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Joined: 16 Nov 2019
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Posts: 383 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Replacement Battery
    Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 1:13pm
In spite of your indications, you probably over discharged it a few times. 

Here is a very good manual for AGM Pb-SO4 batteries.  Other types are similar, but the voltages change a few tenths.
http://lifelinebatteries.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/6-0101-Rev-E-Lifeline-Technical-Manual.pdf
Pick up a decent digital volt meter.  The State of Charge and Load vs Voltage charts are near the end. 

John
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Posts: 6417 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 1:12pm
Look for causes that might be an excess load. Check things like the pin in the safety disconnect switch. Check that there is nothing turned on, to include the refrigerator on DC power instead of propane. Check the antenna booster (although that would not explain an overnight drop that bad). Are you running an inverter for anything?

Just to note, even if a battery is not that old, it can develop a fault. I've had car batteries last only a year or two. If you can get the battery tested, do so. If that is the original battery, it is a dual-purpose battery, not a true deep cycle battery. It sounds to me like you need a setup with one 12V deep cycle battery or two 6V GC2 batteries in series,  or as in my case, a LiFePO4 battery (but that requires a lot more changes to get it going).
StephenH
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Posts: 75 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 1:04pm
It has held a charge overnight many times in the past with same load and only one bar down by morning, it just now started not holding a charge.
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Posts: 2595 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 11:03am
Sounds like you need a new battery.  Unless you want to invest in all the stuff you need to change for an LiFePO4 battery, you might be better off staying low tech and picking up a couple 6v golf cart batteries.  They will last for years and will give you adequate power for boondocking (if that's how you like to travel).  You may also want to consider a solar panel.  Check with OG on what to buy as he is very knowledgeable on that topic.
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Posts: 75 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 10:57am
It has held a charge overnight many times in the past,with same load and only one bar down by morning, it just now started not holding a charge.
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 10:13am
All that stuff overnight seems like a lot. Electric coolers are energy hogs.  If you boondock a lot you might need a dual battery system if you can stand the tongue weight increease on the 4Runner. You can't go by the little lights, they're pretty much useless in determining what your battery state of charge is, other than fully charged or completely discharged. 

Get a digital voltmeter if you don't already have one. Is the battery flooded? If so, be sure that the plates are covered, using distilled water only. Leave the battery on the charger and the trailer plugged in for a few days. Disconnect the battery (-) terminal. Wait an hour, then measure the voltage. It should be around 12.6-12.8 volts. If its low , then next would be a discharge test. If its lower than that voltage then it probably has a bad cell and needs to be replaced.

For the discharge test you will need to put a load with a known current in amps on the battery for a known length of time so yo're taking out about 50 amphours (about 50% of the battery capacity rating). Let's come back to that once we get through the first step. 
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Posts: 75 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 9:56am
Thanks for the info, the battery has never been down all the way. One of our boondocks stops, the battery just kept losing caharge with very little load as opposed to before it would last all night with electric cooler, exhaust fan running, and furnace blower all night and the battery would on 2/3 charge in the morning, now it goes to almost empty in 2 hours.
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Posts: 6417 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 7:41am
Read my write up in my mods on what went into the conversion from PB-Acid to LiFePO4 battery if you want to get an idea of what goes into conversion. I agree that it might not make sense for everyone to switch. However, if it does, there is certainly more involved than just buying a battery.
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 5:50am
Yes, a gel battery would work but depending on why your original battery only lasted 2 years you might find the gel one to have even a shorter life. Any the last thing I assume you would want is to spend lots of $$ on a high tech battery only to have it die in another two years. 

The point is that 2 years is unusually short for any battery, so before replacing it you should try to understand why that happened. Did you leave it at a low state of charge for a long time? Forget to fill it with distilled water and allow the battery plates to be exposed? Let if freeze? Or just boondock a lot and go through hundreds of battery cycles? 

I really like Li batteries too, but wouldn't recommend them for the typical rPod owner who is only occasionally booddocking. Its not so much the cost of the battery itself as it is that there are just so many changes to make in the electrical system. New converter, new dc/dc charger if you want to be able to charge it from the tow vehicle alternator, relocation of the battery to the interior of the traiiler so it won't freeze, battery monitoring systems, etc. 
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Posts: 75 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jun 2020 at 5:39pm
The battery lasted 2 years.
Will a gel type work?
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