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water_witch's avatar
water_witch
Explorer
Jun 03, 2014

House Batteries Depleted. How to Fix??

I have a 2006 35 foot Allegro Bay currently parked in my driveway and I stoopidly left a light on overnight without shore power and the lights are not working now. I am guessing my house batteries are depleted.

I am a recent widow, hoping to keep up the rving lifestyle by myself, but I don't know the first thing about batteries. (Except how to kill them, apparently!)

The MH has only been in my driveway for a little over a week, following a trip from FL to NJ (which I drove!) and I need to get it out of the driveway in the next week or so.

Is this something I can "fix" by hooking up to shore power at my home (which will be only 30 amp)or by running my generator for a time or do I need to get a RV mobile mechanic to come do something?

If you ask me what type of batteries I have, please also let me know where to look to find out. I can drive the MH and do the hook ups but batteries are way above my (pre-widow) paygrade. :(

Sorry to sound so clueless but I am, indeed, clueless but trying to learn and keep on RVing.

Thanks for your responses,
Kim

24 Replies

  • Pretty much every motorhome has a battery disconnect switch. Mine is near the entry door. The issue is that the disconnect has to have the batteries connected for them to charge. Plug it in right away, give it 12 to 15 hours and everything should work. In the future keep it plugged in while it's at home.
  • Thanks so much for the quick responses! Where do you think I'd find a "battery disconnect switch" and what would I do with a voltmeter? Again, I'm sorry to sound so clueless but I AM clueless. My husband took care of all these things. I don't even know where the batteries are. Bad me. But I will learn with the help of the good folks here.
  • Just get it plugged in asap. Use an adapter to plug into a regular outlet. Let it charge 48 hours minimum. A small voltmeter would allow you to verify all is working as expected.

    Here is some reading to help you sleep tonight:

    The 12 Volt Side of Life
  • Hook it up to shore power and your converter will recharge the batteries. Make sure the battery disconnect switch is in the connected mode. Yes, it's that simple!