Batteries

[Lgralton]

We have a 2016 Travato, first motorhome!, so forgive me if I seem a bit naïve. Question, the house batteries are dead but shouldn't plugging to the 30 amp outet I have set up on my house charge the batteries? It was plugged in all night but batteries still dead.

[wardy]

Originally Posted by Lgralton

We have a 2016 Travato, first motorhome!, so forgive me if I seem a bit naïve. Question, the house batteries are dead but shouldn't plugging to the 30 amp outet I have set up on my house charge the batteries? It was plugged in all night but batteries still dead.

No, you have lead-acid batteries. Once they are "dead", they will not come back unlike your cell phone which likely contains lithium ion or older nickel cadmium batteries. You'll need to buy new batteries if the voltage fell below 10.5 volts. Sometimes they are bad even with a higher voltage such as one of the cells failing.

[pcurt23]

You may have the battery switch shut off or the battery charger turned off. Once you drain your batteries it takes a long time to get them to charge again. Sometimes they will come back and sometimes they won't. Deep cycle batteries are more tolerant to abuse but you will shorten the life span by depleting them.

I would get a battery charger that has a function for starting a car with a depleted battery and try to wake the battery up.

[luvlabs]

You should probably just go ahead and replace the house batteries. They were probably mistreated on the dealer lot and not worth trying to nurse back to life although I would try and get the dealer to replace them under warranty.

After you get your new batteries, either store your coach with the battery switch off or leave the coach plugged into shore power.

[Lgralton]

Well, my plug had been disconnected from the house :(. I let the engine run for about 30 min today to get the batteries going. Everything is plugged in correctly now so we'll see if the batteries charge up overnight.

Where would I find the battery switch to turn them off?

[twinboat]

Don't switch off your batteries If plugged in, they may not charge.

Batteries drained to 0 volts don't automatically need replacement.
Not sure why others say they do.

If they are in good shape, they will recover and be OK. There life will be shortened a bit, but that's it.

If as others mentioned, were abused and keep being abused, they will fail in a short period.

[wanderso]

Rather than plugging in my RV using the on board charger, I use one that also conditions the battery for when it is parked, extending its life. This is the brand that I use. Bought on Amazon. http://smartercharger.com

[harryn]

Originally Posted by Lgralton

We have a 2016 Travato, first motorhome!, so forgive me if I seem a bit naïve. Question, the house batteries are dead but shouldn't plugging to the 30 amp outet I have set up on my house charge the batteries? It was plugged in all night but batteries still dead.

Your experience with this is one reason to have at least a small solar panel on every RV. Assuming that it is parked outdoors, it will help keep the batteries charged up and help avoid potentially damaging self discharge events.

Even a 10 watt panel mounted literally anywhere (even sitting on the hood) is enough to help avoid this "non use, self discharge" situation, and a couple of 100 - 200 watt panels can make RV use in general easier.

Edit - I just watched a video on your RV, and it might already have a solar panel on it.

[Lgralton]

Latest update:
When I run the motor it charges the house batteries very quickly. After being plugged in the batteries loose the charge. At this point I beieve I need new batteries but why are they charging with the motor running and not keeping a charge when plugged in, especially since there is nothing on to drain the batteries. Refrigerator is on electric.

[wardy]

Originally Posted by Lgralton

Latest update:
When I run the motor it charges the house batteries very quickly. After being plugged in the batteries loose the charge. At this point I beieve I need new batteries but why are they charging with the motor running and not keeping a charge when plugged in, especially since there is nothing on to drain the batteries. Refrigerator is on electric.

Do you own a volt meter (VOM)? Much easier to trouble-shoot & cheap.

Is the battery switch set to "on"?

If you try to use a 12volt load such as a light will it work when plugged into shore power? If so your inverter/converter is working if not the converter is not putting out. Here a VOM measuring voltage at the batteries would tell you. If the converter (charges the batteries while on shore) is not putting out then I would look at the breaker(s), any related fuse and the actual power switch on the converter. Do you have a power light on the inverter indicating it's getting 120 volts AC on shore power?

That's a start to isolating the problem. It's also possible (but it would be a premature failure) that your solenoid is stuck in the chassis power position and won't switch to house.

[powercat_ras]

Originally Posted by Lgralton

We have a 2016 Travato, first motorhome!, so forgive me if I seem a bit naïve. Question, the house batteries are dead but shouldn't plugging to the 30 amp outet I have set up on my house charge the batteries? It was plugged in all night but batteries still dead.

Take the time to read the electrical section of your Travato owner's manual. For that matter read the whole thing if this is your first motorhome ! ! ! You will have a much better RV experience if you know the RV's features and functions.

When on shore power, operate the house/coach battery disconnect switch located near the sliding door. Hopefully the green light will illuminate indicating your converter/charger is producing output and your batteries have connected into the coach and chassis 12 volt systems. At that point you should have power to all your 12 volt items, and the converter charger will charge both your coach and house battery.

Note that any time you are not driving your RV and not on shore power for more than about 2-3 days you should operate the house/coach battery disconnect switch to keep the parasitic loads on your RV from draining your batteries, or plan on running the engine or generator at least every 2-3 days if you are using the RV and don't want to operate the disconnect switch. Winnebago recommends charging batteries at least once every 30 days even if you have the house/coach battery disconnect switch operated. Apparently, there is a small parasitic drain even with the battery disconnect switch operated.

Just because your batteries were totally drained does not mean they are un-usable it just means their capacity is now less than when new. Lead acid batteries slowly lose their capacity as they are used. Capacity falls more per charge-discharge cycle when they are highly discharged. Try to go between 100% and 50% to maximize their life. You can roughly gauge this using your monitor panel.