Batteries going dead / problem found

[LETMGROW]

I take the house batteries out of my MH each fall before storing my MH. I keep them charged and have them fully charged when installing them back into the MH in the spring. This year was no different.
I put the batteries in the first week of May. Did all my dewinterization etc. and got the MH ready to use. All the while the batteries stayed near full charge. We went camping Memorial Day weekend. We had full hook up so didn't rely on the batteries. While we were camping I tried to turn the vent fan on in the bathroom vent. It did not come on. I tried the switch several times to no avail.
After we got home the MH had sat here without being plugged in. I turned a lamp on to get something out of the MH and the lamp would barely light. I charged the house batteries and everything worked fine. A few days later the same thing happened. I charged the batteries and performed a load test. The batteries tested fine. I did an amperage draw test and found I had a 1.5 amp draw on the batteries.
In the meanwhile I had torn the bathroom vent apart and found the fan motor was seized up. I replaced the fan motor and put the vent assembly back together. All was well.
Then it struck me! I retested for a current (amperage) draw. There was zero draw. I took the old fan motor to the batteries and disconnected the negative ground cable from the batteries. I then put the wires on the old fan motor in line and checked for amperage draw. Ah ha! 1.5 volts draw.
I suspect while we were camping and I had tried the fan I had clicked the push button switch and it ended up in the on position. The seized motor would not run but it was still drawing amps.
The MH has been sitting a couple days now and the volt meter I have attached to the batteries is reading a full charge.
Sometimes you just get lucky.
Lynn

[carl.swoyer]

Originally Posted by LETMGROW

I take the house batteries out of my MH each fall before storing my MH. I keep them charged and have them fully charged when installing them back into the MH in the spring. This year was no different.

I put the batteries in the first week of May. Did all my dewinterization etc. and got the MH ready to use. All the while the batteries stayed near full charge. We went camping Memorial Day weekend. We had full hook up so didn't rely on the batteries. While we were camping I tried to turn the vent fan on in the bathroom vent. It did not come on. I tried the switch several times to no avail.

After we got home the MH had sat here without being plugged in. I turned a lamp on to get something out of the MH and the lamp would barely light. I charged the house batteries and everything worked fine. A few days later the same thing happened. I charged the batteries and performed a load test. The batteries tested fine. I did an amperage draw test and found I had a 1.5 amp draw on the batteries.

In the meanwhile I had torn the bathroom vent apart and found the fan motor was seized up. I replaced the fan motor and put the vent assembly back together. All was well.

Then it struck me! I retested for a current (amperage) draw. There was zero draw. I took the old fan motor to the batteries and disconnected the negative ground cable from the batteries. I then put the wires on the old fan motor in line and checked for amperage draw. Ah ha! 1.5 volts draw.

I suspect while we were camping and I had tried the fan I had clicked the push button switch and it ended up in the on position. The seized motor would not run but it was still drawing amps.

The MH has been sitting a couple days now and the volt meter I have attached to the batteries is reading a full charge.

Sometimes you just get lucky.

Lynn

Luckily it didn't catch fire

[LETMGROW]

Originally Posted by carl.swoyer

Luckily it didn't catch fire

I have thought about that. There was no smell like something electrical burning. The motor wasn't hot to the touch when I removed it but the batteries were low on charge by then.
Lynn