Battery stink

[hbrady]

My Coachmen Freedom express has been plugged in since I de-winterized it in April, the battery (new in 2014) was stored in the garage (heated) over the winter. Over the last week I've noticed a sulfur smell coming from the front of the camper and last night I discovered it was coming from the battery. I remember from my EMS days the ambulance battery trays always stunk when the ambulance was plugged in but I never knew the cause. I've read this can be a sign of a bad battery or a battery being overcharged but how would one narrow the cause? I did have the battery drain fully a couple weeks ago when I had unplugged it for a few days (I had left a light on). Would that ruined the battery?

[hbrady]

Verdict is in.. bad cell in battery. Went home at lunch and checked with multi-meter, it was reading 12.2v while connected to camper. I pulled it off and the battery was only reading 10v. So, the charger was pushing 12.2v which is acceptable.

I checked the battery when I took it out of winter storage and the water levels were fine. The battery shop I went to said 3 years is typical for a travel trailer battery. Perhaps the previous owner ran it dry at one point but it was working fine last fall.

Oh well, new battery installed and I'll take good care of it.

My power center / charger is a WFCO WF-8955-PEC.

[myredracer]

We had a Lifeline battery with a dead/shorted cell in just after a year of use. Just wouldn't keep a charge if we were unplugged for more than a day or two. Replaced the battery and it's been fine ever since. I always periodically check the electrolyte level and converter voltage is fine and our TT is always been plugged in. The majority of owners keep there RVs plugged in year round.

It's my understanding that in more rarer instances a battery can fail on it's own, but the usual cause is a bad converter and sometimes bad wiring. The battery in our skid steer developed a dead cell for no reason and I simply replaced it and it's been fine for 5+ years later. While in there looking at the battery, check the ground to frame and the positive connections.

The best way to test the battery is to take it to a battery shop (which is what I did) and get them to test it. They'll be happy to sell you a new one too. 😄

[hohenwald48]

I have had RVs of one kind or another continuously for the last 15-16 years. I have always left them plugged into shore power and have had no battery issues. Leaving your RV connected to shore power should not cause any battery problems. I've had in water stored boats almost as long and no problems there either.

You have either a charger problem, a bad battery or an improperly maintained battery. You could have all three.

[aftermath]

I purchased a 2006 Airstream used in 2009. Airstream put a crummy single stage converter/charger in their trailers back then. Yeah, a big expensive trailer with a crummy charger. Go figure.

The PO left the trailer ALWAYS plugged in. When he went out on location he always plugged it in. We showed up to check everything and it was plugged in. Everything worked and there was no smell from the battery compartment.

After we got it home we found out it wouldn't hold a charge. The batteries, both of them, had been toasted. We replaced the charger with a newer three stage charger and everything is fine now.

Yes, your batteries can be damaged so get them checked. But, my guess is that your charger is not working or that it is a single stage charger so it IS working and boiling your batteries.

Let us know what you find.

[hbrady]

Thanks all, I'll report back what I find.

[darbyjudy]

Put a voltmeter across the battery while it is hooked. It possible your converter is over charging the battery. I had that happen to my motor home. I woke up one morning to the gas detector going off. Traced it to the battery, felt the battery and it was hot. Put a voltmeter across it and it was over 16 volts. Had to replace the converter.

[corvettekent]

Put a volt meter on it and tell us what voltage it is changing at. Also what brand and type of converter do you have?

[hbrady]

teejaywhy wrote:

Possibly. Or more likely that your maintenance methodology could be improved.

Since I've only owned it 8 months I'll blame previous owner 😉 I think I'll install a cutoff switch, no sense keeping it on charge when TT is plugged in.

[teejaywhy]

hbrady wrote:
So I checked the battery this AM and noticed the sticker showed it was actually a 2013 battery. This means since 2010 my TT will be on it's 3rd battery, is this typical or maybe it's a sign my converter / charger is not working properly?

Possibly. Or more likely that your maintenance methodology could be improved.

[hohenwald48]

Failure to properly maintain the battery water level will also cause the smell.

[hbrady]

So I checked the battery this AM and noticed the sticker showed it was actually a 2013 battery. This means since 2010 my TT will be on it's 3rd battery, is this typical or maybe it's a sign my converter / charger is not working properly?

[hbrady]

dodge guy wrote:
....I can tell you from personal experience you do not want to be near a bad, boiling, overcharged battery! they can explode! (I know from experience). fortunately I was not hurt, but it could have been very bad!

Reminds me of when I was a kid, my father was jump starting his old Case bulldozer, jumper cables sparked and the gases is the battery compartment ignited causing the battery to blow up. Luckily someone was home and called the rescue. His face was a mess for weeks. Luckily it didn't blind him.

[mbopp]

If the battery has a shorted cell the converter sees the low voltage as a discharged battery and puts a lot of current into it. This boils off the remaining good cells and that's what you smell.
I'd pull the battery and get it tested.

[dodge_guy]

More than likely the battery is toast. the charger is seeing low voltage and is trying to charge it. it is being charged so much it is boiling the battery. I had one do the exact same thing.

I can tell you from personal experience you do not want to be near a bad, boiling, overcharged battery! they can explode! (I know from experience). fortunately I was not hurt, but it could have been very bad!