Dry batteries again

[C&C R]

Tuesday when we arrived the house batteries were bone dry and hot. Tonight, lights dimmed and Chuck checked and the batteries were bone dry and hot.
Called Roadside Assistance. Got no where again.
Will have to call the dealer again tomorrow. At the rate we're going, we might never get to Florida

[C&C R]

Tuesday when we arrived the house batteries were bone dry and hot. Tonight, lights dimmed and Chuck checked and the batteries were bone dry and hot.
Called Roadside Assistance. Got no where again.
Will have to call the dealer again tomorrow. At the rate we're going, we might never get to Florida

[Beabop]

You may have a bad inverter or one that is set wrong. Our demented (Deminsions) inverter did the same thing to our batteries.

[rotts4u]

Do you have a VOM (Volt-Ohm meter) that you can use to check the voltage at the batteries during charging cycles and while disconnected?

If so you may want to try that to see what the actual charging voltage is and that could be the issue. This test would confirm that.

[Cruzer]

Technically, this isn't a Freightliner issue. Your house batteries are charged by the inverter/charger or converter so I'll move this topic from the Freightliner Forum over to the Winnebago Forum.

Batteries boil over from putting too much voltage into them. A 3 stage charger is designed to go into the float stage when the batteries get nearly charged. This lowers the voltage to a point where the electrolyte doesn't boil and outgas hydrogen. In your situation, which is extreme, you definitely have a bad charger that is not regulating it's voltage and you'll need to replace it.

[C&C R]

After 5 phone calls, we finally were told it was not a freightliner problem
We have an appointment Monday at SunCoast Rv to have our MH looked at.
The refrig. is packed full of food. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats with us. Going to be tricky getting this problem taken care of.

We are now to the point where the batteries go dry every 2 hours. There is no one around here that does on site repairs. So, we are getting ready to leave early for Florida.

[Bikeboy57]

If you're batteries are boiling dry in 2 hours, by all means physically disconnect them right now. You have a serious potential for fire.

If what you said is true.

DISCONNECT THEM IMMEDIATELY.

[Bill Gotthelf]

If you are filling batteries up to the fill mark and 2 hours later they have boiled dry you have a SERIOUS problem with the inverter/converter that is dangerous. I have never seen a battery or batteries ever lose all their water that fast unless the battery was cracked. If you have some way of adjusting voltage output on your inverter or take a reading at the batteries. Most inverters have a high rate between 14.2 and 14.8 volts then when the battery gets within 10-20% of fully charged they will drop to 13.2-13.4v until fully charged and then float at 12.4-12.8v to keep the batteries topped off.

[John_Canfield]

Another likely scenario is a bad cell or cells which 'fools' the charger into thinking the batteries are discharged and telling it to pump lots of amps into the battery bank. Lots of current into cells which are charged are going to cause it to gas and boil out the electrolyte.

My money is on a bad battery(ies.)

[jimandsue60]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by John_Canfield:
Another likely scenario is a bad cell or cells which 'fools' the charger into thinking the batteries are discharged and telling it to pump lots of amps into the battery bank. Lots of current into cells which are charged are going to cause it to gas and boil out the electrolyte.

My money is on a bad battery(ies.) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

John is correct. We had a similar situation caused by bad maintenance of our batteries while the coach was being serviced.

Until you get the batteries replaced you can turn down the amperage available to the charging system buy going to the 3rd button to the right on the dimensions panel and limiting the battery charge to 5 amps.

Jim

[jimandsue60]

.

[Bill Gotthelf]

Even with a bad cell (which could fool the inverter with erronious voltage) if the inverter is boiling all or most of the water out of a battery indicates more than just a battery problem. We have chagers in our shop that will put out 200 amps and we charge large heavy equipment batteries. You cannot boil the water out of a standard size battery that fast with one of those chargers.

[Bikeboy57]

To C&C R

Would you post when you find out the problem? We are curious about the cause and the cure.

[C&C R]

We spent the day at the dealer Winnebago sent us to.
The have ordered all new batteries. Hooked up one so we could function tonight. The really wanted us to leave the coach overnight, but with two dogs and two cats, who would take us in? Chuck will take it back tomorrow for the new batteries.
We were "very" lucky we didn't have a fire. We also need to keep an eye on the refrigerator. The battery problem could have ruined that. It keeps defrosting itself.
Meyer's of Syracuse did a bad job preping and checking this thing. Those batteries should have been replaced before we took possession of this unit.
We hope this is it. First a loose wire, then this. Maybe we can enjoy this trip to Florida. If it warms up.