Charging issue... me thinks...

[EscapePod]

It's Christmas Eve, so went out to check on RV plugged into house. (2014 Georgetown XL 334CA) Everything is off, batteries barely lit overhead lights. Chassis battery did start engine. Found it this way the other day too. Not sure where to start. I haven't used it since last year and it's been running just fine plugged into the land line all summer. About mid-summer I did replace the transfer switch, but it functioned fine after that. It stays plugged into the house to keep the batteries charged and give power to whatever needs it.

Since it's Christmas Eve, I wasn't getting into the bowels of this project tonight. I just can't think of where to start assuming the transfer switch didn't wig out on me or something like that. I hear it click over when I disconnect and reconnect the power. I did not check any voltages. I started the engine and ran it for 1/2 hour and the batteries are now showing full. Skeptical that 4 large house batteries could fill that fast.

As I was writing this, I realized I should have tried to run the heat pump units. They certainly won't function if there's not adequate power and they don't run off battery. I don't want the charge to go down on the batteries as we have some cold weather rolling in and I don't want them freezing. (That's why I was out there to begin with.)

What charges the batteries when on land power?
Is there some power switches I should dive over the bed to check?
Is there, like I've commonly found on FR products, some hidden fuse that governs the charge circuit?

Thanks for any feedback you can provide.

[mogman]

Have you checked the water in the batteries? I keep my RV hooked up to the house via an extension cord and find the batteries need water every 2 months if we don't use it.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by EscapePod

I started the engine and ran it for 1/2 hour and the batteries are now showing full. Skeptical that 4 large house batteries could fill that fast.

As I was writing this, I realized I should have tried to run the heat pump units. They certainly won't function if there's not adequate power and they don't run off battery. I don't want the charge to go down on the batteries as we have some cold weather rolling in and I don't want them freezing. (That's why I was out there to begin with.)

What charges the batteries when on land power?
Is there some power switches I should dive over the bed to check?
Is there, like I've commonly found on FR products, some hidden fuse that governs the charge circuit?

Thanks for any feedback you can provide.

First, how old are your batteries? As they age they often sulfate unless kept fully charged all the time. A sulfated battery will show a full charge after just a short time charging but sadly it's just a surface charge. Give it a few hours of rest and they'll show far less, even "dead".

Charging when plugged in is done by the Converter if all is working correctly. I'd check the reverse polarity fuses on your converter to see if they are blown. They are there to protect the charging circuit should a battery be connected in reverse but they can blow due to a surge on the 12 v side of things. Look for a couple of fuses that are separate from the row of fuses in your power panel that are labeled for things like water pump, fan, lights, etc. On mine they are somewhat hidden by a sign telling me they are reverse polarity fuses.

Normally you would leave your power disconnect switch on when you want batteries to charge. Plugged in or driving down the road. Only time it should be off is when in storage.

First place I'd start is with the battery age then water levels. If you can see the plates with caps removed, your Christmas present this year could well be a set of batteries

If batteries are relatively new, and have been well maintained, then get out the voltmeter and see what voltages you have at the battery when on shore power. Should be over 13 volts. If not, check polarity fuses.

[EscapePod]

TitanMike and Mogman. thanks for the replies.

I was cooking some of the 7 fishes giving the wife a break for a few minutes. So it gave me some time to think and I sent her outside to check a few things. She came back in "everything is working". What?

I had her take a flashlight and dive over the bed (horrible design) to check the breaker panel. She said the MASTER was off. Turned that on, and everything went working. Then the question instantly became, who-the-&^* turned that off? It's been sitting there locked and no one has been in it. I don't think it blew for cause. We may never know the answer to that one.

So now the question is what you guys raised. Are the batteries low/sulfated etc.? I don't like the fact the engine charged them in 30 minutes. I have not added any water to them this year, so it's a likely suspect. I'll check that asap. But at least the fridge is working. Once they're filled, I'll let the land line charge the batteries, then disconnect and run the fridge. It used to last a couple days on a full charge. We'll see what happens. Real life test.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I was a bit panicked since the master breaker wasn't even on my radar until I thought about it more!

