Rotten Eggs

[spritz]

Turns out it was one of the battery's had cooked as suggested. I have never smelt a battery before so I just went with the propane.
I took the battery (2012) and placed it outside the garage and with in 1/2 hour the smell was gone. I took it back to the place we bought it and they replaced it, cost me 71.00 bucks.
Thankyou, Tim

[RickO]

Good catch.

A few years back while getting ready to hit the road from somewhere in rural Ohio, during my final walk around (with engine running)... I got the strong smell when walking around the rear of the coach.

I quickly found that I had a battery which was boiling AND bulging a lot on the sides. I shut everything down and replaced the battery but it could have been quite a mess if I hadn't taken care of it when I did.

Rick

[JC2]

Originally Posted by spritz

Turns out it was one of the battery's had cooked as suggested. I have never smelt a battery before so I just went with the propane.
I took the battery (2012) and placed it outside the garage and with in 1/2 hour the smell was gone. I took it back to the place we bought it and they replaced it, cost me 71.00 bucks.
Thankyou, Tim

If you in fact have the old style Magnatec converter/charger, I would replace it with a Progressive Dynamic brand relatively soon. They won't boil the batteries and are much better. Additionally, as another poster mentioned, check the age of your LP detector alarm as they should be replaced generally every 5-10 yrs, no exception.

[spritz]

Originally Posted by JC2

If you in fact have the old style Magnatec converter/charger, I would replace it with a Progressive Dynamic brand relatively soon. They won't boil the batteries and are much better. Additionally, as another poster mentioned, check the age of your LP detector alarm as they should be replaced generally every 5-10 yrs, no exception.

I will look into this to see if it has a Magnatec, A few days before this smell the other 1/2 had the battery charger on over night because we had been using the Accessory @ the ignition all day and wanted to recharge the house batterys.
Just a FYI we have been useing shore power almost regular @ the S&B even in the winter with no problems. I am thinking he over charged the batteries? everything seems to be working as usual now that we re-placed that one battery.
Tim,
Thank you for the words of wisdom. Love this site.

[TonyDi]

I'm glad you found the source of the smell. On a different note, if you smell propane or the propane dectectors go off, turning a fan on (an ignition source) is not a great idea. Open windows and get out and shut the tank off.

[spritz]

Okay op's the smell came back yesterday afternoon. We took the new (6-`9-14) battery out and back to where we bought it and they say its a good Battery ??? What could it be ? I think its getting overcharged. We are plugged in to shore power, in the driveway.

[BFlinn181]

Originally Posted by spritz

Okay op's the smell came back yesterday afternoon. We took the new (6-`9-14) battery out and back to where we bought it and they say its a good Battery ??? What could it be ? I think its getting overcharged. We are plugged in to shore power, in the driveway.

Overcharging is the fault of the charger, not the battery. A good battery can be turned into a bad battery by overcharging. Make sure all connections, including ground, are clean. Use a multitester and check voltage at the battery terminals when plugged into shore power. If the battery is charged, a voltage of over 14 v points to a bad charger.

[spritz]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

Overcharging is the fault of the charger, not the battery. A good battery can be turned into a bad battery by overcharging. Make sure all connections, including ground, are clean. Use a multitester and check voltage at the battery terminals when plugged into shore power. If the battery is charged, a voltage of over 14 v points to a bad charger.

Thanks, I don't have one of those testers. I checked the battery this am and she is pretty hot so I disconnected it. The electric station (where all the breakers and charger are) has a steady red light on which means it is charging the battery?? The other battery that is wired with this one is not hot nor is the single battery.
The guy next door has a tester but he is gone for the weekend so I will have to wait for him to get home. Is there any thing else I can do?
Thank you, Tim

[BFlinn181]

I'd go get a multitester to keep in the RV. Useful for circuits, fuses, bulbs, small batteries and large battery health.


While this coupon is expired, check around, you can often buy one for under $20. That's a whole lot cheaper than a new battery!

[spritz]

Progressive Dynamics Power Converter W/Charge Sentinal.

