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Old 05-26-2012, 03:20 AM   #1
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I have a new Interstate 24 deep cycle battery on my Sunset Trail 29qb
when camping 2 weekends and I hit the batter check button in the camper and it showed low battery yet I was pulled in both weekends and most of the time when I was parked at home.
I cleaned the wire connectors (seems a little oxidized) then the battery showed full charged when Rv was plugged in. now its been plugged in for 5 days and shows 13.7 Volts while the trailer is plugged in and shows 11.0 when i unplug the trailer.
So it seems to be charging but maybe the battery is bad?
I guess Ill bring it back toInterstatebattery and have them check it.
I also seem to remember the inverter/charge used to may a fan noise but it doesnt seem to now, but maybe that was my later older trailer
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Old 05-26-2012, 04:06 AM   #2
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When we bought our present rig, I had them install two 12volt batteries. yup, they were Interstate 24. They wouldn't hold a charge very long either. I wanted a solar panel so when I installed that I switched over to two Trojan T105 6 volt deep cycle. Man, what a difference. I would encourage anybody that was thinking of spending money for new batteries to go that route. Especially if they do much dry camping.



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Old 05-26-2012, 04:11 AM   #3
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Thanks but i didnt do any dry camping I was plugged in both weekends
we always camp with full hookups so it should be fine if its charging and the battery is good
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Old 05-26-2012, 04:51 AM   #4
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It sounds like the battery, but try charging your battery with a battery charger... see if it holds a charge then. That can help isolate your issue to either the battery or converter.
Did you check the battery fluid level?





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Old 05-26-2012, 05:57 AM   #5
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i brought the battery back to Interstate and they tested the battery and it was bad, so they gave me a new one.
Only thing now is it is the second bad battery this year so hopefully its not the charger killing them
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Old 06-11-2012, 11:53 AM   #6
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new battery and we went camping for 3 days I get home and hit the battery button after being plugged in for 3 days and it shows 3/4 charged
it doesnt seem right

Edited by: gsxr
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Old 06-11-2012, 01:30 PM   #7
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What is turned on when you hit the battery status button? If lights, water pump, radio, fan etc are running they may cause a voltage drop that will read as low batt.
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Old 06-11-2012, 01:38 PM   #8
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I dont think anything was on, I was at home unloading the trailer, but Ill check it again
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Old 06-11-2012, 02:16 PM   #9
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I am not a big fan of Interstate marine/rv batteries. Have had problems with them in the past. Check voltage on the battery when plugged in. Should be above 13 volts. Check unplugged and disconnected and should read about 12.7 volts. You could also buy a battery hygrometer and check the specific gravity of each cell to see if there is a weak cell.
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Old 06-11-2012, 11:59 PM   #10
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I agree with Dale on those Interstate batteries. They have never held up for me either, and they seem to drop their charge very fast.
Also, the battery meter that comes with coach isn't any better. You can get a meter for about $10 that will tell you exactly what the battery has in it for charge. Just that it's a little more trouble to check because you have to touch the probes to the battery posts.
When I installed the solar panel, I got the regulator with the digital meter. That shows the condition of my batteries both in volts and %

The 24 series isn't a very big (capacity) battery in the first place. There isn't to many beans under the hood on that one.







Edited by: Old Farmer
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Old 06-12-2012, 01:04 AM   #11
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ok i had a brand new interstate i installed it and the trailer sat in my driveway 2weeks, since we were camping again soon i didnt put it away.

friday we went to leave i was hooking up the trailer and noticed the battery was gone, someone stole it!. I was pissed! we were about to leave for the weekend. so i ran to walmart and bought a battery. so this is the one thats in there now. we never camp with out full hookups so i juzt bought a cheaper battery.
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Old 06-12-2012, 02:51 AM   #12
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I guess if it was me and I wanted stay with a smaller more economical battery, I would get a volt meter similar to this.
http://www.amazon.com/Solar-SOLBA1-Volt-Digital-Voltmeter/dp/B002YKE172
Check the voltage at the posts on your battery, then plug your 120 volt line and see what the reading is now. This should tell you if the converter/charger is working.

