batteries

[pk42]

help i have a 03 ts. and installed 4 new house batt. 2 months ago and now i have a awfull smell and the batt. are very warm does anyone know what could cause this pk42.

[Intothewild]

Check your water level in each battery

[Skip426]

Get a voltmeter and test the charge output from the converter/charger at the batteries.
I am assuming your on shore power . should be 13.2v >13.6v anything over 14.5 will cook the batteries.

[RV Wizard]

Double check the wiring to be sure that the configuration is correct. Way down the page is a pictorial of correct configuration RV Electrical Systems.

[Tony Lee]

First thing is to disconnect the shore power to prevent even worse damage.

While you are organising a multimeter, check the water level and top up to at least cover the plates (for now)

Take note of how much water goes into each cell.

If all uniformly low, then most likely cause is a malfunctioning charger or converter.

If just one cell is normal then perhaps this cell has gone short-circuit and the charger is being tricked into pushing current in in a fruitless try to get the voltage up. This will result in the other cells being low in water.

Check the voltage across each battery when the charger/converter is switched on. If voltages across each battery are all equal, but the charger is putting out much over say 13.7V, then the charger needs checking.(note, if it is a three-stage charger, the voltage might go up to over 14V but should then drop back to float voltage once the charging cycle has finished.

If nothing seems out of the ordinary with these measurements -

Disconnect all the batteries and measure the resting voltage of each battery. All the same voltage points to the charger/converter faulty but if one is quite different (lower) to the others then a faulty battery might be the cause.
Repeating the voltage check while putting a load across the battery would give a better indication.

If everything points to a faulty battery, you still need to find out whether it all started with a faulty battery or a faulty charger and probably the best way would be to get a known good 12V battery, connect it to the charger and monitor the voltage to make sure the charger is operating correctly. (this will depend on whether it is a fixed voltage converter or a three-stage charger.

[pk42]

first thing this morning i put water in the batteries and thay took 1 galon so i am on my way to get more, after i get them full i will do all of the hints all of them seem great tests i will let you know how i make out again thanks....pk 42

[pivotdoc]

Are you using distilled water? No tap water in batteries.........like has been said it's either a shorted cell or the inverter is overcharging.........I use a small trickle charger on the house batteries while stored in the winter, keep the inverter on standby mode......... JB

[trampsrv]

new batteries 2 month age? are they hooked up right.if they smell like rotten eggs then they are over charging.take them back before the warranty expires.merry merry happy happy. :-)