Battery Boil

[Bronccat]

I have scoured this and other forums and I am still a little confused as how to troubleshoot this.

Here's the setup:

4 Interstate 2200s (6.5 years old)
Magnum ME2012
Plugged to shore power (50a) all the time

Tray indicates history of leaking (like pretty dramatic, holes through the tray)
Never saw the batteries wet until last week and they were all wet

Electrolyte Level Good
Hydrometer showing all cells good

Haven't checked current coming in to batteries but display has always indicated low 14s when charging

I am in the process of getting the tray cleaned up and painted with Por15. I obviously don't want to throw bad batteries back in here, nor do I want to unnecessarily buy batteries.

I am assuming that the charger is overcharging OR the batteries are going south. So, how do I determine which one it is?

By the way, I have another thread going about the inverter / charger settings with the batteries out and the discos open. I needed to use the coach while I was working on the tray so I wanted to make sure I didn't mess anything up.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/inve...-278421-2.html

I have since turned the inverters off and the charger off - but with the charger off my juice is so low that some of the florescent fixtures won't even start up. Any insight on this is appreciated as well.

Thanks!

[BFlinn181]

The key missing fact is the voltage going into the batteries. You have all the signs of over charging, but I also suspect a bad connection or two. If a bad ground connection was present, the charger might produce more voltage than the batteries actually need. A careful removal of each cable, one at a time, cleaning, checking, then reinstalling, would be a step I'd take. Also, if your inverter/charger monitors battery temperature, the probe or connection could be bad.

[Jeff753]

Batteries are probably old and sulphated. Unless you overfiled the cells. F you take it off charge for 24 hours what is the voltage.
You could do what I did. Clean the tray. Paint the tray. Put in Lifeline batteries. They don't leak

Jeff
2001 Dynasty Regent tag axle
Cummins 350 8.3 ISC

[Bronccat]

Thanks. I'll check them again. Maybe I try charging them out of the coach with an automatic charger?

[Skip426]

If your batteries check out as charged and your converter is still putting out over 14v to the batteries then there's a good chance the converter is in trouble.
The charge rate should settle to 13.1 + or - .2v when the batteries are fully charged, to prevent the off gassing and fluid damage.
BUT, if your not getting full battery power, to the interior, with the charger disconnected, then there is a possibility that you've got a bad connection somewhere in the system that is indicating to the converter/charger that the batteries are not charged, and it's running full tilt trying to charge them.
With the coach disconnected from shore power , test voltage at the batteries , then at the interior fuse panel; these should be the same ; then check for the same battery voltage at the connection to the converter/charger. Any variation in voltage will indicate a poor connection.
NOTE: If your coach is set up to charge the chassis batteries and a chassis battery is bad, the C/C could be trying to charge the chassis battery and that charge rate is too high for the coach batteries.
Also , Harbor Freight , has a battery load tester for $23, that tests both 12 and 6 volt batteries good addition to any RVer's tool box.
Good luck tracking down your problem.

EDIT: I see a bunch of other members posted while I was typing, sorry for any duplicate info.

[JohnDolyn]

I would take those batterys over to my local auto supply store and have them tested while you have them out. Seems like the age of those indicates that you have already got your moneys worth.

[Bronccat]

Thanks all, good stuff here. I have a load tester (from harbor freight matter of fact) so I'll do that as well.

Interesting though on the short.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure I have looked at the remote often enough to know if it's stepping down or not.

I think I'll do my testing then yes, take them to the parts house for analysis if my results are inconclusive.

[Bronccat]

Hydrometer test still good. Batterit's read good on no load and middle of weak under load Going to parts house now to test further

[Bronccat]

Parts house tested good.

[YC1]

Trace the temperature sensor on the batteries to where it is plugged in to the inverter/converter and unplug it and leave it unplugged for several days. If that solves it, just leave it disconnected. I was listening to a presentation on the system yesterday and that is what they suggest.

[Scottybdivin]

You are obviously doing something right if your batteries are 6 years old. I agree, 14+ is too high for FLOAT. I recently went through this learning curve. You might check the settings under SETUP on your ME 2012 for your charge rate and absorb time. The charge rate for 4 6V batteries should be around 80-85A (440 Ah / 5) or about 80-85% of your ME 2012's 100A max. Absorb time should be about 90 min for 310-500 Ah of LA batteries, according to Magnum.

After re-building my tray, and adding 2 more batteries, I just added the Pro Fill watering system, thanks to recommendations on iRV2. It should prevent over filling.

[Scottybdivin]

Originally Posted by YC1

Trace the temperature sensor on the batteries to where it is plugged in to the inverter/converter and unplug it and leave it unplugged for several days. If that solves it, just leave it disconnected. I was listening to a presentation on the system yesterday and that is what they suggest.

Good call. My issue of "under charging" 12.7V was the result of an open circuit on the BTS. As soon as I unplugged it, it began charging normally.

[Bronccat]

Thank you both.

Should I maybe reset the inverter?

Magnum said I should be at 400 amps on the settings - is that in line with what you're saying?

I'll monitor volts at different stages of charging and record.

Thanks, going to paint a tray :-)

[96 Wideglide]

400- 440 setting should be fine.
My Magnum float charges my batteries at 13.8-13.9v when it's cold. Never boil's them, and I rarely ever need to add water.