Community Forums

LiquorDealer · 03-05-2012, 06:11 PM

I installed 4 new GC2 batteries in my 2002 HR Neptune this AM - Hooked everything back up just like it was (hopefully!) and turned the inverter back on -after 8 hours it is still only showing 7.5 -7.9 Volts. Cables, batteries, etc are real warm. How long should I give it to charge - or does it sound like I might have skrued up?

Wanabee FTer · 03-05-2012, 06:18 PM

Hello LiquorDealer and welcome to irv2,

Yikes, sounds like something is wrong. New batteries should be 12.5 to12.8 volts without the inverter on. Battery cables should not be warm/hot. I would suggest disconnect the batteries asap and check each one individually with your volt meter. Perhaps a cable is hooked up backwards somewhere, or a rare chance you have a new shorted battery.

Here is how the new batteries should be wired

TQ60 · 03-05-2012, 08:15 PM

inverter on?

No shore power?

Then could be normal but voltage too low

Ed-Sommers · 03-06-2012, 08:53 AM

You probably hooked them up parallel instead of serial/parallel.

Ed

LiquorDealer · 03-06-2012, 09:10 AM

I went out last night and turned off the house battery disconnect. This morning it is showing 14.2 - 14.6 volts - if I turn the disconnect back on - it immediately drops back into the 7 - 8 range and things start to get warm. Any ideas as to what I've done wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
DM

TQ60 · 03-06-2012, 09:42 AM

Something is very wrong.

You need to be more clear as to where the voltages are being measured.

If the 14 volts are measured on the chassis side of the disconnect switch and the batteries are the low voltage, then you may have them connected as two 6 volts in parallel.

Measure EACH battery, they EACH SHOULD BE HALF of the total.

If they are indeed in series to create a 12 volt system then they are undercharged, but if the wire size is proper then a warm wire would have chargeds them an an hour.

I suspect you havre two 6 volt batteries in parallel, DO NOT START YOUR ENGINE as it will blow up something, your converter has current limiting, the alternator does not and may blow out your isolator or alternator diodes.

Start at the battery and work back towards the coach.

If you are using 6 volt batteries they need to be in series, if 12 volt batteries in parallel as shown in the drawing above.

With the batteries disconnected the total plant voltage should be between 10 for dead batteries and 13 for fully charged ones.

until you measure the correct voltage comming from the batteries to the coach do NOT turn on any switch!

garym114 · 03-06-2012, 11:10 AM

Turn off whatever is charging the batteries and open the battery disconnect until you find out what is wrong. If things are still get warm remove the ground cable from the batteries back to the frame. Don't burn down your rig.
Find someone to come out and find the problem.