2nd Inverter

[Fergtiffin]

Well not great news. All house batteries down to around 3 volts and want take a charge. One battery has some sign of leakage, all have slight bulge around the post.

I am no battery expert. But I am wondering if perhaps one battery went bad which resulted in the rest being over charged. Or if heat had an issue. Perhaps after sitting in service and the ride home the charger went into bulk charge and excessive heat in the enclosed battery compartment created the issue.

Batteries installed around August 3 of 2023.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Fergtiffin

Well not great news. All house batteries down to around 3 volts and want take a charge. One battery has some sign of leakage, all have slight bulge around the post.

I am no battery expert. But I am wondering if perhaps one battery went bad which resulted in the rest being over charged. Or if heat had an issue. Perhaps after sitting in service and the ride home the charger went into bulk charge and excessive heat in the enclosed battery compartment created the issue.

Batteries installed around August 3 of 2023.

Sorry it sounded like a shorted battery, post #10 when your problems kept increasing. For others.....these computerized coaches do some weird things when a battery goes bad (shorts out_) I know it's hard to check the batteries where they are located, but checking the batteries first will eliminate a lot of questions. Even new batteries can have a bad one. Even new coaches can have a bad charging system as I found out on my 21 when my batteries were dead getting ready for a trip.

The other batteries over charging probably was from the charger trying to charge the bad battery that would not take a charge, that charge was going somewhere.
Some well say, "I don't care if my batteries are weak, I am always plugged in. I heard this so many times when I had the FireFly charging issue where info was being gathered for 3 months from other owners. Weak batteries will become a problem overworking the charging system, either the engine alternator, or the inverter/charger that will overheat. The new Magnums are being posted that they are not as good as they once were....even Entegra has switched. Over work them on weak batteries and they probably will go bad.

Glad you found the problem and it will and easy fix, well, kind of due to the location and weight....and cost, if all 4 batteries are bad, did the charging take out all four batterers? Have you tried an external charger? Disconnect each batter and see if it will take a charge from a portable charger. What brand are the batteries? Hopefully they have a first year full warranty I sure hope there is no damage to the charging system, the 3v on the other batteries is cause for concern.

Sure sorry you had the problem, but thank you for sharing so other can learn. I hope you will keep us informed of the update on the batteries.
I have been there in reverse. all batteries bad in 2 years because FireFly was under charging the batteries and it's still not 100%.

[Fergtiffin]

Thank you, Chuck,

I actually use my batteries, we often overnight without hookups when traveling.

Yes, I learned a lot from all the strange signals. Going forward I will be much quicker to disconnect the batteries and load test them. Really not so bad to slide them out once the bracing is removed. Last year when I replaced them, I lifted them over the brace for some dumb reason I thought it was welded.

My suspicions are the same as yours, one bad battery caused an overcharging issue.

I do not believe the heat buildup from the enclosed compartment helped anything. I am going created some ventilation for that compartment, possibly some temp controlled fans.

When I purchased the batteries, my intention was to purchase Lifeline, however they were still hard to come by. The salesperson recommended Leoch. They have a full one-year warranty, be interesting to see if they cover all four. My bill of Laden shows them delivered August 2, 2023.

Thank you much for your input.

Michael

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Fergtiffin

Thank you, Chuck,

I actually use my batteries, we often overnight without hookups when traveling.

Yes, I learned a lot from all the strange signals. Going forward I will be much quicker to disconnect the batteries and load test them. Really not so bad to slide them out once the bracing is removed. Last year when I replaced them, I lifted them over the brace for some dumb reason I thought it was welded.

My suspicions are the same as yours, one bad battery caused an overcharging issue.

I do not believe the heat buildup from the enclosed compartment helped anything. I am going created some ventilation for that compartment, possibly some temp controlled fans.

When I purchased the batteries, my intention was to purchase Lifeline, however they were still hard to come by. The salesperson recommended Leoch. They have a full one-year warranty, be interesting to see if they cover all four. My bill of Laden shows them delivered August 2, 2023.

