Battery change on Sprinter?

[Exconn]

How do you remove and replace these batteries?
2010 Sprinter 22'

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Exconn

How do you remove and replace these batteries?
2010 Sprinter 22'

Welcome to the AirForums!

I assume you mean the house batteries and not the chassis battery.

I also assume you have a sofa/lounge model and not a twin-bed model or else you wouldn't need to ask the question.

You have to remove the sofa bottom cushion. You can do it without also removing the back cushion, but it's easier if you do remove it.

The sofa back cushion is held on with four nuts that are easy to access with the rear doors open, and easy to remove by lifting it out the rear doors. Do this first.

But the sofa bottom cushion is a bit more difficult. There are two nuts in the back, and two machine screws with nuts in the front. With the sofa in the upright position, you can reach underneath from the back and remove the two nuts, which are on the underside of the seat frame.

Then, you've got to go inside, and partially recline the sofa. Then, lying on your back, you should see the two machine screws. Using a screwdriver on the machine screw, and holding the nut with a wrench, remove the machine screws.

Fair warning, a pad for your back is highly recommended while doing this; that socket for the table pedestal is kind of painful to lie on.

Once you've got the sofa bottom cushion unfastened, recline the seat the rest of the way, to make it easier to lift the cushion out the rear doors.

Now, the battery box on the passenger side is exposed, and you can open the lid.

You should see one battery. But fair warning, there may actually be two batteries, one stacked under the other. Disconnect the battery that you see, but take care to wrap electrical tape around the terminal connector on the red cable; disconnecting the top battery still leaves the bottom battery hooked up, and it can still spark if it touches the battery box.

After you lift out the top battery— best done by standing on the rear door sill and lifting the battery out the rear doors— you should see a wooden false floor in the battery box. Lift that out to expose the second battery. That one can also be disconnected and lifted out the rear doors the same way as the first one.

One thing you'll notice is that you've got to move the sofa to get the batteries out. If the house batteries are dead, the sofa may not move! In this case, you'll have no choice but to hook up to shore power to get enough juice to move the sofa. Make sure that you disconnect the shore power again before disconnecting the batteries!

After going through this process once myself, I have gotten in the habit— if I'm going to store my Interstate for an extended period with no shore power connection— to store it with the sofa partially reclined, so that I can reach those machine screws near the front of the bottom cushion. I might have to reach farther in to undo the nuts near the rear of the cushion, but it is doable, and that way if I need to remove the batteries to bench-charge them, I can do it without raising or reclining the sofa at all, just unbolting the cushions. Fortunately it hasn't come to that, now that I know just how thorough I have to be in shutting everything off to avoid parasitic drains, but I still take the precaution anyway.

[73shark]

Welcome to the Air Forums.

Battery removal depends upon whether you have the twin bed or the lounge version off the Interstate. It is my understanding that the twin bed version is relatively easy because it's under the twin bed on the curbside. The lounge version requires partial removal of the lounge in order to access the batteries which are also stacked underneath on the curbside.

If you search this forum, I believe you will find some detailed instructions for battery removal on the lounge version. The chassis battery is located under the floor board in front of the driver's seat.

[wayneskid]

Originally Posted by 73shark

Welcome to the Air Forums.

Battery removal depends upon whether you have the twin bed or the lounge version off the Interstate. It is my understanding that the twin bed version is relatively easy because it's under the twin bed on the curbside. The lounge version requires partial removal of the lounge in order to access the batteries which are also stacked underneath on the curbside.

If you search this forum, I believe you will find some detailed instructions for battery removal on the lounge version. The chassis battery is located under the floor board in front of the driver's seat.

In my 2010 Twin, the house batteries are under the ROADSIDE bed. This is one of several design features I really like on this model. Access couldn't be easier; set the mattress pad aside (stack it on the other bed), remove the plywood access panel and you're looking at the top of the battery box.

[joemikeb]

Talking about removing the house batteries and putting them on a trickle charger for storage, prompted me to wonder…

1. Is there such a thing as a charger/inverter that can be switched to providing a trickle charge either manually or preferably automatically?
2. Would it be feasible to put in a double-pole double-throw switch to facilitate a switchover to a trickle charger for storage without having to remove the house batteries?
3. Why isn't something like this a standard feature?

[UKDUDE]

Originally Posted by joemikeb

Talking about removing the house batteries and putting them on a trickle charger for storage, prompted me to wonder…

1. Is there such a thing as a charger/inverter that can be switched to providing a trickle charge either manually or preferably automatically?
2. Would it be feasible to put in a double-pole double-throw switch to facilitate a switchover to a trickle charger for storage without having to remove the house batteries?
3. Why isn't something like this a standard feature?

I bought a CTEK Multi US 7002 battery charger and it came with a connector that I leave permanently attached to the battery terminals. That way I just plug in the charger to the connector as needed without having to dismantle anything to get to the batteries.
It seems to work very well and I can leave it indefinitely without worrying about discharge.
Peter

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by joemikeb

Talking about removing the house batteries and putting them on a trickle charger for storage, prompted me to wonder…

1. Is there such a thing as a charger/inverter that can be switched to providing a trickle charge either manually or preferably automatically?

Yes a 3-stage converter or a 3-stage converter/inverter automatically goes to a trickle/float charge once the batteries are charged. You can call BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics for help selecting one.

[UKDUDE]

Originally Posted by Wazbro

Yes a 3-stage converter or a 3-stage converter/inverter automatically goes to a trickle/float charge once the batteries are charged. You can call BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics for help selecting one.

