willowmoss
On the Road
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Joined: 04/10/2009
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Hi. I went full-time last June. I typically stay at a location for a month, but have anchored in southern california past three months to wait out winter. I have never turned off my "aux battery" switch when connected to power. Recently I have noticed that the two house batteries are using about a quarter/half gallon of distilled water each week. The batteries actually seem to be boiling. I turned off the "aux battery" switch a few days ago to see if this makes a difference.
Also, my chassis battery loses its charge over a course of three-four weeks. I have taken to keeping it on a battery maintainer even when connect to power. I know it draws power to run the clock radio and perhaps other items such as the power seats. When the chassis battery is low, the battery booster does not seem to help start the coach. It is a fairly new battery - one year, but loses about 30% charge each week.
I had thought that if I was connected to a power source (currently 30 amp), that the chassis and house batteries should maintain a proper charge.
Finally, I have noticed that the battery box seems to developing a white corrision film. Houston, do I have a problem?? Other than "duh", any insights and what I should do?? Thanks in advance for your insights.
Willowmoss
2008 Winnebago 33' Voyage
Ford Chassis - 6.8L SOHC Triton V10 362-hp
Tow vehicle: 2009 Honda Fit, Roadmaster/US Gear
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2bzy2c
California
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Joined: 02/15/2010
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I am not a battery buff, but it sounds like the batteries are being overcharged. Why? I will have to leave that to someone else with more knowledge. In any event, it does not sound good.
My advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.
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eribon
Atikokan
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Joined: 02/02/2012
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There is a really good article on everything to do about batteries called " The 12 volt side of life".......google on this and it may help!! Good Luck
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sundancer268
Charlevoix
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Joined: 01/27/2006
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It all depends on the quality of your converter. Cheap will be a single stage battery charger which will either over or under charge your batteries. Yours sounds like an over charge condition. Place a digital volt meter across your batteries when hooked up and charging. Should be in the 13.2-13.6 volt range. If above that for a long period of time the batteries will be cooked. A good quality converter will have a three stage battery charger and can be left on forever. I Installed a progressive Power converter in my old Shasta to replace the old Magnatec and have not had any problems. I made sure the converter I purchased had the three stage charger built in. My Motor Home has an Inverter with the three stage charger built into that. I leave both the travel trailer and motor home plugged in all of the time and check the battery water level every so often and so far have not added any water in over two years of light use. The corrosion on the equipment is from the acid boiled from the batteries when over charged. Use Baking Soda and water to clean up the mess and find out what is causing the over charge and the problem should go away. Leave the battery caps on when washing and keep the Baking Soda Water out of the cells.
One other thing that could cause your problem is a defective battery. If one cell is bad the charger will not see the voltage it needs to shift into a lower charge mode and will just try to bring up the defective battery which will cause the good cells to boil and out gas. A quick way to check is to look in the battery cells while charging. The bad cell will not be bubbling. A Volt Meter will also read less than 11 volts when the charger is disconnected. Good Luck.
U. S. Navy (RETIRED) 1993
1995 Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser 34' Diesel Pusher Cummins B5.9 12 Valve Engine, Allison MD-3060 6 Speed Transmission.
TOAD: 2005 Ford Focus Automatic Station Wagon
Road Master Sterling All-Terrain
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wny_pat
Western NYS
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sundancer268 wrote:It all depends on the quality of your converter. Cheap will be a single stage battery charger which will either over or under charge your batteries. Yours sounds like an over charge condition. On a 2008 Winnebago 33' Voyager?? Thought better of Winnie. And doesn't Winnie use the "Trik-L-Start" to tie the battery systems together?
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2inAlabama
Huntsville, AL
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How old are the house batteries? They may be at the end of their expected lifespan. I just had to replace mine and my first clue was they kept boiling the water away and would not hold a charge.
Just DH & DW
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garym114
Bluff Dale, Texas
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Joined: 07/24/2006
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If you have to add that much water, that often, something is wrong. Most do not have acid deposits on the batteries or in the battery compartments.
Bad batteries or system is overcharging. Shouldn't your chassis battery be charging when plugged in?
2000 Sea Breeze F53 V10 - CR-V Toad
Some RV batteries live a long and useful life, some are murdered.
Get a Digital Multimeter and Learn How to Use It
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RayChez
Barstow, Ca. USA
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Joined: 09/13/2003
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Get a hydrometer and check each cell. If those house batteries have been in there since 2008, you might have some cells shorted out and that will get your battery charger to over charge causing the batteries to boil and using more and more distilled water. But a hydrometer will tell you if the batteries need to be changed out. House batteries on the average only last around five to six years. I had to change mine at six and it was doing exactly what you are describing. I am pretty sure you have never equalized your house batteries since I don't think you have the system on your coach, but if you did, equalization should be done every six months to clean up the plates from sulfate build up.
2002 Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser
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rvrepairnut
bc
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Joined: 11/11/2011
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garym114 wrote:If you have to add that much water, that often, something is wrong. Most do not have acid deposits on the batteries or in the battery compartments.
Bad batteries or system is overcharging. Shouldn't your chassis battery be charging when plugged in?
Not all chassis batterys charged by converter when pluged in
they should be but they are not
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gss036
Bellingham ,WA
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I think you are due for new batteries. They probably have at least one with a short between the plates. Be careful you don't have an explosion or fire because of them. Contact a battery shop or RV shop.
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