Dead House Batteries

[Khazdor]

Hi all

We are very pleased with Thor 22B bought in July, upgraded from a 17ft Hybrid. We are now ready to winterized it and found that the House Batteries are dead. We’ve had it plugged into the house power since the beginning of September. I checked the fuses and it was not tripped. I put a voltmeter on it and they register 1.44V each. Any ideas as to what’s wrong? Could it be the converter? I cycled the breaker for it On and Off. When I cycled it on, I heard some noise, like it was coming on, and then the noise stopped. I’m hoping that’s all it needed. any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[javelin]

I am not familiar with your coach but typically most RV’s do NOT automatically charge house or chassis (engine) batteries just by plugging into shore power (120VAC). Usually you need to turn on the use/store or separate coach/chassis battery switches located by the entrance door (typically) in order for the converter 12VDC side to start charging the batteries. This has been described many times in this forum. The best thing to verify all your batteries are charging is to plug into shore power (ensure it is working OK); turn on the use/store switch (as appropriate for your coach) and use your multimeter to measure voltage across the coach and chassis batteries in turn. If they are charging, you should see 13.1+ DC volts or higher. If you measured 1.4 volts across your coach batteries then they are flat....and hopefully not damaged because of it. If you don’t see the 13.1+ DC volts across the batteries then some additional troubleshooting is required (converter issue, other DC breakers may be open on the 12VDC side of things; etc).

[Local150]

I had a friend that worked for a major battery supplier. He said most batteries that people exchange for new,, ( core ) are really good batteries,, most of the old ones need to make sure full of water, and mainly need to be put on a very slow charger,, the slower the better,, a d they have a lot of life in them.. He said most folks charge them too fast.

[Pete'sMH]

Also, I’m convinced that most owners don’t realize they need to check and likely add water every now and again. Most cars have come with maintenance free batteries for decades now and it just doesn’t occur to folks to check their RV batteries. Doesn’t help that access is not great on many coaches. My Freedom Elite needed water every 3 or 4 weeks if it was on shore power. Probably meant it was being overcharged but I never got around to checking that before I traded .

[mountainsam]

Originally Posted by Local150

I had a friend that worked for a major battery supplier. He said most batteries that people exchange for new,, ( core ) are really good batteries,, most of the old ones need to make sure full of water, and mainly need to be put on a very slow charger,, the slower the better,, a d they have a lot of life in them.. He said most folks charge them too fast.

I had an Interstate battery go dead on our 5th wheel a few years ago. I took it to an Interstate distribution center. They charged it for two days very slowly and the battery turned out fine. I believe what your friend told you.

[Dilley-Dilley]

Like others have said you should check the water level and add distilled water if necessary. I have four batteries in my Coach and just recently added a quart of water to each one. Fill them until the water makes a dimple at the fill hole.

[Local150]

Originally Posted by mountainsam

I had an Interstate battery go dead on our 5th wheel a few years ago. I took it to an Interstate distribution center. They charged it for two days very slowly and the battery turned out fine. I believe what your friend told you.

Actually wasn't going to say it but he worked for interstate batteries.

[Cason61]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

Also, I’m convinced that most owners don’t realize they need to check and likely add water every now and again. Most cars have come with maintenance free batteries for decades now and it just doesn’t occur to folks to check their RV batteries. Doesn’t help that access is not great on many coaches. My Freedom Elite needed water every 3 or 4 weeks if it was on shore power. Probably meant it was being overcharged but I never got around to checking that before I traded .

Yeah, my trailer from years ago was maintenance free as have most of my vehicles since maybe 1975. So yeah, I learned this the hard way, but I got to learn about the color of the cables, why you should zip tie the cables together after you take them off one post at a time, Thor does send schematics, Coleman makes a very good maintenance stand, the battery tie down is a major PITA and those batteries are very heavy to move. Still got to buy those water tubes. Oh yeah, cleaning out the compartment with baking soda and water was another learning experience.