Batteries

[TitaGyrl]

Hello, I am new here and to living in my 2002 National Islander parked. I am pluged in to a landline and 2 of my 3 batteries is wet on the outside. I am told they maybe over charging, am I supposed to disconnect the batteries while plugged in? If so, do I disconnect at battery or is there a disconnect somewhere I can't find in the book, it tells me nothing about this. I see a battery button on a panel just inside the door, but have no idea what it does. Thank you in advance for understanding I am new to the RV and not just dumb.

[wa8yxm]

Most inverters are in fact decent 3-stage chargers.. (Which is why I ask about the converter) so we will skip that.

however the control electronics, like anything made by man, CAN FAIL

So it's back to stick a volt meter (digital and one hopes calibrated) on the batteries and see what the charging voltage is.

NOTE: Most digital meters I've used were fairly well calibrated epically when new, this ranges from some 5 buck or free with coupon Horrible Freight jobs to some more expensive ($250 and up) meters.. And yes, I know how to calibrate them.

[xctraveler]

Hi TitaGyrl

Welcome to this great forum. Lots of helpful information. Stay with us, let us know you are reading these posts and fill in the information we lack so the battery and electric guys can get you going in the right direction.

None of us knew all this stuff when we started. I've been here since 2002 to get help and eventually to give help, but you do need to participate for us to be able to help.

[dons2346]

The '02 Islander is built on the Country Coach DynoMax chassis. The chassis isa one 8D starter battery and two 8D housr batteries if it is in original configuration. By the way the OP talks, it is original. The chassis came with an INVERTER and not a converter.It came with a Echo Charger that charges the chassis battery from the house batteries which are charged from the inverter

[MrWizard]

Hello, I am new here and to living in my 2002 National Islander parked. I am pluged in to a landline and 2 of my 3 batteries is wet on the outside

are these in a separate location, or all in the same area, slide out tray ?

those (2) are most likely your house batteries charged by the converter everybody is referring too

the third battery is your engine stat battery

[wa8yxm]

First: are the batteries Maintenance free or what we call "Flooded wet cells"?
How to tell the difference, Flooded wet cells you can remove caps and add DISTILLED water.

If Flooded did you add Distilled Water? If so how full.. Some folks fill 'em right up.. Some (like me) believe that 1/8 to 1/4" below the bottom of the filler tube is a better "Full" line.. And being as when I was trained Maintenance Free 12 volt batteries were few and very far between.. I trust my training. (Heck when I was trained Six Volt Batteries, always flooded, were still common in cars)

If you over fill, it will spit acid out at you. (oh yes that wet may be acidic, wash it down good)

Now: Somewhere in your rv is a device called a CONVERTER.

This is a box. May be part of something else (Read on) it will have a fan, 120 volt wires and 12 volt wires, Other than A/C the only thing that meats that description.

Now in MY RV, I have 3 devices.. one is a 120 volt power distribution panel (All circuit breakers, NO fuses) one is a 12 volt panel, (All fuses and LED's no breakers, though some are now being made with breakers)

And a stand alone converter (Box described above).

Many have an intergrated panel.. Both 120 volt breaker, 12 volt fuses behind a common door.. May be marked WFCO, or Parrallex, or Magnatek or ______ (other names) but you open this one door and both fuses and breakers appear

The converter is often part of this assembly as well

Why am I telling you all this about converters? The make and model please.. if part of distribution panel, you will likely find this information on the inside of the DOOR I just described.

[bobkatmsu]

And you are correct, you are not dumb. I have been on this site for years and I am still asking the same type of questions. As my DW (Dear Wife) says, no one is born knowing this stuff.

[down_home]

Could be the charge controller it set way too high on charge or float to long before going to float.
Read your manual a couple of times on it.
Batteries may be cooked.
I somehow let the desulfation cycle run too long and cooked the batteries.
Every time something new happens or malfunctions it is do we panic time.
I'm one that who thinks I don't need assembly instructions.
If not for the advise o quite a few I would have foundered.
Wasn't quite sure what to do when plug on water heater blew.Now, I'm prepared to to fix the thing and carry lot of spare plugs and threading tool and so on.

[wolfe10]

Yes, buy a digital voltmeter (starting under $20).

Tell us what the voltage is at the batteries. Read at the positive terminal with the large-gauge cable going to the RV. Other lead on the negative terminal with the large-gauge cable going to the RV.

Also, tell us what converter, charger or inverter/charger you have. Many are programmable.

Also, with eye protection on, shore power and generator off, check water level in the batteries-- they may be overfilled.

And, while doing the water check (be sure to use distilled water), an excellent under $10 tool to check battery condition is a BATTERY HYDROMETER from any auto parts house. If you want the real story on the batteries, let us know the hydrometer readings on the individual cells.

[MrWizard]

The battery disconnect (not a salesman switch)
User for when the RV is in storage
Will disconnect the batteries from most but not all of the RV house circuits, it will disconnect the house DC fuse panel, which is lights, water pump, fridge and heater controls etc
It might not disconnect the LP alarm and other items
If the charge converter is behind aka post of the DC fuse panel, then that will disconnect the charge to the batteries
If the converter is located somewhere else then the disconnect might not unhook from the charge circuit
Voltage needed to be checked at the batteries with converter on to see if it's too high, then turn off shore power to test the batteries,

[TNGW1500SE]

TitaGyrl wrote:
Hello, I am new here and to living in my 2002 National Islander parked. I am pluged in to a landline and 2 of my 3 batteries is wet on the outside. I am told they maybe over charging, am I supposed to disconnect the batteries while plugged in? If so, do I disconnect at battery or is there a disconnect somewhere I can't find in the book, it tells me nothing about this. I see a battery button on a panel just inside the door, but have no idea what it does. Thank you in advance for understanding I am new to the RV and not just dumb.

Welcome to the world of RV's! You've come to the right place. Most everyone here is great! You should never have to disconnect your batteries. When plugged in to an A/C outlet they should be being charged. The button near the door is probably what is called the "salesman switch". It disconnects the 12 volt system from the batteries. If an rv is not plugged in and somebody leaves a 12 volt light on, the batteries will go dead. The switch is used so that doesn't happen. You should go to one of the parts stores like Autozone and get a cheap electrical meter and see what voltage your batteries are at. It will cost about 15 bucks. Every RV'er needs one from time to time.