Battery question
My wife and I picked up our 2017 Forest River Flagstaff Microlite 23LB this past weekend. At the dealer, they had it plugged in to 30 amp power and had the AC on. They also demonstrated how everything...
Forum Discussion
smkettner wrote:
How do you determine the battery is fully charged?
Hydrometer is best method but only used for diagnostics. You don't want to take it camping.
Resting disconnected 48 hours should hold 12.65+ volts at full charge.
Do you have a voltmeter? If not get one. Even better is a DC clamp-on ammeter to know where the power is going. Regular meter has an ammeter too for light loads and not as convenient.
If you incorporate your test with voltage or amperage readings it will help.
More to read here:
The 12 Volt Side of Life
Absolute best advice in this response. You need to verify battery voltage before and during charge and charge current at intervals during the charge. You should see the current start off between 12 to 18A maybe more depending on state of battery discharge and taper off to 1-2 A indicating nearly full charge. If the battery seems to charge in an hour or two after being significantly discharged that indicates the battery may be sulfated and has lost most of its capacity. After charging, disconnect the power cord and measure the current drawn from the battery with all accessories off. The current should be less than 0.5A. If it is more you need to determine what is pulling the extra current. Finally, disconnect the positive connection to the battery and check the battery voltage. It should stay at 12.6 to 12.7V for 24 hours after you stopped charging. If not the battery probably needs replacing.
Sears sells a nice combo clamp on DC Ammeter/ multimeter that will be all you need to help you figure out what the problem is. If you are doing any dry camping you absolutely need to have the capability to make these measurements to minimize the possibility of "no DC power" conditions.