Best wishes for a great Christmas to everyone!

[pgandw]

Another possibility - your batteries froze during some recent cold weather. When discharged, they are no longer protected from freezing. Have trashed a tractor battery that way because I didn't realize there was a parasitic draw when I put the tractor away in November.


Fred W

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by EscapePod

TitanMike and Mogman. thanks for the replies.

I was cooking some of the 7 fishes giving the wife a break for a few minutes. So it gave me some time to think and I sent her outside to check a few things. She came back in "everything is working". What?

I had her take a flashlight and dive over the bed (horrible design) to check the breaker panel. She said the MASTER was off. Turned that on, and everything went working. Then the question instantly became, who-the-&^* turned that off? It's been sitting there locked and no one has been in it. I don't think it blew for cause. We may never know the answer to that one.

So now the question is what you guys raised. Are the batteries low/sulfated etc.? I don't like the fact the engine charged them in 30 minutes. I have not added any water to them this year, so it's a likely suspect. I'll check that asap. But at least the fridge is working. Once they're filled, I'll let the land line charge the batteries, then disconnect and run the fridge. It used to last a couple days on a full charge. We'll see what happens. Real life test.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I was a bit panicked since the master breaker wasn't even on my radar until I thought about it more!

Best wishes for a great Christmas to everyone!

If the electrolyte is below or right at the plates, just add enough distilled water to cover plates then charge. Once charged then top off with distilled water. If you fill all the way up first the electrolyte can expand from charging heat and you run the risk of overflow. Just enough to cover plates at first.

[EscapePod]

Originally Posted by pgandw

Another possibility - your batteries froze during some recent cold weather. Fred W

Yea, aware of that and the reason I keep electric on it all year. But it crossed my mind since my wife said it's been about a month or 2 since she cleared the things out of the fridge, but didn't turn it off. In the last month we did have a cold spell for a couple days. It was the last time I worked on it since I blew out the water lines so I didn't have to keep the arctic pack on and some interior heat to keep it from freezing. That's the only time I could think of that the master switch got mistakenly hit too, which would mean those batteries were dead in a couple days. But there's a good chance they were working during the freeze and therefore were warm. The charge may have outlasted the cold. I won't know until I check them out. Don't think that will happen on Christmas, but I'm going to try to sneak out and check the cases and get some model numbers. I pulled the window sticker and it just said "2 additional coach batteries", so no help. I hate the way FR placed them in a cabinet with no slide so you have to put your head in the cabinet to work on them. Stupid and dangerous. I'd re-engineer it like so many other things on this unit but it looks like we're going to sell it, so I don't want to put a new set of batteries in for the next guy unless I have to. But Titan might be right, it might be my Christmas present to myself. They way 2018 has goon, it would be par for the hole.

[camaraderie]

You certainly didn't charge your batteries in 30 minutes. From a totally depleted battery you may count on a MINIMUM of 8-10 hours on your converter. While plugged in... you will see voltage at the battery terminals of 14.4V down to 13.2V.
This is NOT the battery state of charge...it is the voltage being sent to your batts by the converter. After charging for 8-10 hours (or overnight) ...Remove the negative battery wire for 24 hours....THEN take a volt reading. You will see how much capacity has been lost by any reading below 12.6 volts.
12.4 V is managable but bears watching. 12.2 Volts is loss of half capacity and should be replaced.

[EscapePod]

"You certainly didn't charge your batteries in 30 minutes. "

I was trying to figure out how it was ghosting that reading, and your explanation of the charge and proper way to measure it makes a lot of sense. Thanks. I am thinking the batteries are pretty dry and capacity is reduced. The water level will be the first indicator. My money is on that since I was injured twice and not too mobile for several months. I wasn't maintaining like I normally anally do, and not just the RV. I kept thinking I would be able to bend over to get in the basement, but that didn't happen. So I think I'm going to be bent over for 4 new batteries for not maintaining them.

I hope to know more tomorrow afternoon.