Battery Charge Questions-a122

cwhitehi · 01-07-2019, 01:07 AM

We have had our A122bh for just under two years. Love it. Have had absolutely zero issues...until now and I believe it is 100% user error due to a complete lack of understanding of a 12v battery.

I usually plug in our trailer once a month to keep the battery charged. It typically starts beeping to warn of a low battery. I plug it in for about 24 hours and everything is fine. It is always ready to go when we are.

I did this last weekend and now the beeping does not stop. I had to disconnect the battery.

I realize that I know next to nothing about battery maintenance and have probably messed this up.

Does anyone have any advice? Is there a way I can recover/recharge this battery? A place I can go to educated myself - To unlock the mystery of battery maintenance?

Oh....We live in the north Bay Area so there are no extreme weather issues.

Thank you.

C

babock · 01-07-2019, 01:26 AM

Your battery is likely getting severely discharged between your charge intervals. Install a disconnect switch or remove the negative cable off your battery after you have it charged and recharge the battery whenever it gets down to around 12.3V.

Storing your battery when it is discharged leads to sulfation. Your battery has probably succumbed to this since it sounds like you have no capacity left.

**bikendan** · 01-07-2019, 02:07 AM

Take the battery to AutoZone or O'Reillys and had it tested, preferably with a hydrometer.
Even a A-frame has a number of parasitic power drains.
Suggest that you Google "the 12 Volt Side of Life". It's a good primer for learning about your 12v system.

CHICKDOE · 01-07-2019, 08:34 AM

agreed, pull it and take it to an auto parts store to have it load tested. they may even keep if for a day or two hooked up to a charger. give this a try as you have nothing to lose. you may get it back to usable.

Mad_River · 01-07-2019, 09:06 AM

Here is a good video on testing your batteries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijfxmxo-lCQ

Here is a great video on how to maintain your batteries and equalize the cells to remove SOME sulfation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2LQc2Z_aDc

The video says you have to equalize with a solar or RV charger, but you can do it with a portable smart charger too. I would use a quality charger like a NOCO Genius 3500 to attempt to charge and equalize/repair the sulfation after checking your water levels. As stated above, if you haven't disconnected the battery during storage that is causing the dead batteries.

5picker · 01-07-2019, 09:14 AM

If the "beeping" you are referring to is the CO detector, yes it does beep on low battery but the purpose of the beeping isn't to be used to watch over the state of charge of the battery(ies) but rather to let you know there may not be enough current in the battery(ies) for the alarm to work properly to save your life.

If you are letting the battery(ies) get low enough for the CO alarm to sound, you have hurt your battery(ies). In the future, check to see if you have a battery cut-off (disconnect) switch or add one... or... simply disconnect one of the cables after charging the battery(ies) to capacity.

A fully charged battery will remain so for months without noticeable discharge, once disconnected.

Brother Les · 01-07-2019, 09:58 AM

Every time that you allow your battery to fully drain (discharge) its' 'charge', you will never be able to get that battery back to its' fullest potential of charge again. Yes, the voltage meter may say that the 'charge' is 'good' and at the same voltage level, but it will 'dis-charge' a lot more quickly, because the 'plates' will not 'hold' the charge as long. The 'converter' on the RV is a 'trickle' charger and as the battery charge level gets higher, the converter charge level goes down. (you can test this by standing close to your converter and turning on 12volt applications, you will hear the converter ramp up higher and higher with each 12volt application turned on. When you turn off a few applications the sound/push of voltage will go down. This keeps your converters (high/low) voltage push from burning up the converter and 'boiling' your battery. Because of this 'set up', the battery can never get a good full/deep/hard charge in order to keep the 'stress level' draw down of the battery when in use to a minimum. 'Trickle charge' for maintenance is fine (what the converter does it), but if the battery is 'completely' drained, if should be fully charged with an outside charger and reinstalled on the RV. These chargers can be bought for less than 100.00. and can be used to charge up all of your vehicle batteries if needed. Your battery may still be 'shot' and needing to be replaced.

Add a battery cut of switch if you do not have one. Get your battery fully tested and don't let it drain so badly in the future. Take this as a learning moment. If you go camping with a minimal functioning battery and have electrical hookups, all of the 12 volt systems will still work fine... Excepted, maybe the furnace, as it uses a lot of 12volt juice for the fan and burner configuration ON START UP that the 'converter' may not be able to 'push out' to the furnace when needed, ie.... the furnace will not run and you may think the furnace if 'bad', when it is only a 'shorted out' or badly discharged battery.

Fix/test the battery and Change your routine of allowing battery drain (disconnect or keep plugged in all the time).

Happy camping

formerFR · 01-07-2019, 10:16 AM

you didn't say, but why wouldn't you just keep it 'plugged in' all the time?

MontyPP · 01-07-2019, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by formerFR

you didn't say, but why wouldn't you just keep it 'plugged in' all the time?

Can boil the water out for one.

babock · 01-07-2019, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MontyPP

Can boil the water out for one.

Not if the charger puts out a true float voltage.

Brother Les · 01-07-2019, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MontyPP

Can boil the water out for one.

Hello MontyPP,

If the battery is in good condition and charged, the converter will reduce the charge to a trickle charge rate, . This should not be a high enough charge rate to boil the water out. Yes, over time all batteries should be checked for water level and added when needed.

