Battery, converter or both?

[Jay2504]

Larry hang diver is correct. Those batteries are wired correctly,but are mismatched in power level and age. To really test them voltage and/or load wise they have to be disconnected from each other. Same thing if you are going to try your friends smart charger,do one battery at a time. Around here in southern Ohio, Sams club has the best prices on new batteries. If I was in your situation I would upgrade the batteries. The easiest way for you would be to buy 2 6volt ggc2 from sams club. Only cost about $7 more each than buying 2 new group 24s to replace what you have now. The only downside is that they are about an inch taller. Do you have the room? If you have the typical cover that goes with those boxes make sure it will be ok to have a battery that is about a inch taller. This will give you quite a boost in power over the 24s without spending money on new battery boxes ect. Please measure first to make sure they will fit! Also keep in mind that the 6 volts have to be wired in series not parallel like the 12volts you have now. Even with this upgrade the generator will have to be run longer than what you did. For myself i went with 3 group 31 12 volts in a different box. Please let us know how it turned out. My bet is one of the batteries that you have is done. Jay

[pgandw]

When I managed to destroy both 12V batteries through inattention, I went the GC-2 route (mine came from Costco, $150 for both). After replacing the WFCO that would not go into trickle mode with a PD 4135 (cost $159), I now have a truly low maintenance electrical system that "just works".

Since my A-frame stores in the garage, I plug in for about a week after returning from a trip to fully charge batteries and make any needed repairs/restocking. Unplug, turn the batteries off (I installed a marine disconnect on the battery box) until I'm prepping for the next trip. I do check the battery water level as part of the trip prep - I think some bounces out on the rough roads.

While camping, if I have electric at the site, the PD keeps my batteries charged. My installed voltmeter tells me what mode the converter is in. If dry camping, the voltmeter gives me approximate state of charge.

Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time