Dead house batteries

retiredtravelers2013 wrote:
I went to start up my diesel generator Sunday afternoon. Completely dead, not a sign of life. I checked the house batteries and they read 9 something volts. Clearly something is draining them since they are only 9 months old. My mechanic suggested I use the Alt. starter switch to get the generator going. I thought that was for if the chassis batteries were down one could use the house batteries to start the engine. He said it works both ways. Anyone have any knowledge about this. And any advise as far as troubleshooting the drained batteries?
Thanks

Works both ways, as said. You should also be able to use the main engine's alternator to charge them up in a hurry.
For troubleshooting, turn everything off, then remove the ground terminal on the house batteries and lightly touch the cable on the post. Seeing sparks tells you that something is still draining your batteries.
No sparks....then disconnect them after charging to see how long they will hold the charge. If they won't do so, then you most likely have one or more defective batteries.