Bad Batteries?
I have a 1995 36-foot Dutch Star on a Spartan chassis with a Cummins diesel engine and an Allison transmission. It has 60,000 miles on it. We have had to replace all four batteries (house and chassis) within the last week and are now replacing the alternator. The alternator was a Leece-Neville brand that lasted for 10 years. We have always stored our RV with a shore line connected and the battery switches on.
Based on the advice of the battery distributor, I believe now that I made the wrong decision concerning the shore line. They claim that charging the batteries for 24 hours per month will keep them in operational shape. I am unsure.
Another mistake was not checking the electrolyte in the batteries on a timely basis. It is very difficult to do this, as I must disconnect all wiring to the batteries before I have access to the fill ports. Still, it is obvious that my maintenance schedule must be greatly improved. Would you offer some advice on how I can improve the battery maintenance schedule, as well as whether the battery switches should be left on or off when the motorhome is in storage?
John Koenig, F221360
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
First, I would recommend that you review the battery article in the January 2005 issue of Family Motor Coaching (“RV Batteries,” page 76). Lead acid batteries will self-discharge even if there is absolutely no load, so they must have some sort of maintenance of voltage when in storage. I am not sure charging them for 24 hours a month is a criteria. A battery needs to be recharged before it is more than half discharged (12.2 volts). Allowing a battery to deeply discharge shortens its life, and it will gas more during a recharge from a deep discharge since it will get hotter, thus requiring more water. It is absolutely necessary to irrigate the batteries before the plates are exposed from low electrolyte. If access to the fill plugs is a problem, maintenance-free batteries might be your best alternative. If shore power is available, you should consider purchasing a charger that will float the batteries at around 13.4 volts.
Dump Valve Dumping
I have a 2004 Fleetwood Expedition diesel pusher. The suspension’s dump valve releases air in the front air bags quickly, but it takes the rear bags a few minutes to go down. Sometimes I raise the rear with the levelers a little, then let them down and bleed the air out. What would you suggest I do to make it right?
Richard Hoffman, F350989
Clifton, Texas
Since the front air bags dump fine but the rear air bags take longer, the most likely cause is that there’s a restriction between the rear suspension and the dump valve. Check the plastic air line leading from the rear suspension to the dump valve to see whether it is pinched somewhere. Another possibility is water in the air bag suspension.
The following is merely for your information, as I do not know the specifications of your 2004 Expedition. I suggest you check your coach or have it checked to see whether it may have a system at least similar in function to the one described below, but not necessarily in the same locations.
Our 1995 Winnebago Vectra is factory-equipped with a unit identified as a “Midland Grau, Pure Air Plus” system, which is frame-mounted directly behind the right-side dual wheels. It is a two-piece metal air cylinder with a clamping band at the center. This unit is approximately 12 inches in diameter and 8 inches high. On top of this air cylinder is a spin-off/spin-on desiccant-filled canister that measures approximately 5 inches high and 6 inches in diameter. This is said to be a coalescing filter. This unit’s 5/8-inch air line plumbing is connected between the engine-mounted air compressor and the frame-mounted reserve air tank, which is the onboard air supply for anything and everything that uses clean and dry air pressure.
Saving $$
In the article “Saving Money on the Road” (May 2008, page 98), the author is partially correct when she writes: “Switch the fridge to “˜auto’ and allow it to choose the better power choice.” For most of the refrigerators on the market, the auto mode of the refrigerator always chooses electric as the priority mode even if the voltage is too low. To my knowledge, only recent refrigerators made by Norcold will not switch to electric if the voltage is too low.
Gilles Audet, F235716
Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada
In the past, Dometic made several models that when operating on the Automatic Selection Mode (AES) would switch over to LP gas if the AC voltage was too low. On these refrigerators, which date back to the time period between 1985 to about 1994, the voltage would be monitored, and if it fell below a certain level (I don’t remember the exact number, but probably around 90 volts), the control board would then select the next available energy source “” normally LP gas on a two-way refrigerator and possibly the 12-volt-DC mode on a three-way refrigerator (if the engine was running). Of Dometic’s current products, it appears that the NDR 1402 has that feature, although the system specifications only state that the voltage threshold not be specified.
