Community Forums

TonyMac · 06-25-2018, 03:45 PM

Did any battery maintenance lately?

Soppy · 06-25-2018, 03:50 PM

Batteries will not put out too much voltage . If everything was working fine and no changes were made , the only way to have 18 volts is if there is a malfunction in the charging system . Even with cables shorting together , it would be almost impossible to get that voltage.

rpasetto · 06-25-2018, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

The OP stated he measured 18V on 2 batteries, so I ignored any configuration that involved more than 2 batteries. I'm thinking that the original problem might have been caused by an issue with the converter putting out too much voltage, which fried the controller. Then the batteries (probably 12V batteries) were disconnected. When the batteries were reconnected, they were connected wrong. Because of the over-voltage from the converter there are now 3 shorted cells in the batteries, resulting in a reading of 18V in the incorrrectly configured 12V batteries.

I missed (or forgot) he said '2 batteries'. Unless he had a 6 and 12 in series...

If he has (2) 12volt batts in series I agree that with three shorted cells he would measure 18 volts. I may be possible that two really bad 12volt batts in series might read only 18v; bad batteries with a load. Either way disconnecting batteries should be the next step.

Anyway, we really need to see a picture of batts, cables in order to help the OP.

rpasetto · 06-25-2018, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soppy

Batteries will not put out too much voltage . If everything was working fine and no changes were made , the only way to have 18 volts is if there is a malfunction in the charging system . Even with cables shorting together , it would be almost impossible to get that voltage.

Not cables shorting together: Alan suggested the possibility of some shorted cells which would reduce voltage of two 12v batteries in series to 18volt. It might also be two 12v batteries in series with a really large load. Either would produce dangerous heat. A dead short in cables would probably cause a reading well below 18v and quickly drain the batteries if not causing a fire first.

@OP: We need to see pictures of batteries and cables. Also, tell us where you are measuring the 18v. Most of all, disconnect the batteries to prevent further problems.

Sweetbriar · 06-25-2018, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawn590

2017 Holiday Rambler Endeavor

Being that the OP's coach isn't old enough for unusual prior owner alterations and strange battery configurations something else is going on. A possible is the AC to DC converter/charger has failed is my first guess. If there is a true 18 VDC on the 12 VDC coach bus, there's going to be a lot of unhappy DC appliances in the coach. Incandescent lights would sure be bright for a short time. Not sure what an LED would do other than maybe letting the magic smoke escape.

And 198 degress is no even close to catching fire. That 12 degrees short of boiling water, 253 degrees from paper burning and 1023 degrees away from the temp when aluminum starts getting soft.

Dawn590 · 06-26-2018, 08:19 AM

It was reading 18 on meter....REV flew the one and only man out and tore the dash more apart than the fire company did...checked all wires....checked all wires out underneath by the generator.....tore the door apart.....taped all wires to the power the door lock ( which will never be used again) then with schematic in hand tried to hook up the batteries...well it was the wrong schematic....called Decatur and was sent another one.....well it again was the wrong one.....so what they had to do was take pictures of the batteries of a wrecked Rambler they were using for parts and guess what it worked between Doug and the guy out in Decatur they got the batteries together all connected.....starts it....checking everything when it shout down.......he had to check every fuse.....well a large 300 fuse was the culprit......we have a weird setup on the batteries.

Dawn590 · 06-26-2018, 01:07 PM

I love your answer to the 198.....technician from Decatur said it will burn at 250 and tell that to the firemen that were here and said it burned the floor and would have caught fire if we hadn’t been right there. I guess you think that we don’t know what we’re talking about.....but we seen the reading at 18..... it took that well qualified technician 5 1/2 hrs to fix the problems. We were sent a schematic to do the the batteries ourselves....wrong schematic.....technician came with the wrong one to....they have a wrecked unit that is the same as ours and that’s where they got the right one and even then it wasn’t easy. I know they are golf batteries and it should be one...two....three but you know what it wasn’t. Thank You for your answer that it wasn’t hot enough to burn ....wrong answer

Sweetbriar · 06-26-2018, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawn590

I love your answer to the 198.....technician from Decatur said it will burn at 250 and tell that to the firemen that were here and said it burned the floor and would have caught fire if we hadn’t been right there. I guess you think that we don’t know what we’re talking about.....but we seen the reading at 18..... it took that well qualified technician 5 1/2 hrs to fix the problems. We were sent a schematic to do the the batteries ourselves....wrong schematic.....technician came with the wrong one to....they have a wrecked unit that is the same as ours and that’s where they got the right one and even then it wasn’t easy. I know they are golf batteries and it should be one...two....three but you know what it wasn’t. Thank You for your answer that it wasn’t hot enough to burn ....wrong answer

Well then good luck in you future endeavors, your going to need it, particularly when the techs that you allow to work on your coach blow 300 amp fuses. But what do I know, besides what type of power each and every appliance in my coach needs to operate correctly, how to connect batteries correctly for a parallel, series or a combination of the two for proper 12VDC power support, how to quickly and easily isolated ALL power feeding the coach rather than waiting for the fire department to arrive and do it for me, how to identify a 12VDC from a 6VDC battery without the need for a manufacture's label, and even being able to correctly determine which terminal is positive and which is negative on those batteries.

Dawn590 · 06-26-2018, 03:36 PM

Maybe I should call you for any problem we have. The technician comes from the factory where they are built so if they can’t find out what the problem is we’ll call you. Someone who knows it all....and for christ sake yes we needed to call the fire company because at that time it was past taking your time to find the problem.....but yes you are always right putting positive and negative in the right order. We didn’t do anything wrong just so that.

RROLDSX · 06-26-2018, 05:14 PM

Sounds like a 6 volt and a 12 volt hooked together, something hugely wrong.

RROLDSX · 06-26-2018, 05:34 PM

Actually, I think you could have two bad cells in twelve volts will equal 18 volts.

biggcrisp · 06-26-2018, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RROLDSX

Sounds like a 6 volt and a 12 volt hooked together.

Now that’s funny.

Just to keep it going.... a 6 volt and a 12 volt hooked together = 9 volts :-)

RROLDSX · 06-26-2018, 05:41 PM

Yeah, I was hugely wrong but I think my last comment has merit.🤭

rpasetto · 06-27-2018, 03:32 AM

I think it will be more productive if we stick to the objectives of this forum, one of which is to help someone through a technical issue, not argue about who knows what.

@Dawn590: Can you provide us with a picture of the batteries showing how they are wired. When you tell us voltage readings, indicate points on the circuit where voltages are taken (use picture or wiring diagram as needed). ALso let us know whether the coach is plugged in to shore power.

Most of us on this forum are willing to help.