House Battery Charging

DanielJ · 10-23-2013, 01:42 PM

My 2008 390TS spent an extended amount of time in the repair shop (body shop, actually) and my house batteries have been discharged to the point where the battery disconnect switch will not engage the "use" position. Any ideas whether the main engine alternator will charge the house batteries at least up to the point where I can get the switch to engage and then charge off of shore power?

I don't own a stand alone battery charger and would rather not have to purchase one.

AREA51 · 10-24-2013, 07:55 AM

DanielJ,
Do you mean the 12VDC on/off switch located in the main entrance or the master switch in the battery compartment?
GOOD LUCK
AREA51

DanielJ · 10-24-2013, 08:14 AM

The use/store switch by the front door would not engage. I was told that this was because the house batteries were depleted. I do not know what voltage is necessary for that switch to work.

Since my previous post, I did drive the MH home and the main engine did not charge the house batteries. Fortunately, the alternator did provide 12v to necessary chassis item such as lights, turn signals, etc. I could not, however get the radio and its camera display to turn on ( bummer) so I had to back up the old fashioned way and use my mirrors.

The good news is that once I got it parked and could plug into shore power, I was able to engage the disconnect switch and my batteries are happily charging.

garbonz · 10-24-2013, 08:21 AM

They may be happily charging, but have liked suffered significant damage. I would not depend on them to supply much off grid power, but they may be ok for short trips. Not sure about the refrigerator inverter thing but that may be problematical also without an alternator keeping thing charged up.

AREA51 · 10-24-2013, 08:21 AM

DanielJ,
Good to hear your batterys are charging. If I were you I would keep an eye on them as to be sure they were not depleated enough to cause any lasting damage to them.
GOOD LUCK
AREA51

OldCoot · 10-24-2013, 08:21 AM

Stand alone battery chargers are relatively inexpensive and should be a item carried IMO. Kinda like the "Don't leave home without it!"

DanielJ · 10-24-2013, 08:31 AM

We'll see how it goes as far as continued battery capacity. I've seen that they also sell battery desulfonators which might be cheaper than 4 new batteries. I'll have to wait and see. We have only overnighted single nights at a time without hookups so I don't have much to compare capacity to.

garbonz · 10-24-2013, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Stand alone battery chargers are relatively inexpensive and should be a item carried IMO. Kinda like the "Don't leave home without it!"

X2.

mjracsj · 10-24-2013, 02:03 PM

I had a similar problem with my house batteries and they never held a good charge again despite my keeping them topped off with water and charging. I decided that I'd had enough with flooded type batteries and made the big investment of replacing them with AGM type sealed maintenance free batteries. I hope they end up being worth it!

62_inrightlane · 10-24-2013, 08:58 PM

I've had the same issue.

I started the coach and let it run for about 15 min and then I had enough battery power to start the generator. I let the generator charge the batteries for about 1 hour and shut everything down. The next day house batteries were dead again. After searching the web for a solution I went out to check the batteries and found that our house batteries (4) were quite low on water. I added about 6 qts using a Battery Water Fill Bottle I picked up at an auto parts store. This solved my problem and now the batteries hold a good charge.

Continued battery charging boils off water so make sure you check your water level periodically and add distilled water when necessary.

The RB · 10-24-2013, 09:11 PM

Did you ask the shop to keep it plugged in to maintain your batteries? When the time comes, I'll make it a habit of asking for this in return for my business.

boowho · 10-25-2013, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garbonz

They may be happily charging, but have liked suffered significant damage. I would not depend on them to supply much off grid power, but they may be ok for short trips. Not sure about the refrigerator inverter thing but that may be problematical also without an alternator keeping thing charged up.

Been thru this before myself.... If your batts were that dead, they may be permanently ruined. For your sake, I hope I'm wrong.

I've heard that they could actually become charged with pos/neg terminals reversed.

I had the opposite problem... Batts were being so badly overcharged they are pretty much ruined.

Boowho??

frankatp · 10-28-2013, 07:34 AM

I have a question about maintenance free batteries. We replaced the old batteries and we leave our 2013 Berk plugged in and the A/C on to keep humidity out and a consistent temp here in Florida. It is 46 this morning going to almost 80. Quite a temp spread. Does leaving the rig plugged in hurt/help the batteries? Thanks Frank

mjracsj · 10-28-2013, 09:18 AM

I have wondered the same but found leaving it plugged in all the time (as I do as well) kept boiling off the old flooded batteries. I even put in the upgraded Magnum control panel and dialed back the charging rate but they still kept boiling and were pretty much ruined.
Now I have the maintenance free AGM type batteries and AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat technology) batteries are supposed to handle a fast charging rate anyway. The upgraded Magnum contol panel also lets you select battery type and can be set for AGM 1 or AGM 2 although I havent figured out the difference yet as I just got them. The factory set the panel for battery type "Gel" although this may have been by mistake. Until I find out how it should really be set I havent worried too much since the setting for gel batteries is a slow charging rate and figured it hasnt been hurting them. I will find out and post again.
I would say the upgraded Magnum control panel is probably a must for anyone who leaves their coach plugged in and just need to figure out the best settings for charging and prolonging battery life. I do feel good about the investment in AGM batteries though - they are very expensive but have read several articles and testimonials about how they are worth it.

garbonz · 10-28-2013, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankatp

I have a question about maintenance free batteries. We replaced the old batteries and we leave our 2013 Berk plugged in and the A/C on to keep humidity out and a consistent temp here in Florida. It is 46 this morning going to almost 80. Quite a temp spread. Does leaving the rig plugged in hurt/help the batteries? Thanks Frank

You don't have a choice with this kind of operation, and whether it is good or bad depends on the quality of your charger and what it is set on. One idea would be to get a good external charger and operate that to keep the batteries up, rather than the converter in the camper itself. you can shut off the breaker for the converter.

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