If the battery is in subpar shape, the converter will 'try' to charge it at a higher rate. The battery at that point will never take a good charge and it is possible to boil the water out faster. But.... when the battery is at that point... it is time for a new battery.

babock · 01-07-2019, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brother Les

Hello MontyPP,

If the battery is in good condition and charged, the converter will reduce the charge to a trickle charge rate, I think that is around 2volts. This should not be a high enough charge rate to boil the water out. Yes, over time all batteries should be checked for water level and added when needed.

If the battery is in subpar shape, the converter will 'try' to charge it at a higher rate. The battery at that point will never take a good charge and it is possible to boil the water out faster. But.... when the battery is at that point... it is time for a new battery.

The typical float tis 13.2V to 13.6V for a 12V battery. If the charger was at 2V, it would discharge your battery.

Trojan Battery suggests a 13.5V for float. There will be extremely little current being put into that battery at this voltage

Brother Les · 01-07-2019, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babock

The typical float floatis 13.2V to 13.6V for a 12V battery. If the charger was at 2V, it would discharge your battery.

Trojan Battery suggests a 13.5V for float. There will be extremely little current being put into that battery at this voltage

Thank-you.
Fixed post.

jeffnick · 01-07-2019, 01:07 PM

I keep mine plugged in 24/7 and the battery never 'boils'.

pgandw · 01-07-2019, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwhitehi

We have had our A122bh for just under two years. Love it. Have had absolutely zero issues...until now and I believe it is 100% user error due to a complete lack of understanding of a 12v battery.

I usually plug in our trailer once a month to keep the battery charged. It typically starts beeping to warn of a low battery. I plug it in for about 24 hours and everything is fine. It is always ready to go when we are.

I did this last weekend and now the beeping does not stop. I had to disconnect the battery.

I realize that I know next to nothing about battery maintenance and have probably messed this up.

Does anyone have any advice? Is there a way I can recover/recharge this battery? A place I can go to educated myself - To unlock the mystery of battery maintenance?

Oh....We live in the north Bay Area so there are no extreme weather issues.

Been there, done that with our 2014 A122. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Four issues to address that are somewhat interrelated:

1) Condition of existing battery. Pull it out, take it to an auto parts place, and have it load tested. If the test is good, keep it and go on to the next items. If the battery tests less than good, replace it. Take the cost of replacement (Costco and Walmart are about the cheapest for decent replacements), and accept it as a life lesson.

2) Install a battery disconnect switch ($20 - $40 depending on how fancy you get). A-frames don't come with a disconnect from the factory. Use it whenever you store the camper without being plugged in. Until you install a disconnect, you can disconnect all the wires off one battery terminal (doesn't matter which) whenever the camper is stored without being plugged in. The disconnect is easier than removing/putting the wires on/off the terminal, but electrically does the same thing.

3) Measure the voltage - can be at the battery terminals - while the camper is plugged in, over the space of at least 4 days. If the voltage doesn't drop to 13.2V after 4 days of being plugged in, you have a WFCO converter that won't go into trickle (float) mode when it is supposed to. If you leave a converter that doesn't go to trickle mode plugged in for weeks on end, it will boil your battery dry. In my case, in both my A-frames, the standard WFCO converter never went into trickle mode. I ended up replacing the converters for one that worked properly, but that's not necessary if you unplug after a week of storage and disconnect the battery.

4) Check the battery water level every few months. If you are disconnecting your battery or trickle charging properly, water usage should be pretty minimal.

A-frame battery loads are pretty minimal. The heater fan draws less than 4 amps when it is running. The Fantastic Fan (roof vent) draws less than 2 amps on the low setting.

hope this helps
Fred W
prev 2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
now 2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

**bikendan** · 01-07-2019, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MontyPP

Can boil the water out for one.

Not with a modern 3 or 4 stage converter.

mickrock · 01-08-2019, 10:24 AM

although I'll add 2 cents:

1. As hinted prior, no need to leave the battery connected to slowly deplete over and over.

2. I like AGM batteries, but that is my opinion.

pgandw · 01-08-2019, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikendan

Not with a modern 3 or 4 stage converter.

Assumes the converter is working all stages correctly. I have had 2 WFCO 8935P converters (installed in FR PUPs and A-frames) not enter trickle charge stage when they should have - as it came from the factory. And I could never verify bulk mode stage either.

Test the output of your converter to make sure it works correctly. "Trust, but verify."

Fred W

rsdata · 01-08-2019, 03:55 PM

Best advise for a two year old ( you have already made the battery unusable) depleted battery that you can count on for your next trip is to :

1. REPLACE it, take the old battery with you to save a $15 core charge, shop around for a quality DEEP CYCLE battery; Cabela's, Bass PRO and other sports and boating shops can be the best places to find them at the best prices

2. disconnect the battery ( take one cable off the battery post) when not in use

3. buy a battery maintenance charger (look thru amazon ratings to decide which one you are comfortable with) and hook up the battery when you return to AC VIA the charger you bought and leave it there for a week... then disconnect the charger AND leave the cable off the post to get rid of parasitic draws ( like your CO/smoke detector that deplete the battery until you are are ready to pack up and leave again

cwhitehi · 01-13-2019, 12:41 PM

Thank you everyone for your help. This forum is great.

Following up. I took the battery to get tested and it was shot. I replaced it with a quality battery and ordered a battery tender/maintainer from Amazon. For now, I am going to pull the battery when not being used and plug it in to the tender. If this becomes a pia I will get a disconnect switch. Thanks again for all the advice and help.

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