Sport 16: Newbie issue right before big trip re: electrical system

[mimiandrews]

FYI, when you check "battery" voltage with any charging source connected, you meter will read the charger's voltage, not the battery's. If you're seeing voltage readings much above 12, you're looking at the charger--they usually output 14 volts or a bit less.

Disconnect or turn off all charging sources, give the battery 30 minutes or so to stabilize (After all, this is a chemical reaction we're talking about), and then you can read the voltage output of the battery itself.

The folks at Interstate can load test the battery for you and determine if it's good or damaged by sitting too long on the dealer's lot. I'd recommend letting them test it while your warranty is still good and fresh.

Meanwhile, enjoy your Airstream!

[mythbuster88]

Originally Posted by Daamor

Posting an update!

First off thanks to everyone's response - so helpful!

We had a fantastic maiden voyage weekend and everything worked out well, wonky battery and all.

I initially thought I had maybe not had the disconnect switch in the ON position during charging through shore power so reconnected and try to juice the battery full.

When I woke up in the AM of the trip, I got a BATTERY FULL indicator from the ZAMP and a 13.0 reading from the tank monitor so I let out a sigh of relief. I also became happy when I connected the 7 pin from my tow vehicle and the readout was at about 13.6 (YAY! CHARGING!).

Anyhow....

Got to my site and setup Peanut (name of our camper, lol) and the first thing I noticed was that the tank monitor readout was 12.8. I said hm, that's strange (it was a 1.5 hour tow, clearly energized by the tow vehicle), when it had earlier been 13.0. But again, 12.8 is higher than 12.0 so thought nothing of it.

I didn't run A SINGLE THING during the day, hoping to see the 12.8 get back to 13.0. When I got back from our hike it was still at 12.8 (note this is even with the solar "charging" indicator).

That night I started the refrigerator - no change in V readout.

I also started the furnace at about 6 PM. Here, there was an IMMEDIATE drop from 12.8 to 12.5 (literally was checking the V readout all weekend after messing with ANYTHING electrical). With the furnace running most of the night and a few lights here and there (none on longer than 2 minutes because I was basically an electricity nazi with my wife), I woke up the next morning to an 11.5 V reading.

After turning off the furnace and fridge, it jumped up to 12!!

I left everything off and let the solar "charge" the vehicle throughout the day (literally left the camper at about 930 AM and came back at about 5 PM). There was ZERO change to the V readout (stuck at 12).

Yes I was in a "partial shade" area but even with some sun, shouldnt the solar charge up slightly?

Any additional insights here would be great!

Thanks everyone!

Where did you guys go for the maiden voyage?

[Daamor]

Originally Posted by mythbuster88

Where did you guys go for the maiden voyage?

Napa-Bothe state park. It was a PERFECT maiden voyage for non-seasoned vets like us because it felt secluded (i.e. true camping) but was close enough to Helena/ Calistoga and local wineries to have nights out.

Our next trip is to Avenue of the Giants - which is about 2.5x the travel distance - as the next step up. The goal is to gain enough experience and feel comfortable enough to take a long trip down to Joshua Tree at some point later this year.