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House Battery Charge


Steve Hepfer

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I recently experienced a problem with the house batteries holding a charge. When we left the campsite and turned the inverter on to keep the refrigerator running I got a "Low Battery" message on the display panel. The inverter would not stay on. After driving for about an hour I thought that the alternator would have put a charge on the house batteries but that didn't work. I have checked all cells for Specific Gravity and they check out in a range from 1.27 to 1.31 (Fair to Good). I checked them after unplugging the coach and letting the batteries rest for about 45 minutes. The coach has been plugged in to shore power for a few days and reads back and forth between Absorb Charging and Full Charge. When I unplug the coach however from shore power I again get the display message "Low Battery". While plugged in the voltage reads around 14.2 volts and when I unplug the coach I am getting around 9.8 volts. I am wondering if the batteries are failing or if it is something else? Any help is appreciated so I don't buy 4 new batteries only to experience the same problem. Thanks

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  Check your cables and connections for looseness and corrosion.  14 Volts means the charger is working.  9.8 v means either the cables and connections are at fault, OR the batteries have a problem.  

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Your house batteries are soft, meaning not holding a charge, if being charged at all. I agree with a previous comment to check all of your connections, also check your hi current fuse to the batteries from the inverter, (mine was open once and gave me the same symptoms that you mentioned) replaced that fuse problem went away. Put a volt meter on the batteries, take a reading then plug into shore power. You should see 13.8 to 14.5 volts and hear the inverter humming!

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On 12/28/2020 at 6:13 PM, Steve Hepfer said:

All of the cells check out with Specific Gravity ranging from 1.27 (fair) to 1.31 (good)

Are you able to have them load tested?   Even one or 2 bad cells in 1 battery will mess them up. 

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  • 1 month later...

Wrong post, sorry. Edited to correct. 

Edited by Steven P
Wrong post
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