How many volts....
Asking for my neighbor who recently got his first Class A, a used one, when plugged in to shore power, how many volts should we be seeing going to the coach batteries? Assuming there is a trickle charger built in to this unit.
Forum Discussion
26 Replies
time2roll wrote:
May as well post the brand and model of the trickle charger.
And as long as you are poking around with a meter... get the voltage right at the charger output.
Print a copy of this for each of you:
The 12 Volt Side of Life
12 volt side of life.....great article, Thanks.- If we were to get the gen fired up, that should charge the batts. too, right?
- May as well post the brand and model of the trickle charger.
And as long as you are poking around with a meter... get the voltage right at the charger output.
Print a copy of this for each of you:
The 12 Volt Side of Life - BTW Have your neighbor buy a $5 digital voltmeter from HF and show him how to check the battery voltages. Or about $20 elsewhere.
BFL13 wrote:
Good question and implies that both banks should be load checked considering the history is unknown.
Do the steps on a Class A operate from the house or engine battery?
Some MHs do not charge the chassis battery from shore/gen power. I installed a trickle charger on the chassis batteries on my prior rig because they were not charged from shore/gen power.- BTW 6.5V is considered a dead battery and some chargers will not charge the battery when it's that low which is why I said do whatever it takes to get them charged.
freewayrandy wrote:
Perhaps. If the water was below the plates their capacity is compromised.
Thanks for the replys and to 'set the stage' for the issue here, he went to the rig for something and when he closed the door the step would not retract all the way back in. Then he heard a clicking from near the steps, apparently from not enough voltage to retract them all the way. I went over and told him we need to check the batteries. The coach batteries, 2 6 volters, 1 was way low on water in all 3 cells the other was way low as well. We topped them off with distilled water then plugged it in to shore power. I checked the terminals with a multimeter and had only about 6.5 volts between the two. I thought there would have been at least 12 volts. Another issue here? Perhaps the batts. are toast?
Immediately charge the batteries using a auto charger of whatever and if somewhat OK they will reach the above posted voltage.
Then have the batteries load tested so he knows their condition and resolve the charging issue.- Do the steps on a Class A operate from the house or engine battery?
freewayrandy wrote:
Yep. Not unusual for a used rig.
Perhaps the batts. are toast?- The typical RV does not have a trickle charger. Instead the charger is/should be a 3+ stage charger - float, absorb, bulk.
