain in the butt RVing IMO. 9 Likes
Re: Battery Woes Reply #1 – June 24, 2022, 07:36:51 pm They just don't make batteries like they used to. I thought they'd be far BETTER by now instead of worse. Last year for my Subaru I had to have the new battery replaced TWICE under warranty... three in one year. Fortunately the last one is still working fine.Kristin 1 Likes
Re: Battery Woes Reply #2 – June 24, 2022, 08:09:21 pm I had to go to Costco for a tire pressure sensor replacement, inside the wheel. (13 year old battery finally wore out).) We were in the store, and when we came back the tech couldn't get the car to start, so the tire appointment was canceled. (It started and got there fine) A call to AAA, they came out and said that the battery had failed. I had bought it at that Costco store just six months earlier. (The charging system is OK.) Costco came up with a new replacement, and it has been good since. The tire person said that there had been problems with the batteries, and he attributed it to the Covid shutdown, and new employees, or maybe just not enough employees. Maybe some other type of problem with the raw materials or manufacturing equipment. No hassle getting it replaced. I think it was an Interstate battery. But they don't actually make batteries, they just contract with other manufacturers, and put their name on them. Interstate Batteries - Wikipedia RonB
Re: Battery Woes Reply #3 – June 24, 2022, 08:25:28 pm Hi Ed; About that "I wanted to run the engine for a few minutes. ". If you don't have solar with a secondary output, like the R3000i hooked up to the chassis battery, then that battery just sits there with no charge applied. Just plugging in the shore power line will charge the house batteries, and solar will charge the house batteries-- the chassis battery just sits there. A bit of discharge while keeping the engine computer memory alive. When you start the engine, that is a tremendous load to start the V10 (or 460 CID), and it takes a lot out of that chassis battery. It can take as much as a half hour to make up the charge you used. The characteristic of lead acid is they will taper off charging long before they should, and the alternator won't be allowed to charge it fully. Maybe an hour -two hours to really get the chassis battery back to a really good state of charge. A waste of gasoline in the long term. I used a Trik-L-Start and excess solar capacity to keep the chassis battery in tip top charge state. Many people especially with other brands don't realize that the built in charger doesn't charge the chassis battery. The Trik-L-Start is still available for lead acid batteries: Mega TRIK-L-START Starting Battery Charger/Maintainer I had to upgrade to an AMP-L-Start with my lithium battery upgrade because of the higher voltages normal on LiF batteries. RonB
Re: Battery Woes Reply #4 – June 24, 2022, 08:45:52 pm Thank you Ron. That upgrade has been on my list for a long time. It’s just one of those projects that keeps getting postponed. Perhaps it time has come.
Re: Battery Woes Reply #5 – June 24, 2022, 08:48:17 pm Quote from: Kristin Lambert - June 24, 2022, 07:36:51 pmThey just don't make batteries like they used to. I thought they'd be far BETTER by now instead of worse. Last year for my Subaru I had to have the new battery replaced TWICE under warranty... three in one year. Fortunately the last one is still working fine.Now that would be especially aggravating. It deserves another Yuck!
Re: Battery Woes Reply #6 – June 24, 2022, 09:03:26 pm Hi Ed; Get the $54.95 one. I didn't need the clamp on battery connectors. Just 2 wires to connect if you don't count the ground. Pretty easy overall. It has lights to let you know the status. Water proof and temperature resistant. Under the hood near your diode isolator. Or isolation relay if you have that from LD. Wish I had thought of this product, but I have no financial connection. Just a happy camper. RonB 2 Likes
Re: Battery Woes Reply #7 – June 25, 2022, 02:49:51 am I second the recommendation for the Amp-L-Start chassis battery maintainer. I also originally had the Trik-L-Start and changed it out when I upgraded to Lithium. You do drill holes for the mounting screws, attach a few wires, and you’re set - it operates automatically. You can look at the LEDs to see what its doing, but only if you like to nerd out on admiring a cool solution to a problem. 2 Likes
Re: Battery Woes Reply #8 – June 25, 2022, 05:12:30 pm I recently purchased a Amp-L. Waiting on a cooler 😎 day to install. 1 Likes
Re: Battery Woes Reply #9 – June 25, 2022, 08:43:36 pm Quote from: Ed & Margee - June 23, 2022, 09:58:26 pmNow that’s a pain in the butt RVing IMO. I refer to this as "The joy of RV ownership", similar to the joy of home ownership.Since installing a Blue Sky 3000I solar controller, our LD's starting battery stays healthy much longer.The 3000I also works great with lithium batteries once the recommended settings are changed.Larry
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