Eric and all -
This is helpful. These Lifeline 8DLs are unbelievably heavy
I checked all the wiring yesterday, it all looks good, of proper guage, and connected as you note below. I tested the charge voltage off the generator and that was also correct at 14.2V at each battery terminal. I disconnected several of them, and the first set of problems began to show up - two were at 10.9V. Charged them for a bit with the genset and they quickly recovered to 12.8ish volts.
I pulled one and brought it home (I do not have grid power on the land where I store my rig) and have charged it / attempted to "recondition"/ equalize it via lifeline's instructions and it is not looking promising. After an overnight 15A charge my load tester says it is at 0% SOH.
I'm guessing these batteries are likely bad
- I was hoping it was just one. Another hole in the budget.
I'm tempted to go lithium b/c I think I can reduce to 4 300AH batteries and use half the space / regain storage and I'd get full DoD. But do have questions for those who have done it:
(1) Do I have to replace the BIRD relay with an MIB? Can the Alt charge the batteries in the same way it does now?
(2) Can I upgrade the remote from ME-RC to ME-ARC and gain custom charge functions on my inverter?
(3) If I replace the solar controller to put in an MPPT one is there a way to preserve charging of both banks and maintain connectivity to Aladdin?
I feel comfortable with the batteries and electrical - but am not so confident about the integrations in the RV.
Thanks for all the help so far.
Anand