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Old 04-21-2016, 09:28 AM   #1
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Battery Question

Hi,

This past winter I left my RV in the driveway with AC power not hooked up for a few weeks and the battery was still on the trailer. I tested the battery and it was dead. The current in it was coming up in Microvolts instead of volts. So I bought a good battery charger recommended here in the forums. The battery came up to full 12 volts after charging for a few hours -- kind of quick I thought.
Then I put it back on the RV and also connected AC power.

I noticed that my power converter fan was running intermittently and low speeds even when I had nothing on in the rig (no lights, radio, tv, etc...). When I put my lights on the power converter fan ran normally (at least normal to what I'm used to)

I left the battery hooked up and took off A/C power for about a week. Temps here in NC are not that cold any more.
I checked the battery this morning and it was down to 2 volts.

So my question is this:
Did the battery get so far depleted over the winter that it can't hold a full charge any longer and is the fact that the Convert Fan was running when nothing was turned on, as well as the battery getting down to 2 volts in a week with no usage a sign that the battery needs to be replaced?
Thanks!
Mike
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Old 04-21-2016, 09:40 AM   #2
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My first guess is that it wasn't really fully charged after just a couple of hours. At full charge it should show more than 12 volts.



(From The 12 Volt Side of Life.)
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Old 04-21-2016, 10:07 AM   #3
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Actually, a full charge should take it up above 14 volts.
The only way to know for sure on your battery, is to take it out, get it fully charged and have it tested with a hydrometer. If you don't have one, any good battery place should be able to test and see if there is one or more cells bad or going bad.
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Old 04-21-2016, 10:44 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lloyd View Post
Actually, a full charge should take it up above 14 volts.
The only way to know for sure on your battery, is to take it out, get it fully charged and have it tested with a hydrometer. If you don't have one, any good battery place should be able to test and see if there is one or more cells bad or going bad.

I just ordered a hydrometer, only $10 on Amazon. I'll test it and see and post my results back to this thread.
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Old 04-21-2016, 11:35 AM   #5
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Usually Advance Auto and Auto Zone will check your battery for free.
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Old 04-21-2016, 11:43 AM   #6
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A side question: Do power converters tend to last a long time, or do they often burn out and need to be replaced after a short time (a few seasons)?
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Old 04-21-2016, 12:32 PM   #7
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Now that is a loaded question. Some seem to last forever, and others tend to crap out in no time. I replaced mine within the 2 year warranty time frame.
It was noisy. This one has been going now for 6 or 7 years.
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Old 04-21-2016, 01:08 PM   #8
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Once you get the battery question figured out . Either get a battery shut off switch or just unhook the positive terminal when you leave the trailer for any length of time. The radio memory,propane/co2 detector both draw a tiny bit of power,enough to wear a battery down in a few weeks.
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Old 04-21-2016, 01:08 PM   #9
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Also, by removing AC power and letting the trailer sit with the battery in it, The trailers parasitic loads, like the propane alarm and other things will drain the battery back down to nothing in a weeks time. Either keep AC connected or use a battery disconnect switch to isolate the battery from the trailer when not in use.
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Old 04-21-2016, 03:20 PM   #10
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Just a suggestion but I would pull the battery out make certain there is a full charge on it and take it to an auto parts store or even Wal-Mart for that matter and have them load test the battery. If the battery test out good put it back in, if not go out and buy a good battery and then install a battery disconnect switch and you should be set. I got my disconnect switch from Amazon for under $25.00
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Old 04-21-2016, 08:29 PM   #11
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If it will not take a full charge or hold a charg, I would guess that being totally discharged and left to sit the battery became sulfated and will need to be replaced. As previously mentioned, a battery disconnect switch to protect from the parasitic loads. Also, consider replacing it with a maintainence free sealed battery so you don't have to worry about water levels. I have the Optima Blue top and am very pleased with it. It's more expensive than the lower end batteries but is worth it.
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