House Battery Question

[Riverbend]

I'm confused by my house battery situation and hoping for some insight. New to us 2019 Isata 3, 9700 miles, 2 AGM 27's. 200W solar wires to GoPower controller came wired reversed polarity, shouldn't be a problem or harm batteries but obviously wasn't charging batteries. The coach spent some time inside the dealership getting prepped and also for about three hours of orientation so there's some juice in the batteries. Drive 100 miles home and park it for a day and then start tweaking and fixing a few minor things, so I'm spending some time with it familiarizing, as well. The digital display on the GoPower controller is something I keep watching, and I notice the voltage in the batteries is ranging quite a bit, some depending on amount of sunlight, some depending on my power usage. One nice sunny day the batteries register 13.4v, next morning 12.1, no draw parasitic or otherwise. I've disconnected the negative cable, verified with multimeter, watched the always similar onboard monitoring red light in the water/lp/battery panel. I've put loads on batteries and watched them drop by 25% just starting the awning motor. And when I plug into my 30amp service, put in just for our last MH, the GoPower controller jumps to a "full" battery display. I've emailed the nice folks at GoPower and they suggest bad batteries. I'm waiting to hear back from dealer as I also asked them, as well. Bottom line is the batteries don't want to hold a charge and I suspect they've been discharged too far too many times with the solar not working until I rewired it. I'd appreciate any helpful direction. Is it normal for the controller to read "full" when connected to 30 amp service, and when the batteries were actually at 12.1 just before connecting?

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Riverbend

I'm confused by my house battery situation and hoping for some insight. New to us 2019 Isata 3, 9700 miles, 2 AGM 27's. 200W solar wires to GoPower controller came wired reversed polarity, shouldn't be a problem or harm batteries but obviously wasn't charging batteries. The coach spent some time inside the dealership getting prepped and also for about three hours of orientation so there's some juice in the batteries. Drive 100 miles home and park it for a day and then start tweaking and fixing a few minor things, so I'm spending some time with it familiarizing, as well. The digital display on the GoPower controller is something I keep watching, and I notice the voltage in the batteries is ranging quite a bit, some depending on amount of sunlight, some depending on my power usage. One nice sunny day the batteries register 13.4v, next morning 12.1, no draw parasitic or otherwise. I've disconnected the negative cable, verified with multimeter, watched the always similar onboard monitoring red light in the water/lp/battery panel. I've put loads on batteries and watched them drop by 25% just starting the awning motor. And when I plug into my 30amp service, put in just for our last MH, the GoPower controller jumps to a "full" battery display. I've emailed the nice folks at GoPower and they suggest bad batteries. I'm waiting to hear back from dealer as I also asked them, as well. Bottom line is the batteries don't want to hold a charge and I suspect they've been discharged too far too many times with the solar not working until I rewired it. I'd appreciate any helpful direction. Is it normal for the controller to read "full" when connected to 30 amp service, and when the batteries were actually at 12.1 just before connecting?

If you are using your converter, then yes it will always say full, if it is charging, I assume you are stating that the idiot lights are showing you this on the panel. You sound correct that the batterys will not hold a charge. Best way to tell is to disconnect for 24 hrs and then take a reading with a multi meter. Also I'm sure you still have parasites running, such as the radio, CO detector, and maybe even the refer if you have a defrost heater. Unless you know that nothing is still under load from your disconnect, they wire a lot of things hot, past your switch
The only true way is to add spst switches at each parasite. Trust me you do have them. Hope that helps a little....

[Riverbend]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

If you are using your converter, then yes it will always say full, if it is charging, I assume you are stating that the idiot lights are showing you this on the panel. You sound correct that the batterys will not hold a charge. Best way to tell is to disconnect for 24 hrs and then take a reading with a multi meter. Also I'm sure you still have parasites running, such as the radio, CO detector, and maybe even the refer if you have a defrost heater. Unless you know that nothing is still under load from your disconnect, they wire a lot of things hot, past your switch
The only true way is to add spst switches at each parasite. Trust me you do have them. Hope that helps a little....

I appreciate the help. I have disconnected the house batteries overnight by removing the negative cable. Same loss, approximately, as leaving connected. So beyond maybe maintaining the clock in the house entertainment system I can't imagine much of a parasitic draw. Some mornings they've registered below 12v, as low as 11.8. Pretty much all over the place.

[mjbenedict]

Originally Posted by Riverbend

I'm confused by my house battery situation and hoping for some insight. New to us 2019 Isata 3, 9700 miles, 2 AGM 27's. 200W solar wires to GoPower controller came wired reversed polarity, shouldn't be a problem or harm batteries but obviously wasn't charging batteries. The coach spent some time inside the dealership getting prepped and also for about three hours of orientation so there's some juice in the batteries. Drive 100 miles home and park it for a day and then start tweaking and fixing a few minor things, so I'm spending some time with it familiarizing, as well. The digital display on the GoPower controller is something I keep watching, and I notice the voltage in the batteries is ranging quite a bit, some depending on amount of sunlight, some depending on my power usage. One nice sunny day the batteries register 13.4v, next morning 12.1, no draw parasitic or otherwise. I've disconnected the negative cable, verified with multimeter, watched the always similar onboard monitoring red light in the water/lp/battery panel. I've put loads on batteries and watched them drop by 25% just starting the awning motor. And when I plug into my 30amp service, put in just for our last MH, the GoPower controller jumps to a "full" battery display. I've emailed the nice folks at GoPower and they suggest bad batteries. I'm waiting to hear back from dealer as I also asked them, as well. Bottom line is the batteries don't want to hold a charge and I suspect they've been discharged too far too many times with the solar not working until I rewired it. I'd appreciate any helpful direction. Is it normal for the controller to read "full" when connected to 30 amp service, and when the batteries were actually at 12.1 just before connecting?