The general statement of keeping the refrigerator on auto mode to conserve the LP gas is assuming that the traveler will not be charged for the 120-volt-AC electricity being used “” such as in an unmetered RV park. If staying in a metered locale, to determine which energy source is more economical “” paying for the electricity or paying for the LPG “” multiply the kilowatt rate being charged by 20 and compare that to the price of a gallon of propane.
It is very hard to make a general statement that will pass the acid test, but in this situation I think the assertion made by the author would be correct the majority of the time.
Battery Charging #1
My wife and I own a 2004 Fleetwood Discovery motorhome. We purchased the RV new and have had some concerns about the RV charging system. When the batteries are being charged while plugged into shore power, they seem to overcharge, spilling acid all over the concrete and the RV battery structure. Before we take any trip, I check all the fluids, including the battery fluid levels. The batteries are always about 1 to 2 inches low in all the cells. I also am concerned about walking through the acid and tracking it into my home and RV. Our motorhome is less than 4 years old, and the batteries already need to be replaced. There are four Trojan T-105 6-volt deep-cycle lead-acid batteries in the coach. Is this a normal lifespan for batteries, and is it common for the coach to overcharge the batteries? Should I set up battery maintainers for each battery, or should I just leave the coach plugged into shore power?
Chris Duggan, F352078
Shawnee, Oklahoma
This problem would be difficult to diagnose without more information about your batteries and charging system. What is the voltage while the batteries are out-gassing? What is the charge level of the current (amps)? Does the charger go to a float voltage? Have the batteries been tested?
If a problem exists, it is very possible that after four years of abusive charging, the batteries are sulfated and/or the plates are warped and the batteries should be replaced “” but not before having the charging system checked out. Given that you live in Shawnee, I would recommend taking the coach to Griffith R.V. Service in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (405-495-2590). Tom Griffith is an accomplished electronics guy and grew up in his father’s Airstream dealership.
Battery Charging #2
I have a 2007 Winnebago Sightseer, and since I have owned it I have had trouble keeping water in the batteries. To me it seems the convertor is charging too much. I just returned to the dealer and had to replace both coach batteries because they were cooked. He told me that my practice of leaving the coach plugged in all the time when we are not using it is the reason the batteries are getting overcharged. This does not make very much sense to me, because when “full-timers” are hooked up to electric power all the time, they do not seem to have the problem that I am having. Am I wrong or do I have a problem with the convertor?
Alfred R. Coleman, F331605
Lambertville, New Jersey
I leave my coach hooked up while it is not on the road, but I monitor the charge voltage. If your charger is not ramping down “” going to a float voltage once the batteries are adequately charged “” it can overcharge the batteries. Float voltage should be around 13.4 volts. If the charging continues when there is insufficient electrolyte in the cells, the cells will sulfate and warp and the battery will be ruined. With flooded-cell batteries, you need to replace the water lost during charging even under the best of circumstances. Check the voltage after the batteries are topped off to make sure it is very close to 13.4 volts. If you continue to have problems, check to see whether the charger is operating properly. Also, make sure you are irrigating the batteries frequently enough.
Battery Charging #3
Several years ago I converted an MCI-8 bus into a motor coach. I use two deep-cell batteries for house batteries. When I go to Florida and spend at least two nights on the road, the house batteries will go dead about the second night unless I run my generator a lot. They run my backup camera, CB, and radio, and create the spark to light the refrigerator and water heater. What really seems to drain the batteries are the furnaces if they are required both nights. Since my bus is 24-volt and the house batteries are 12-volt, they get charged only when I run the gen set. My question is: if I run a wire from the positive of one of the D8 batteries for the bus and one from the negative of the same battery, would the 24-volt current generated by the bus charge the house batteries? Also, would the regulator know to keep from overcharging the batteries? Maybe you know of a better way to keep my house batteries charged when I am on the road. If so, I would appreciate it if you would let me in on it.
Don Lewis, F194488
Exeter, Ontario, Canada
There are a couple of ways to solve this problem. Running a wire from one 8D battery will not push the voltage up above the 14 volts needed for charging the house batteries and may only serve to run down the 8D. What you need to do is add a 24-volt-to-12-volt battery equalizer, such as the one available from Vanner (800-227-6937, www.vanner.com), or add a 12-volt alternator onto the engine. Another possibility is to change everything to 24 volts; this is not impossible, but it is expensive. Unfortunately, there really is no inexpensive solution.
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