need some electrical help...

There is no "normal". Most of my batteries last 7 years and sometimes more, but I am meticulous in the care I provide. Others replace the batteries every year.

Most batteries die of abuse and neglect, not old age.

im all hooked up and the batteries are down to 12.6 volts despite being fully charged last night and barely used since then. so, i think they are not properly holding a charge. but i am going to see how it goes this weekend. if however they drop meaningfully overnight, i will probably try to pick a pair up on my way up. they are at least 5 years old. how long do they normally last?

thanks for your help guys!

Best of luck and please let us know the outcome! Thanks, Gary

my best guess is this is what happened - a loose connection to the battery. i just hope no permanent damage done.

Smegolas wrote:
the plastic on the battery fuse was partially metled. if i had a loose connection on the battery, could that be the cause of the melted fuse?

Yes. Loose connection make a poor connection, which means higher resistance, which means heat when current flows through that resistance. The heat can melt the plastic. My inverter melted the plastic insulating mounts when they loosened from vibration. Every time I drew over 100A, I could smell melting plastic.

if i have no power, will the propane powered appliances like the fridge and stove still still run?

Fridge - no,
Stove - probably yes.

Smegolas wrote:
if i have no power, will the propane powered appliances like the fridge and stove still still run?

fridge no, stove yes.

i charged up the batteries last night and this afternoon i will test to see if things are working. the plastic on the battery fuse was partially metled. if i had a loose connection on the battery, could that be the cause of the melted fuse? the other problem is I removed the fuse and now cant get another one in because one of the holes seems to be clogged up. i'll try and open it up with a screwdriver later.

if i cant get this resolved i may be camping with no power, which sucks because it might snow. if i have no power, will the propane powered appliances like the fridge and stove still still run?

smkettner wrote:
Remove the batteries and have them tested.
Sounds like classic shorted cell but with the variable voltage there is a remote chance you have a bad connection somewhere.

They are two 6 volts properly connected but I think I had a loose connection on one of the terminals.

Remove the batteries and have them tested.
Sounds like classic shorted cell but with the variable voltage there is a remote chance you have a bad connection somewhere.

Smegolas wrote:
ok guys heres the deal. the squeal is coming from the propane sensor (only when i unplug the trailer from shore power.) but...when i first unplugged, this time it took a few minutes to start squealing. the red light is on on the propane sensor, indicating it time to replace. it will not mute when i press the mute button. the batteries initially looked ok, but as soon as it started squealing, they looked dead, with widely different readings - the inverter indicated 13.2 volts, but the solar panel indicated 4 volts. i hooked the battery charger up to the batteries and it indicated something in between, but it would not charge - it just shuts down and indicates an error. also, the fuse from the battery looked melted (the plastic) but it was tough to see if was broken - when i pulled it out that basically destroyed it. i tried to put another one in, but it was very difficult since the fuse holes seem a bit jammed up. discuss...

Did you check electrolyte levels?

You say "bateries", are they hooked up correctly?

Are they good batteries?