With the problems you are experiencing, it would be good to do the checking I stated--"no matter which battery you have in there". That way you will have checked out your charging system and you can go on from there.






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Old 06-12-2012, 03:50 AM   #13
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i do have a volt meter ill check it tonight, i removed the batter till i get a batery box lock i dont want to have another stolen
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Old 06-12-2012, 11:30 AM   #14
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just checked it batter alone 12.8 volts plugged into 120 13.7 volts so it seems good
Thanks everyone
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Old 06-12-2012, 01:57 PM   #15
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gxsr - sure don't mean to talk down to you but it appears that you don't completely understand the DC and converter system.

When you are plugged into the shore power and the converter is working correctly, you will get approx a 13.7 indication at the battery,with a meter.
When you unplug the AC shore power, the converter is basically out of the picture and you should see approx 12.0 to 12.5 vdc.

When you turn any lights or other items on in the RV you will see a 25% draw (three lights showing)or 50% draw (two lights showing)or even a 75% draw on the battery indicator on the control box.

Turn all the lights or other items off and the battery indicator will show the condition of charge, not meter reading.

When the converter fails, all AC will continue to work, but the frig, heater and other items will not work because they are DC controlled and will cease to work when the battery charge drops below about 60%.

My suggestion is to get a 1.5 ampDC trickle charger and hook it up to an outside ac power supply and let it keep the battery fully charged. Either that or take the battery out and put the trickle charger on the battery in your garage.

It doesn't take long for the battery charge to drop down to about 11.0 vdc after the RV sits for a while. If you have a dead cell or two, the nthe battery will drop rather rapidly over night.

As far a Walmart batterys are concerned, they are made by Johnson Controls and their marine deep cycle batterys are among the best on the market. I have one that I got back in '07 and it's still going strong. But I keep a trickle charger hooked up 24/7.
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Old 06-12-2012, 10:06 PM   #16
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Thanks for the info

greyeagle</span>
I have been testing the battery with nothing running</span>
I will be keeping the battery on my batter tender when not in use</span>
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Old 06-13-2012, 01:02 AM   #17
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Dale &amp; Lloyd,
So, I haven't had any problems, but I have been filling my "tool chest" with appropriate tools for camping and checking things out, like the torque wrench, etc. What exactly should I get for electrical tools for checking things when the needs arises, like the battery, a circuit etc. I don't want to buy the wrong tools...can you recommend any to me, I am a real novice when it comes to electrical tools.

thanks guys,
Jim
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Old 06-13-2012, 04:55 AM   #18
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What I have is pretty simple and basic. You can fill the rig with tools that you "might" need.
I have one of these plugged into and outlet all the time.
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...ge-meter/29375
I use this at the post before plugging in the camper. To plug into the 30amp receptacle, you will also need an adapter.
http://www.amazon.com/ELECTRICAL-RECEPTACLE-TESTER-OUTLET-PRONG/dp/B002Q3R7HI
http://elecordset.com/moreinfo.aspx?....aspx&amp;ai=M
I also carry one of these. Which you can spend about as much as you want to.
http://www.amazon.com/DT830B-Digital-Voltmeter-Ammeter-Multimeter/dp/B005KGCI0Y/ref=sr_1_20?s=hi&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1339609275&am p;sr=1-20
I also have one of these.
http://www.amazon.com/Clore-Automotive-BA1-Digital-Voltmeter/dp/B0019CP5NA/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1339609557 &amp;sr=1-1-catcorr
None of this stuff takes up to much room. I like to have it for simple checking. I think if you are out and anything major comes up you will probably need parts and end up in the repair shop anyway.
Anyway, that's what I carry for electrical checking. Others might have a different slant on what's needed. Most of this stuff you can pickup at Farm&amp;Fleet or your local RV shop.





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Old 06-13-2012, 10:23 AM   #19
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Pretty much what Lloyd said. This will help keep you out of trouble and give you some help if trouble occurrs.
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