FLHTCI
east coast
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Joined: 05/15/2012
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I have a 2012 Winnebago Itasca. I bought all new Interstate battery in February, took the coach to Florida for 7 weeks without battery issues. All seven weeks we were plugged into shore power with the chassis batteries switched off, coach batteries on.
I dropped my RV off to have some work done on it in June, when I went to start the coach all batteries were dead including the chassis battery. I get home and plug the RV in assuming it will charge the batteries. Three weeks latter the batteries are dead.
My questions are as follows:
Shouldn’t the batteries be fully charged after being plugged into shore power for that length of time (3 weeks).
If when plugged in to shore power, when the RV is not in use, should I shut the coach battery off? If the coach batteries are off, with the batteries charge?
Thank you in advance.
2012 Winnebago Itasca Class A Sunstar 30T
2013 Jeep Sahara (JKU)
2012 Harley Davidson FLHTCUTG
2012 Ford F-250
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Lwiddis
Southern California :(
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Joined: 08/12/2016
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Three weeks without charging and with parasitic loads while at the repair facility can drain and kill house batteries. Sometimes a dead battery can be recharged but it will still be damaged. One solution is solar charging which will maintain the battery during the repair and in storage. Yes, a kill switch to off is a good idea.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad
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MountainAir05
New Mexico
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With a slight load on any battery without any charger on it will go dead in a few hours to days. Once its dead they usually do not charge back up.
Check the battery voltage on each battery using a volt meter. If each is below or near 2 volt DC they will not charge back. The new chargers will not charge a very low battery.
Have you check the liquid level on each cell and each cell voltage. If you do not know how to do that post back.
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FLHTCI
east coast
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MountainAir05 wrote:With a slight load on any battery without any charger on it will go dead in a few hours to days. Once its dead they usually do not charge back up.
Check the battery voltage on each battery using a volt meter. If each is below or near 2 volt DC they will not charge back. The new chargers will not charge a very low battery.
Have you check the liquid level on each cell and each cell voltage. If you do not know how to do that post back.
Will the batteries charge in they are shut off?
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MountainAir05
New Mexico
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FLHTCI wrote:MountainAir05 wrote:With a slight load on any battery without any charger on it will go dead in a few hours to days. Once its dead they usually do not charge back up.
Check the battery voltage on each battery using a volt meter. If each is below or near 2 volt DC they will not charge back. The new chargers will not charge a very low battery.
Have you check the liquid level on each cell and each cell voltage. If you do not know how to do that post back.
Will the batteries charge in they are shut off?
NO not on most RVs.
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FLHTCI
east coast
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We had power issues in Florida. I can only assume that my inverter was damaged because it should have charged fully for three weeks
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CA Traveler
The Western States
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7 weeks with the chassis battery switch off, followed by dead batteries after repairs, followed by dead batteries after 3 weeks can suggest:
1. Your new batteries are toast or at the very least compromised.
2. Your charger is not working and/or you have blown fuse or other wiring related issues.
I would not just assume it's the charger (you said inverter). A voltmeter would help as would load testing the batteries. Try charging the batteries with a 20A auto charger could shed some light...
2009 Holiday Rambler 42' Scepter with ISL 400 Cummins
750 Watts Solar Morningstar MPPT 60 Controller
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland
Bob
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MountainAir05
New Mexico
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FLHTCI wrote:We had power issues in Florida. I can only assume that my inverter was damaged because it should have charged fully for three weeks
If dead they will not charge. Three weeks and they are toast.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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FLHTCI,
Try equalizing the batteries. It may be best to do one at a time.
The only battery chemistry I'm aware that could recover from that much abuse is SiO2.
Marine jars left dead for weeks may be difficult to recover--but there is no reason to not try to do so.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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WinMinnie02
NJ
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Joined: 11/26/2012
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FLHTCI wrote:I have a 2012 Winnebago Itasca. I bought all new Interstate battery in February, took the coach to Florida for 7 weeks without battery issues. All seven weeks we were plugged into shore power with the chassis batteries switched off, coach batteries on.
I dropped my RV off to have some work done on it in June, when I went to start the coach all batteries were dead including the chassis battery. I get home and plug the RV in assuming it will charge the batteries. Three weeks latter the batteries are dead.
My questions are as follows:
Shouldn’t the batteries be fully charged after being plugged into shore power for that length of time (3 weeks).
If when plugged in to shore power, when the RV is not in use, should I shut the coach battery off? If the coach batteries are off, with the batteries charge?
Thank you in advance.
Buy a Black and Decker battery charger around $75, read the instructions, and charge the battery, very easy. This has happened to me and I was able to charge it especially if it was new. It will take overnight. If it was 5 years old buy a new one.
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