While on SP the Red light is on continually and it says on it that means;
Battery Charging
Blinking means- Battery 90% charged or more
Slow- Excessive Charge Current Blinking- On
Light off- Not charging Refer to Owners Manuel for added info.
(This is what it says on the unit)

Its on continuous and the Battery is warm to hot
I was able to check it last night and while on Shore Power the Red light is on all the time and it reads 15 on the tester. Sears tested it and they said the battery is good. (only a couple months old.)
It won't start with the batteries un-hooked even the emergency start button won't start it.
Could I take the MH on a small journey for a few Days and use shore power?
Thank you for the help & answers,
Tim

[BFlinn181]

What do you mean, "it reads 15 on the tester." Is that 15 volts? If the battery is charged, that's way too high for a float charge. That could be why the battery is too hot. You really need to check that your converter/charger is working properly.

Also, you said, "It won't start with the batteries un-hooked even the emergency start button won't start it." What do you mean by 'batteries un-hooked?' The emergency start (sometimes called a 'boost switch') is meant to connect the chassis and house battery groups together, acting as jumper cables between the two battery banks. It only connects as long as you hold the button down.

With all the issues you've reported, I wouldn't recommend keeping it on shore power. The converter/charger seems to be overcharging the batteries, causing them to outgas sulfuric acid, the source of the 'rotten egg' smell. The gas is very corrosive and the battery overheating could explode, spraying the acid everywhere or cause a fire.

If you can get someone with a voltmeter to check the converter/charger, you can perhaps save your batteries and their storage compartment. To keep using it with the signs you've described could be dangerous.

[spritz]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

What do you mean, "it reads 15 on the tester." Is that 15 volts? If the battery is charged, that's way too high for a float charge. That could be why the battery is too hot. You really need to check that your converter/charger is working properly.

Also, you said, "It won't start with the batteries un-hooked even the emergency start button won't start it." What do you mean by 'batteries un-hooked?' The emergency start (sometimes called a 'boost switch') is meant to connect the chassis and house battery groups together, acting as jumper cables between the two battery banks. It only connects as long as you hold the button down.

With all the issues you've reported, I wouldn't recommend keeping it on shore power. The converter/charger seems to be overcharging the batteries, causing them to outgas sulfuric acid, the source of the 'rotten egg' smell. The gas is very corrosive and the battery overheating could explode, spraying the acid everywhere or cause a fire.

If you can get someone with a voltmeter to check the converter/charger, you can perhaps save your batteries and their storage compartment. To keep using it with the signs you've described could be dangerous.

The volt meter/Tester started around 13 and ended @ 15 on the meter while on shore power. We took the battery that gets warm back to Sears, they said the battery is good. We brought it home and put it back in the MH, and it got warm again so we took it out and looked at it and there was no water or liquid in the battery, we called Sears and they said we must have boiled the battery. Its only been in there a month and we just started using it a week ago and then smelt it a day or so ago.Is that possible? The neighbor thinks that the battery was dropped and cracked the battery case, we have seen no liquid in the battery compartment or on the ground where the MH sits.
In the 3 plus years we have owned the MH we have had no problems with it as far as batteries. We are taking that battery back and they will replace it. What should we do to make sure it isn't boiling the new one?
Again thanks for the help. Tim

[brobox]

As Bob suggested....get a volt meter, they are free every week at Harbor Freight with a coupon. Check the battery after it is charged and if your charger does not drop down the charging voltage it is bad and cooking your battery.
Your new battery could very well have been boiled off in 30 days from a bad charger. Not Sears fault, it's the battery charger. If the charger is bad and not changed it's just a matter of time before one of the batteries explodes or catches fire.

[spritz]

I agree its not Sears Fault, they have been great to deal with they just happen to be where we got the battery.
How do I find out if it is the Progressive Dynamics Power Converter W/ Charge Sentinal. I take it that is what is over charging the battery? We have the battery's disconnected. It's only 1 of the batteries that is overcharging, the other 2 seem fine We have moved the 2 around and its the same battery no matter where it is.?
Thanks, Tim