1. On the sunny day you’re reading what voltage is being sent to the batteries, it’s not the actual “no-load” voltage of the battery.
2. When a charger is disconnected from a battery it will show the actual voltage of the battery.
3. When hooked to shore power the other charger is sending max voltage to the battery to charge it so the voltage read by the solar charger is considering it full.

Batteries need a higher voltage sent to them to charge, if the voltage was equal it would only charge to that voltage. So in order to get an actual voltage provided by the battery it needs to be disconnected from the charger or the solar panels need to be covered completely.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Riverbend

I appreciate the help. I have disconnected the house batteries overnight by removing the negative cable. Same loss, approximately, as leaving connected. So beyond maybe maintaining the clock in the house entertainment system I can't imagine much of a parasitic draw. Some mornings they've registered below 12v, as low as 11.8. Pretty much all over the place.

I would say that you have bad batteries, if they can't hold a charge completely disconnected with nothing on the plus and minus terminals over night then you probably have a dead cell draining them.

[Witch Doctor]

Pull one and take it Napa or Auto Zone and have them do a load test.

[Riverbend]

Originally Posted by mjbenedict

1. On the sunny day you’re reading what voltage is being sent to the batteries, it’s not the actual “no-load” voltage of the battery.
2. When a charger is disconnected from a battery it will show the actual voltage of the battery.
3. When hooked to shore power the other charger is sending max voltage to the battery to charge it so the voltage read by the solar charger is considering it full.

Batteries need a higher voltage sent to them to charge, if the voltage was equal it would only charge to that voltage. So in order to get an actual voltage provided by the battery it needs to be disconnected from the charger or the solar panels need to be covered completely.

I do understand what the controller tells me when the panels are sending power through the controller. And pretty much every night and morning, with no sun, the state of charge has been low...around the 30% range, and one morning as low as 11.9 or 11.8. What I didn't understand was the full/14.4 reading on the controller screen when charging by 120AC. What I'm getting closer to understanding is that my batteries are most likely bad, and were that way when I bought the MH.

[milkman55]

I think you have analyzed it correctly. Based on what you said about the prior owners RV knowledge level, it’s pretty much a given that they let the batteries go dead one or more times.

I can tell you there is parasitic draw on the Isata 3. When I first got my RV, I didn’t leave it plugged in while in storage and both the house and chassis batteries where dead after a month in storage. I have 15amp power in my enclosed storage and I now always leave the RV plugged in while not in use. Never had another battery issue since.

[Riverbend]

Originally Posted by milkman55

I think you have analyzed it correctly. Based on what you said about the prior owners RV knowledge level, it’s pretty much a given that they let the batteries go dead one or more times.

I can tell you there is parasitic draw on the Isata 3. When I first got my RV, I didn’t leave it plugged in while in storage and both the house and chassis batteries where dead after a month in storage. I have 15amp power in my enclosed storage and I now always leave the RV plugged in while not in use. Never had another battery issue since.

Chasing down the draw should be fun, but at least our oldest son is a newly minted electrical engineer, so I shall enlist his help. And I hope, given healthy batteries, that the solar can keep the charge where it needs to be. I have had to push the snow off the roof twice already since bringing it home, and I'm sure those won't be the last times.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Riverbend

Chasing down the draw should be fun, but at least our oldest son is a newly minted electrical engineer, so I shall enlist his help. And I hope, given healthy batteries, that the solar can keep the charge where it needs to be. I have had to push the snow off the roof twice already since bringing it home, and I'm sure those won't be the last times.

Have your son check to make sure the diode is working on your solar panels, if its not you will also discharge over night, you power will bleed out through the panels. Just a thought, but i would still take them to Napa or somewhere where they can measure a load, they will be able to tell if you have any bad cells.

[milkman55]

Two items I know are direct wired to the house battery are the cameras and the steps. Probably others. Rather than spending time chasing everything down, I just keep it plugged in. When underway, the alternator charges everything and I have had no issues other than right after I brought it home and was naive about house batteries.

[Riverbend]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

Have your son check to make sure the diode is working on your solar panels, if its not you will also discharge over night, you power will bleed out through the panels. Just a thought, but i would still take them to Napa or somewhere where they can measure a load, they will be able to tell if you have any bad cells.

