House Batteries Not Charging

[0533]

Hello Andre,

We are relaxing in Nova Scotia, forced to spend endless hours staring at the ocean, taking hikes, Kayaking, biking on the trails nearby, eating huge volumes of Mussels in white wine, Seafood Chowder and other unpleasant stuff.

We had not planned on selling 0533 until the season was over, had even told the salesman we would not be able to show it, turned down 4 showings, was not making friends of my sales rep. He called me and said he had a deposit from a customer who new the bus, its history, and the previous owner. wanted it in 3 days, would pay cash and just wanted a look see and drive away, YES or NO was all we had to say. You know the rest. That easy.

Still evaluating our bus/coach options, really want to head back out, but do not want to hurry, rush out and make a poor decision in effort to have wheels under us. Am weighing my need to Boat and Bus at the same time again verses placing all into a Bus, great time to buy, although the selection is getting thinner by the day across the board, Marine and RV, nobody is manufacturing no banks are lending at rates that make much sense, and dealers are left with very little inventory, it does make for interesting times.

We will see all of you at some point, your not done with us yet.

[ajducote]

Bruce,

Thanks for the update. I think your statement "it does make for interesting times" pretty much sums it up. Good luck on the search for a new ride. Hope you guys get everything you want. Have fun and enjoy the rest of the summer.

[merle&louise]

I tried starting my coach today and it wouldn't start. I tested the 2 starting batteries: one tested 13.8 volts and the other one tested 2.4 volts. I did not disconnect any of the cables. All of the cells had water in them. The batteries are 4 years old this month. I checked for loose connections; everything was tight.

Did I test them incorrectly?

Sounds to me like the second battery is dead.

Should I change both batteries since they are wired in series?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Tuga,

Voltage is only one indicator of a battery problem. Obviously a battery reading as low as 2 volts has a problem. While four years is not a very long time in battery life it is much closer to the end of life than the beginning.

Not knowing your coach I don't know if the batteries are used as 12 volt in parallel or 24 volts in series. It makes a difference because if used as 24 volts apart from the battery problem there might be an equalizer problem.

Yest terminals need to be kept clean, the top of the batteries also so voltage doesn't leak to ground through a trail of corrosion.

To test your batteries they do need to be disconnected regardless of whether they are wired in series or parallel. I would not only test for voltage, but I would use a battery tester to determine the battery condition. A battery tester will tell you if the battery needs a charge or is junk. Before testing the one with low voltage I would charge it separately and see if it even takes a charge and holds one.

You say they are wired in series, so just so there is no doubt, in series it means one negative post on one battery is connected to a positive post on the other.

[truk4u]

Tuga,

They must be 8d's since there is only two of them and since you have a series 60, I'm sure they're hooked in series. Like Jon said, you have to remove enough cable to isolate each battery. Also, is there a chance you got your meter hooked up bass ackwards, the bad battery usually drags down the good one. Check the voltage at the equalizer on the 12 and 24 lug.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Not all Series 60's are 24 V are they? Not talking about Prevost, but Series 60 engines used in Newells and trucks.

[merle&louise]

Jon,

The batteries are connected in series: negative to positive to negative to positive.

I am going to disconnect the cables today and try charging the bad battery with a separate charger to see if it will hold a charge. I will also purchase a battery tester to test the specific gravity of the cells.

I read on the Newell site about a fellow who had a similar problem. His starting batteries were weak when cranking. Turned out that his problem was a blown 600 amp fuse that was connected on one of the batteries. Newells have a battery merge switch on the dash which allows you to use the house batteries in addition to the starting batteries to start the engine, generator, or send power to the inverter. When he replaced the fuse everything worked perfectly.

I don't think that is my problem. I believe that my #2 starting battery has a bad cell. Using the specific gravity battery tester should confirm my guess.

If the testing proves that the battery is bad should I replace both starting batteries?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Batteries should be replaced in sets. From a battery manufacturer's owner's manual is the following quote: "Always use batteries of identical make, model and with the same manufaturing date." That quote is from a section relating to multiple batteries.

Since you are confirming the batteries are in series, I would look at the equalizer as being part of this potentially. I am not familiar with how Newell is set up, but speculating here, if one is 13 volts and the other 2 volts the equalizer may not be doing its job. When you maesure across the 12 volt and 24 volt posts on the equalizer the 12 volt side should be 1/2 of the 24 volt side within 1/2 volt. There is more detailed information in the Vanner owner's manual but that is a quick check. You do have an equalizer, correct?

[merle&louise]

I am pretty sure that I do have an equalizer, I remember seeing a Vanner blue device in one of the bays. I will check to see if I have a Vanner equalizer owner's manual in my paperwork binder.

Hope it is a simple as re-setting the breaker and equalizing the batteries.
I'll check it out this afternoon.

Thanks for the help.

[merle&louise]

Tuga,

They must be 8d's since there is only two of them and since you have a series 60, I'm sure they're hooked in series. Like Jon said, you have to remove enough cable to isolate each battery. Also, is there a chance you got your meter hooked up bass ackwards, the bad battery usually drags down the good one. Check the voltage at the equalizer on the 12 and 24 lug.

Truk,

They are 8Ds. I will check the voltage at the equalizer. Thanks.