Battery Not Charging |
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Seanl
Senior Member Joined: 19 Sep 2011 Location: Fredericton NB Online Status: Offline Posts: 633 |
Topic: Battery Not Charging Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 8:23am |
I used to to this with Motorcycle batteries at a dealership. We recovered about 1 in five batteries. Sean
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Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition
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Bill-GA
Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Cumming, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 214 |
Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 3:52pm |
I was using a new Battery Minder but I'm not sure what condition the battery was in to start with. I will check battery disconnected, tomorrow. Where would I buy a "Deep Cycle" (?) battery? Is there a certain rating I need? Thanks, Bill
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Bill & Bev
13 yr old dachshund 'Elsa' 2010 RP-176T (tent & slide-out) 2011 Toyota Tundra 2WD TV |
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Sleepless
Senior Member Joined: 07 Jun 2013 Location: Titusville, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 556 |
Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 5:51pm |
I always buy the Group 27 deep cycle batteries sold by Walmart for all my marine and RV needs. Most tire dealers and auto parts stores sell deep cycle batteries, but I buy from Walmart because of their prices. I am sure others will express other favorite sources of brands, but most of the people in my circles buy from Walmart, too. Just be sure to purchase
Group 27 rather than the smaller Group 24 size. Bob |
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2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD)
2009 Chevrolet Avalanche |
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Bill-GA
Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Cumming, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 214 |
Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 8:13pm |
After leaving the battery charging in the Pod with shore power for 24 hrs, I disconnected the ground side of the battery and measured 11.5 volts across the terminals - that's good according to comments above. I opened the two water caps and checked water level - OK. I put the ground back on, disconnected the shore power (TV not connected) and turned on 3 sets of LED lights and running bathroom fan for 10 mins. They all ran/looked great! I did a battery check on inside panel ... All lights on panel - OK.
BTW, the charging voltage reported earlier was actually 13.5 V after I zeroed the meter.
I'm going to leave battery in OFF position (I have master on/off sw) and measure voltage tomorrow. If that is good, I will do a load test (LEDs & Fan on) and see how long they last. Maybe it isn't toast?
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Bill & Bev
13 yr old dachshund 'Elsa' 2010 RP-176T (tent & slide-out) 2011 Toyota Tundra 2WD TV |
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Sleepless
Senior Member Joined: 07 Jun 2013 Location: Titusville, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 556 |
Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 8:26pm |
If your battery is fully charged, 11.5 volts may possibly be indicative of a bad cell. It should be in the 13 -13.5 volt range. Most auto supply stores, tire stores, etc., will normally test your battery free, just to be safe.
Bob |
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2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD)
2009 Chevrolet Avalanche |
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 24 Jul 2013 at 10:40pm |
Yeah, 11.5 is a bad reading for a fully charged battery. Normally that voltage says the battery is half full. I guarantee if you do a load test the battery will quickly fail (low voltage). I second the Wal-Mart marine recommendation. I built a 22 kw battery bank (16 batts) about 4 1/2 years ago and their batteries ended up being the cheapest per amp. You can spend 2-3 times as much on a true deep cycle high-end battery but for the number of times most people camp per year - or over 5 years, the typical life of a battery - you'll get more for your money with the marine batts from Wal-Mart. |
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Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Outbound
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767 |
Posted: 25 Jul 2013 at 6:35pm |
Costco's Kirkland brand deep-cycle batteries are also good value for money.
When shopping for batteries, make sure it says "Deep Cycle" - for your r-pod, avoid "Marine Starting". The thicker plates in a deep cycle battery will give you more longevity.
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Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
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Bill-GA
Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Cumming, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 214 |
Posted: 25 Jul 2013 at 10:02pm |
I did my load test on the battery ... 3 LED lights on and fan in bathroom. After 3 hours the panel 'battery check' indicated 3 of 4 lights. After another 4 hours, still was at 3 of 4. Since I use 'only' battery rarely and I'm otherwise connected to TV or shore power, Is it really worth getting a new battery?
After 7 hrs, LED's were a bit less bright, and fan ran a bit slower.
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Bill & Bev
13 yr old dachshund 'Elsa' 2010 RP-176T (tent & slide-out) 2011 Toyota Tundra 2WD TV |
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Sleepless
Senior Member Joined: 07 Jun 2013 Location: Titusville, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 556 |
Posted: 25 Jul 2013 at 11:17pm |
Bill, a true load test is conducted by applying a high wattage drain to the battery. I use a 1000 watt load tester and within seconds I can tell the condition of the battery. For example, 13.5 volts may drop as low as 7 or 8 volts. LED lights and the Fantastic fan don't draw all that many volts to reliably test the battery condition.
During your test, were you connected to shore power? Assuming you were not, check the voltage at the isolated battery again to see if there was a voltage drop. I have used "damaged" deep cycle batteries to run my shrimping lights or for other non-critical uses, but I never trust them as a primary house battery in a trailer or a boat. Bob |
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2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD)
2009 Chevrolet Avalanche |
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