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Old 08-04-2018, 02:55 PM   #1
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House batteries failing, and tie into coach electrical???

2008 Inspire 360 with 7 yr, 3 mo old Longline AGM batteries. I had my RV in the shop for awning replacements, was there 2 days. I think they totally drained my house batteries while there, slides barely went out when I tested them as I picked up my coach. Got it home, plugged in the shore power (and my switch is ON for charging house batteries when driving). My xantrex and Onan panels show 11.7 volts on the house batteries...sometimes drops to less than 10 volts.

Last night I attached a battery tender to the 4 house batteries, doesn't seem to be charging them up.

If the battery power drops below10.5v, it appears to affect the rest of the coach. A/C didn't work, and lights were dim. Starting the GEN (needed boost) didn't seem to affect anything.

Does the shore power go thru the house batteries prior to the coach? Could shorted or bad house batteries affect the overall coach electricity?

Getting 4 new Discovery AGM's early next week.

Any idea's on what is going on here?

Gary
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Old 08-04-2018, 03:16 PM   #2
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Shore power goes through transfer sw, then to inverter/charger for batteries. There should be a gauge or meter that tells you how many amps are going into the house batteries, that should be way up there like 100 amps.
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Old 08-04-2018, 04:12 PM   #3
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Check your inverter/charger for a popped circuit breaker. It may be a lever or push button type, right on the inverter.
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Old 08-04-2018, 08:24 PM   #4
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Both on the inverter are good and never tripped!
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Old 08-04-2018, 08:28 PM   #5
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Have no idea of any gauge that has those readings, amps type. Transfer switch...don't know where or what.It is night, and will have to look in the morning. Never heard of a transfer switch...anyone know where that might be?
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Old 08-05-2018, 04:58 AM   #6
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Have no idea of any gauge that has those readings, amps type. Transfer switch...don't know where or what.It is night, and will have to look in the morning. Never heard of a transfer switch...anyone know where that might be?

Your transfer switch should be located where the shore power comes into the coach. The auto transfer switch (ATS) detects shore power vs generator power and will switch from one to the other. The ATS will always switch to the generator power if the genset is running. Otherwise, it will switch to shore power if connected.



Most inverters also have a transfer switch.



Your inverter control panel (remote panel inside the coach) should allow you to display the charging amps going to your house batteries. If your house batteries are low, the charger in your inverter will pound them with high amps to get them charged, unless you have set the charger to a lower setting. My inverter/charger (Magnum Energy) allows me to set charging amps as low as 5 amps.


I had a similar issue with a RV shop killing my batteries. They had the coach for a month and did not follow my specific instructions to shut off the house and chassis batteries (I have battery disconnect switches in the battery bay) when they were not working on the coach or when it was not connected to shore power. They had to replace my two chassis batteries. My six 6V Full River AGM house batteries survived but I think they were weakened. They are now 5 1/2 years old so I plan to replace them in the near future.
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Old 08-05-2018, 06:56 AM   #7
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THANK YOU so much for the advice...will dig for the transfer switch. Started the enging last night and everything came on and the remote panel showed 13.8 volts going to both engine and house batteries. Will dig into the panel and make sure the charging amps are up!
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Old 08-05-2018, 08:24 AM   #8
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Something else to consider....if your house battery voltage dropped to a really low level (say below 10 volts), your inverter/charger may not charge them. You need to check the specs on your inverter/charger to see what they say. Some chargers won't work if the battery voltage is too low.



Once you replace your house batteries with new ones, your issues may go away.
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Old 08-05-2018, 09:25 AM   #9
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Something else to consider....if your house battery voltage dropped to a really low level (say below 10 volts), your inverter/charger may not charge them. You need to check the specs on your inverter/charger to see what they say. Some chargers won't work if the battery voltage is too low.



Once you replace your house batteries with new ones, your issues may go away.
That's a very good reminder on how many of these Smart Chargers work.

OP - I believe you mentioned a Battery Tender was on for awhile. They do not put out many amps, enough to maintain a trickle charge and hold even with parasitic drains on the battery. If you have, or can borrow a stand alone charger - you might try hitting the Lifeline's (Assume you meant Lifeline's, but suppose the it's a brand I have not heard of before.) with couple of 'back to back' equalization or conditioning charges. (We had X's 4 L16 Lifeline's that do to my mistake as an owner, had sulfated enough to lose performance at age 5 1/2. With guidance from Lifeline Tech Support. I first attempted a full charge (And note, I could get my batteries to charge, as they were not that low voltage wise.), and then followed with a four series of back to back 4 hour runs of Magnum MS2812 fed Equalizing/Conditioning. (Lifeline recommended 8 hour tuns, but the max time for MS2812 was 4 hours.) The attempt was to try and desulfate the batteries to restore levels again.

Would not hurt to try this with your bank.

Another option if you don't have a battery charger to use, is to go burn a bit of fuel and drive for the alternator to hit the chassis and then house battery. Maybe enough after a few hours of driving, to get the voltage up high enough for your charger to kick in(?).

Best of luck to you,
Smitty
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Old 08-06-2018, 07:23 AM   #10
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Thanks Smitty...I actually drove from Noble RV Repair when the house batts were WAY down...two hours of driving and when we got parked, less than 11 volts on the house batteries. And yes, Lifeline GPL 6CT's are what I have. No full time charger around...but with over 7 years on these, I think I will invest in another 4 new ones. The local Lifeline dealer would have to order the exact replacement, but they HIGHLY recomended another AGM battery made by Discover. Said they were very high quality and much cheaper...? Will have to trust that I think......

BTW...my battery tender (over the weekend) has stabilized the charge at 11.8-12.1 volts and all seems to stable for now. Voltage never drops below 11.8 finally, so something is holding a charge.

Still think new batteries are due.
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Old 08-13-2018, 04:00 PM   #11
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House batteries failing, and tie into coach electrical???

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Originally Posted by gostberg View Post
...my battery tender (over the weekend) has stabilized the charge at 11.8-12.1 volts and all seems to stable for now. Voltage never drops below 11.8 finally, so something is holding a charge.


By definition, 11.8-12.1 volts is a dead battery even though it may be just enough to start a motor. A fully charged battery will be around 12.7 volts. Any operating charger must provide greater than a 12.7 volt charge (13.x volts or greater is typical) in order to charge a battery up to 12.7 volts. The DC amps of the charger determine the rate or how quickly the batteries will be charged. A trickle charger (battery tender) may only provide between 5-15 amps DC while a three stage charger will start out the “bulk” stage closer to 150 amps DC. Measure the voltage at the battery while you believe it is being charged and it should read higher than the batteries do when not connected at all (unloaded).
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