PinkLeopard wrote:
Replaced 2-6 volt house batteries because they weren't holding a charge. Immediately afterwards voltage dropped rapidly to about 12.8. Checked water - it's ok. Charged with generator and shore power to 13.6 but they're not holding a charge.
Posted By: PinkLeopard on 05/09/14 09:20am
Aren't you supposed to be able to charge them up to 14+ and when it shows around 12.5 you're supposed to charge them.
I think you don't understand how this works. When the batteries are being charged, the charging device (generator, converter, charger) will indeed put out 14+ volts to the batteries. However, once the batteries get to a full charge (12.6 to 12.8v) the charging device will reduce the charging output to about 13.4 volts and will keep the batteries fully charged.
Once the charging device is removed from the batteries, the batteries will continue to hold their "full" charge of 12.6 to 12.8 volts. Once a load in applied, the batteries will discharge slowly....depending on how much load is applied.
So in your case, when the batteries are disconnected from the charging device and no load is applied to them, 12.8 volts is normal!
Hope this helps
Ron
