Battery warning

[Steve Adams]

Took our coach out of storage yesterday and headed for the coast.

Along the way we heard a series of beeps going off that were very muted and lasted only 15-20 seconds. We were unable to find anything. This morning at the campground we had the same thing.

We found the inverter panel giving us a battery warning of a voltage greater than 16.75V. We replaced the batteries last year and they are about 10 months old.

We are connected to 50amp shore power and everything interior to the coach is working fine. While in storage we were connected to 15amp power.

Any ideas?

Thanks, Steve & Cathy

[Bill Sprague]

Almost everything goofy, confusing and intermittent in 12 volt automotive systems comes from a dirty, corroded or loose ground connection somewhere.  Start with the battery terminals, find where the wire goes to the frame.  Check where the inverter/charger ground wire is attached.

There are three Beavers at Cannon Beach.  Which part of the coast did you go to?

Good luck!

[Steve Adams]

Bill, we are in Neskowin Creek.

I checked the water in the batteries and all 4 were low. Incoming power is normal with no faults displayed. The solar system we had installed shows normal as well.

I'll start checking for loose wires. Any other ideas?

Thanks, Steve

[Steve Adams]

As Bill suggested, I went out and checked all the connections on the batteries as those were the last things touched. Either one of the fittings was slightly loose (hard to tell) or I have another issue. Regardless, when I was done, no more alarms. We'll keep everyone posted should anything obvious pop up.

Thanks Bill for your help.

Steve

[Joel Ashley]

Make sure you check the house battery water levels regularly, Steve.  My coach has been parked for a long time on mostly solar charging and occasional 30A.  I have to add a little H2O every 4 months or so.  Keep about 3/8" below bottom of fill hole cylinder.  Use safety glasses with your face close to and trying to peer into open cells.  Or spend a bunch of dough for an auto-fill device that makes the job easier, and likely to get done more often.  (I've been too cheapskate to get one... yet)

While you are at it, clean the batteries, terminals, and any sulfur-bloomed parts in the area with baking soda/water.  Use a tool to deoxidize lead posts and clamp terminals/rings, resecure tightly, and then hit exposed copper and metal with anti-corrosion paint.  Don't use dielectric grease as it will attract dirt.

-Joel