Power inverter / battery charger running continuously?

Most batteries do not survive even going below 12.0VDC (50% charge state) for a long period of time.

I'm working on car start battery now trying to get it to hold a charge. It charges right up to 12.6-7VDC but when I hook it back up it starts slowly dropping Dc Voltage. It was reading around 2-3 vOLTS when I found it dead over the winter months... Car didn't get used at all over the winter months.

I'm hopeful it will return but probably only a pipe dream.

On the other hand my POPUP trailer deep cycle batteries were left sitting on the trailer tongue completely switched out of the circuit and they were all reading around 12.6VDC when I measured than a couple weeks back. They survived just fine and had normal fluid levels.. I normally leave them connected to my smart mode charger but this year I had the whole trailer shut down so just switched the batteries OFF-LINE over the winter months.

The trailer parasitic drains will drain me down to 12.0VDC is just a couple of weeks if I don't have my converter hooked up to shore power when setting in CAMP BACKYARD...

Roy Ken

drumrunner wrote:
I simply checked the battery and it was only getting about 3-4 volts. With the battery disconnected, I checked the leads coming from the trailer and they were around 13.7 volts so i knew the charger/inverter/converter was working properly. I have the battery on a separate trickle charger now to see if I can save it. It looks like i'll be getting a new battery soon.

Thanks again for your help.

Sounds like there's a shorted cell. Is the water good in each cell?

You could ask around the auto service garages and see if any have a desulfator ... sulfate crystals can grow inside a battery and shorts out the cells. A desulfator blasts the cells with pulses of high voltage to break up the crystals - it is a dangerous procedure, something only to be done outdoors... or trade that core in on a new battery :)

http://support.rollsbattery.com/support/articles/5964-battery

3-4V is dead. Just get a new one.

I simply checked the battery and it was only getting about 3-4 volts. With the battery disconnected, I checked the leads coming from the trailer and they were around 13.7 volts so i knew the charger/inverter/converter was working properly. I have the battery on a separate trickle charger now to see if I can save it. It looks like i'll be getting a new battery soon.

Thanks again for your help.

BFL13 wrote:
You can call them power inverters and you can call them power converters but you can't call the one the other.

I think he must have an inverter/charger.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/cat-1000w-power-inverter-0112006p.html#.UzyNz2dOVjo

CAT lends their name to inverter chargers huh? Bummer for CAT

maybe he has a Magnum, or a Xantrex, or who knows - need more details.

Inverter / Charger

You can call them power inverters and you can call them power converters but you can't call the one the other.

I think he must have an inverter/charger.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/cat-1000w-power-inverter-0112006p.html#.UzyNz2dOVjo

drumrunner wrote:
I notice my power inverter /battery charger runs continuously.

just to clarify, it's a power CONVERTER, not an INverter.
an inverter is a slightly different animal.

When you do open it up check the compartment for dust and hair etc. Might need a clean out to restore cooling air flow through the vents

I will check the battery/levels and charge.

I had the trailer plugged in for two days. The fan usually goes off immediately unless there is a load.

Thanks.

Sounds like it is doing what it is suppose to do.
Charger gets hot and fan comes on.
Not much air movement where they install these things.