Thank you much for your input.

Michael

Hopefully others have really digested your posts Some great information on what a bad battery in a computerize coach can and does do.

Normally they blame the shorted battery to cause the other 3 to go bad. But, I have seen NIRVC get them covered under warranty when we were having the undercharging problems. But all the batteries looked the same, no bulges or leaking. Hope you have a good dealer that can handle that for you.

Did you try a charge on one battery to see if it would hold?

I have one of these that are GREAT for sliding the batteries out. https://www.amazon.com/Car-Black-60X...ps%2C90&sr=8-2

[Fergtiffin]

Originally Posted by brobox

Hopefully others have really digested your posts Some great information on what a bad battery in a computerize coach can and does do.

Normally they blame the shorted battery to cause the other 3 to go bad. But, I have seen NIRVC get them covered under warranty when we were having the undercharging problems. But all the batteries looked the same, no bulges or leaking. Hope you have a good dealer that can handle that for you.

Did you try a charge on one battery to see if it would hold?

I have one of these that are GREAT for sliding the batteries out. https://www.amazon.com/Car-Black-60X...ps%2C90&sr=8-2

Yes sir, I tried charging, but the low voltage kept the charger from charging. I am out of luck on the warranty since all the batteries now have a slight bulge around the positive post. I was already a little hesitant to put them back in coach even if they did take a charge. These batteries have dropped significantly in price since I purchased last year due to availability.

I am seriously considering going with Lifeline. Perhaps a little more durable and made in US. Hopefully I can get them in relatively quickly.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Fergtiffin

Yes sir, I tried charging, but the low voltage kept the charger from charging. I am out of luck on the warranty since all the batteries now have a slight bulge around the positive post. I was already a little hesitant to put them back in coach even if they did take a charge. These batteries have dropped significantly in price since I purchased last year due to availability.

I am seriously considering going with Lifeline. Perhaps a little more durable and made in US. Hopefully I can get them in relatively quickly.

Just a suggestion: might be a good time to do the Lithium upgrade since you do use your batteries like I do for over night stops; DreamCatcher worked out all the details on this post. https://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/upd...ng-636606.html

Here is Jim's step by step photo instruction with everything working. https://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/upd...ml#post6746619

Lithium would be the last batteries ever needed and the price for the conversion is about what a set of Lifelines would cost. I am on my second set of AGMs on a 4 year old coach, they will be my last. This set will make it for about 4 hours, so that are not going to stay.

[Fergtiffin]

Believing excessive heat contributed to my one year old house battery failure I installed two video cabinet fans. Quick and easy job. But on hindsight I should have installed the controller closer to the bay door so I could easily turn it off when not on power.

Pictures are upside down. ��

[Jose67]

Hello Fergtiffin,

Thank you for posting your thermal solution. How did you condition the air coming in and out of the basement? or are you just circulating the heat in the basement?

Thank you.

[Fergtiffin]

Just circulating. My understanding is this should be enough from cases in the southwest. Entegra has two small holes in the box, my understanding is one vents through the floor and the other through the rear wheel well. However, bulk charging in high temperatures turns the box into an oven for lack of a better explanation.

The temp sensors will shut the inverters off. I got some bad advice and unplugged mine in order to continue a trip. It worked but I did understand what I was doing at the time and the consequences were expensive!! I actually deformed the temp sensors where they connect to the batteries, indicating just how hot it got in the box.

[Chap1021]

Your original question was how to plug in your refrigerator. I had my refrigerator out and the cord was routed through a hole to the cabinet along side. If you look in the cabinet along side the refrigerator toward the bottom there should be a plug with a cord coming from behind the refrigerator. That is your refrigerator plug. Unplug and use an extension cord.
This is how my 45B is set up and would assume yours is about the same.

[Fergtiffin]

Yes sir,

I finally found it. Not sure why I did not look there sooner!