Actually you've touched on an interesting topic: I bought the CTEK charger on the recommendation from a thread on this forum. It's an intelligent charger that dynamically adjusts its settings according to needs, etc, and I'm very happy with it.
However, I decided to compare it's specs with that of the Magnum inverter/charger that came with my 2014 Interstate, and it looks like the Magnum does have the ability to provide an adequate trickle/float charge.
I'm no expert on these things, but it's beginning to look like I wasted my money on the CTEK, and that contrary to what it states in the Interstate manual, after they changed to using the Magnum, I believe it IS now acceptable to leave the shore line plugged in for extended periods.
Any thoughts?
Peter

[lewster]

Originally Posted by UKDUDE

Actually you've touched on an interesting topic: I bought the CTEK charger on the recommendation from a thread on this forum. It's an intelligent charger that dynamically adjusts its settings according to needs, etc, and I'm very happy with it.
However, I decided to compare it's specs with that of the Magnum inverter/charger that came with my 2014 Interstate, and it looks like the Magnum does have the ability to provide an adequate trickle/float charge.
I'm no expert on these things, but it's beginning to look like I wasted my money on the CTEK, and that contrary to what it states in the Interstate manual, after they changed to using the Magnum, I believe it IS now acceptable to leave the shore line plugged in for extended periods.
Any thoughts?
Peter

Your CTEK is a good unit, but the Magnum inverter/charger is better suited for the job of charging your batteries and keeping them PROPERLY charged. Magnum accomplishes this in several ways.

First, the voltage from the charger section is fully compensated for the ambient temperature of the batteries via a temperature probe that should be connected to a non-load negative battery terminal. This varies the charging voltage according to the temperatures found at the batteries, and prevents your batteries from over charging in hot conditions and under charging in cold ones.

Next, there are pre-programmed voltage set points contained in the charger section (best used with the ME-RC remote control) that provide the preferred charging voltages for Lifeline AGM batteries, other AGM batteries, liquid lead acid batteries and a method for custom programming They are all different and require widely varying voltages at each of the 3 charging stages.

Next, There is a setting for the amount of time spent in the absorption phase of charging which correlates directly to the size of your battery bank.

Lastly, Magnums are really a 4 stage charger in that if no activity (DC amperage draw) is detected within a pre-set time period, the control unit will automatically go thru the 3 charging stages (although rather briefly) to be certain that the batteries remain full and in the float stage.

IMHO, it just doesn't get much better than this for keeping your batteries very happy.

[UKDUDE]

Lew - many thanks; I was hoping you would spot my post and respond with your valuable knowledge.
Best, Peter

[Boxster1971]

I now use my CTEK to keep my car battery charged when I'm on the road for long periods. When I got home in late August after a 6 week road trip the car battery was dead.

[MotorCity57]

Lew,
How does the Tripp-Lite inverter/charger (used in the "older" Interstates like my 2011) compare with the Magnum unit. Can I safely leave my shore line plugged in for extended periods?
TIA,
John

[lewster]

Originally Posted by MotorCity57

Lew,
How does the Tripp-Lite inverter/charger (used in the "older" Interstates like my 2011) compare with the Magnum unit. Can I safely leave my shore line plugged in for extended periods?
TIA,
John

John,

I am not certain about the voltage settings on the Tripp-Lite unit, as I do not work on them (the only thing I do with Tripp-Lites is replace them). I know that there are dip switches on the unit to set up the charging section, but I don't know what these settings represent as far as charging voltages are concerned.

I would check the manual to see if there is a proper setting for the battery type that you have. If the manual does not contain this information, I would contact the manufacturer for a definitive response.

In any event, I would only leave the batteries connected to shore power if the unit will apply a float charge to the batteries that is the same voltage that your battery manufacturer recommends for their products.

[MotorCity57]

OK, Lew. Thanks for the quick reply. I'll dust off the Tripp-Lite manual.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by lewster

In any event, I would only leave the batteries connected to shore power if the unit will apply a float charge to the batteries that is the same voltage that your battery manufacturer recommends for their products.

My 2012 has the TrippLite. I never leave my Interstate connected to shore power unless I'm actually camping in it. About once a week I'll fire up the generator, which serves two purposes: (1) it recharges the house batteries; and (2) it exercises the generator, since generators that sit idle too long without being run tend to develop problems.

The only reason I'd hook up to shore power while my unit is stored is if I accidentally let the house batteries drain to the point that I couldn't start the generator for its weekly test-run. Then I'd hook up shore power until I got the generator started, and then unhook shore power as soon as the transfer switch transferred the electrical load to the generator. If you have shore power and generator both trying to provide 120vAC, the transfer switch defaults to the generator even though it's only 20 amps.

When I'm running the generator, I also turn on electrical appliances until the total load is about 1.5kW (it's a 2.5kW generator). Generators run best when loaded between 50% and 75% of their rated capacity. Propane generators aren't subject to "wet-stacking" the way lightly-loaded diesel generators are, but old habits die hard.

[73shark]

Maybe my 2011 is different but I can turn everything off and the solar panel will keep both the house and chassis batteries charged unless we get several overcast days in a row. I did notice that while the propane valve is unpowered, the generator starter is not. Sure wish Airstream would post a wiring diagram for these rigs.

[Exconn]

Well I replaced house batteries with Optima blue tops and plugged in shore power. A few days later the new batteries were dead. Nothing worked, no house lights, no fridge, nor could not start generator. So I started chassis motor. That enabled me to start the generator. Now the interior lights worked. With the shore power still connected, I turned off the generator. Shortly after the lights started to go dim. Appears to be an inverter problem???

[73shark]

Safe to assume the inverter is turned on and the dip switches are set right?

[Exconn]

I'm not sure about that. Did not mess with dip switches.

[73shark]

Airstream revised their DIP settings from what they had originally.