I plan on having them tested next week, and our son won't be up our way until March 10th so I hope to nail this battery thing down
by then. I got a very ineffectual email back from the dealer with no offer to help. There's a bit of a backstory here with a previous owner and reverse polarity so ten to one these batteries have been bad for a while. We shall see.

[LaWR - LongAndWindingRoad]

Originally Posted by Riverbend

I plan on having them tested next week, and our son won't be up our way until March 10th so I hope to nail this battery thing down
by then. I got a very ineffectual email back from the dealer with no offer to help. There's a bit of a backstory here with a previous owner and reverse polarity so ten to one these batteries have been bad for a while. We shall see.

Hi Riverbend and Milkman55!

We are following this thread because we are in the same boat as you in regards to trying to learn how to understand these battery readings. We received our 2019 Isata 3 FW last late October 2018 (brand new from Dynamax delivered to dealer). Upon receiving it from dealer, we only had it for a week and had to put it into storage. (live in Minnesota) Unfortunately, storage has no electrical hookup. We have the same set-up with two 12v group 27 AGM deep-cycle batteries and 200 Watt solar panels for the house/coach. We noticed during the PDI while it was plugged into 30 amp, it read 14.4/Full on the Go Power Readout panel. Then when we got it home, we plugged it in for that whole week (we only have 15amp) sitting outside in our driveway and it never read that 14.4/Full again like it did at the dealers. At times, it would drop to 12.6-13's. (In other words, we always watched it to make sure it didn't go below 12 which is what the dealer told us should not happen-bad for battery) We were always careful to make sure we hit the battery disconnect button each night. Being that it was plugged in all night, we assumed it would get fully charged again and read 14.4/Full in the morning. Are we wrong in this assumption Milkman55? (since you only have 15 amp also). Is it important to get 30amp installed at our house or will the 15 amp suffice to at least keep the batteries where they need to be?

Due to no hookup in storage, we took the advice of others on this forum and removed the negative cables from the batteries. Coincidently, we did find to have one faulty battery hookup because we could not get the cable off of the battery post (it was cross threaded on from factory)-Dealer couldn't get it off either . (That battery will be getting replaced by our dealer ). This weekend, our MH will be coming out of hibernation again and we will get to see the status of our batteries and how they faired the winter and go back to figuring out how to read these this Spring while we take our first maiden voyage and learn how to use the rest of the coach. We will also find out if this past winter storage was a costly mistake for us (as in did we damage the batteries already)

Riverbend, Wondering if you can keep this thread going by giving an update on the outcome of your batteries and what kind of readings should we be expecting when the batteries are considered fully functioning/good.

Much appreciated if you have time.

[milkman55]

When plugged into 15 amp service, my display reads 14.4v which i know it’s charging. As soon as I unplug it reads about 13.6v. I never left it get close to 12v before I run the generator or plug in.

FYI, you can get these negative terminal quick disconnects on Amazon which easily disconnect your negative side without removing the cable.

https://www.amazon.com/Post-Battery-...ateway&sr=8-24

[LaWR - LongAndWindingRoad]

Originally Posted by milkman55

When plugged into 15 amp service, my display reads 14.4v which i know it’s charging. As soon as I unplug it reads about 13.6v. I never left it get close to 12v before I run the generator or plug in.

FYI, you can get these negative terminal quick disconnects on Amazon which easily disconnect your negative side without removing the cable.

https://www.amazon.com/Post-Battery-...ateway&sr=8-24

Thanks for your reply Milkman55! Good to know your readouts! and thanks for the heads up on the quick connect. Now we know what to expect. That is interesting that we never got that 14.4v reading again once home and being plugged in the whole time. We chalked it up to not being plugged into 30 amp outlet. (Still learning about the whole electrical side of things) We just bought a multi-meter (read they are handy to have) and will proceed to check our 15amp home outlet to make sure that is up to par. Otherwise, don't know why we wouldn't see that reading again and we never let the batteries go below 12v either during that week period. This is a big learning curve for us being first-time MH owners, but we will get there in understanding. (We tent camped/backpacked for 30 plus years-that was easy/simple so we have the camping part down) This is a whole new ball-game with all the electrical elements and technology.

[debit]

Milkman,
I also added a meter (mine is inside, next to the switches), AND, I added a cut off switch on the positive side of the battery.
The switch was $35 at Camping W.
And like you, I do monitor the voltage and never let it get close to 12.
................
Ram2500 diesel / Surveyor 251rks

[Riverbend]

Originally Posted by LaWR - LongAndWindingRoad

Hi Riverbend and Milkman55!
Riverbend, Wondering if you can keep this thread going by giving an update on the outcome of your batteries and what kind of readings should we be expecting when the batteries are considered fully functioning/good.

Much appreciated if you have time.

By the time I saw this you've already gotten Milkman55's answer to most of your questions. No surprise there, as he's been very helpful to me, as well, as I get to know our Isata 3. As far as my AGM's go, they were toast. I'd guess that was a result of the previous owner's lack of understanding how to cycle them properly, made worse by the solar controller being wired backwards and not charging. I load tested them and confirmed that they were no good. I'm almost done with my installation of two LiFePo4 batteries and can't wait to do some wandering next month!