crasster
Dallas
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Joined: 07/06/2007
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We just put in some golf cart batteries in our golf cart. They are 6 volt. Not fully charged. Try charging & discharging a few times.
4 whopping cylinders on Toyota RV's. Talk about great getting good MPG. Also I have a very light foot on the pedal. I followed some MPG advice on Livingpress.com and I now get 22 MPG! Not bad for a home on wheels.
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J Walker
Oakton, Va
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Joined: 06/12/2003
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I agree with the charging suggestion. 48 hours of charging may be necessary to tell. When in doubt I always put a voltmeter on the batteries when charging to see if the charger is doing its job. You should see 14V - 14.3V once the batteries near full charge. It should not be much lower than that initially.
Jim Walker
2000 34' Damon Ultrasport DP
2009 Malibu
Brake Buddy
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SCVJeff
Santa Clarita, CA.
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Joined: 07/28/2006
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The first thing to do is grab your DVM (you do have one?) and look at the voltage on each battery. Then just to be sure, meter the batteries series'd together.
If no Digital Volt Meter, that's the next trip to the store..
Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350
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dougrainer
Carrolton, Texas
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Joined: 06/11/2007
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1. A BAD battery or discharged in a 4 battery 6 volt bank will still allow 12 volts to the RV
2. I will bet you have the batteries misconnected OR you do not have the Inverter 12 volt battery cable on the correct positive post on the 4 battery bank.
3. WHAT is the voltage reading at the Inverter positive connection?
4. What is the reading at the Positive and Negative. output at the 4 bank 6 volt batteries?
5, Are you trying with Shore power connected or all all tests done on Battery power only? A BAD battery will NOT cause a Inverter/Charger to NOT output 12 volts to the RV and battery bank.
6. NOT seeing 12 volts at the Inverter (sees 6 volts) will cause your low power indication.
7. You do NOT need amp or charge state to diagnosis your problem. ALL you need to know is where you have 12 volts and where you don't (you have 6 volts instead of 12). Doug
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mena661
Southern California
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Joined: 03/21/2009
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The Beave wrote:A multimeter will only show voltage but not amp hr charge state. Voltage will give you an indicator of SOC. BUT like others have said, new batteries typically aren't fully charged. When I bought mine, only one battery was fully charged, the other three were not. I even had to equalize the three to get them to full charge. Charge them all up, let them sit with NO load for 24 hours then check the voltage. They each should be around 6.4V. Report that voltage back here.
2009 Newmar Canyon Star 3205, Ford F53 V10
Trojan L16 6V's 740 Amp-hours
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The Beave
Georgetown TX USA
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Joined: 08/07/2002
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I removed the batteries, took them to the auto store and had them tested, I'm not sure what type meter it was but it did apply a load to the battery and they "appeared" to be OK.
I re-installed the batteries and hooked it up to shore power.
My Xantrex inverter/charger remote is non functional, no led indicators at all. Previously when shore power was applied everything lit up and functioned. I dimly recall that there may be a reset function for the remote that required un plugging and re plugging the little cable on the back.
The charger function appears to be working as I can hear the charger/inverter humming. I'll check the voltage next bo charging and at rest.
The Beave
30' 1997 Beaver Monterey
(The shortest DP we could find)
2005 Honda CR-V
Remco surge brake
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garry1p
Oklahoma
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Joined: 08/12/2004
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I agree with dougrainer
another thing is a loose connection at "one" of the battery terminals will cause the problem but not cause any blown fuse that is usually caused by a reverse +/- connection. Try to move the wires at each connection to verify they are good and tight.
Another area that will show a good reading on a meter but still give you problems is a bad ground connection where the battery cable is connected to the chassis. If everything else checks out check you ground connection.
Garry1p
1990 Holiday Rambler Aluma Lite XL
454 on P-30 Chassis
1999 Jeep Cherokee sport
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The Beave
Georgetown TX USA
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The dead Zantrex remote has come back to life by simply un-plugging and re-plugging the little connector on the back.
The remote shows that the batteries are charging and the charge state has increased.
I'll leave the shore power on for 48 hrs and see where we end up. I also need to pick up a DVM and see whats going on.
Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.
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2ndhom
Eugene, Oregon
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Joined: 06/09/2008
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The Beave wrote:The dead Zantrex remote has come back to life by simply un-plugging and re-plugging the little connector on the back.
The remote shows that the batteries are charging and the charge state has increased.
I'll leave the shore power on for 48 hrs and see where we end up. I also need to pick up a DVM and see whats going on.
Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.
Outstanding ... you take suggestions well and get back to us on-lookers to report back. Lov-en it !!!!
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The Beave
Georgetown TX USA
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One more question.
The batteries have been charging about 20 hrs, and according to the charger/inverter remote panel the batteries are in "float" mode and the voltage bounces between 13 and 13.5 volts. The solar charge controller read out shows closer to 14 volts and it also is also in float mode.
I'll check the SCC tonight after the sun goes down and see what it indicates.
I plan to let it charge another 24 hrs before testing the batteries with my new hydrometer.
So, is it best to test right after charging, or wait for a few hrs to let the batteries stabilize, or do both?
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