AGM battery dead with Solar panel

[vanster]

It would be interesting to know what the amp hours are in a 2019 single AGM battery that is supplied by the factory.

We installed 2 6v AGM lifeline batteries ( 300amp hours) along with a Zamp 100w solar panel. Our refer is an Isotherm that draws 12amps (electric only). Our inverter is a 1000w Magnum. I think we are OK. Everything in the trailer is off ( including the Isotherm)but I leave the master switch on. The Victron app is good to have as well. I'm just reading a book on boon docking but it was printed in 2008. A lot has happened since then. Are there any current publications that pertain to this?

[JCWDCW]

I have a 23 year old trailer with the original 70 w solar panel. Like the OP the only draw is the Propane detector. Generally with winter weather upon us, my battery stays charged up to 13+ volts, and maybe drops to 12.5 if he solar is covered n snow. I do not switch to store when I leave the trailer. Fridge and HW heater are "off" so no draw from those loads

The OP did not specifically say he wasn't running the fridge, but he did say the only draw is the carbon monoxide sensor. So there is no way he is drawing down 12 amps per day.

I suspect he has a faulty charging system, but that is easily checked on a sunny day by noting the amps or watts the solar is making.
I did kill the battery in poor weather by leaving the light on in the bathroom for 6 days, but that is a lot more than "parasitic" draw
JCW

[drbrick]

I run 200 watts of solar on the roof of our 25 foot Airstream maintains two 6 volt golf cart batteries no problemo

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The stock AGM battery is a group 27 rated at 100AH.

Bob

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

The stock AGM battery is a group 27 rated at 100AH.

Bob

I could say hmmm...errr but that would just be rude.

The stock Battery is a group 24 lead acid. If the solar package was ordered then it would have been a SINGLE AGM battery. The OPs solar is not the package offered by Airstream So without them responding there is no way to know what battery we are talking about..

[BayouBiker]

I believe Bob was responding to a different question by vanster about 4 posts ago.

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by BayouBiker

I believe Bob was responding to a different question by vanster about 4 posts ago.

It looks like Vanster was asking about a factory supplied single AGM battery on a 2019. I can’t see how he was referring to anything other then the OPs unit.

[Gypsymimi]

Originally Posted by gator.bigfoot

Check the input to the solar charger and make sure you are getting voltage there. If not start there. If you are getting voltage then hopefully it's above 15 volts. If not then you have a faulty panel or not enough sunlight. Once you've determined that, measure the output of the solar charger. It should be at the same voltage as the battery. You could disconnect the charger from the battery and see if you're getting a higher voltage. But some chargers recognize that there is no battery and will shut down as a safety precaution.

Thanks! I just don't know where to check the input to the solar charger or the output of the solar charger.

Patti

p.s. for other posts.... Only thing running is my carbon monoxide detector. Everything else is OFF.

Thanks.

[gator.bigfoot]

Originally Posted by Gypsymimi

I just don't know where to check the input to the solar charger or the output of the solar charger.

If you have a picture of it that would help. If not it should be labelled input and output. What type of charger do you have? The input wires if factory supplied are usually green and yellow. They should be fairly thin wires (10 gauge if factory supplied) The output wires should lead to the battery connections if you follow it back. A picture is usually worth a thousand words.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

If you get solar from the factory with your trailer, you get an AGM battery. If you have an AGM battery from the factory stock (as opposed to a flooded cell) it is most likely a 100AH unit.

The question of "what is the capacity of the stock AGM?" came up. It *seemed* like answering the question was worthwhile.. Just in case there is interest in the stock flooded cell, they come in around 80AH or so.

Hopefully that's clear enough .....

Bob

[AirMiles]

Originally Posted by Gypsymimi

Thanks! I just don't know where to check the input to the solar charger or the output of the solar charger.

Patti

p.s. for other posts.... Only thing running is my carbon monoxide detector. Everything else is OFF.

Thanks.

The factory solar controller does not have any bare external connections which makes it difficult to check the yellow and green input wires or the (black and red?) output wires. It would be easiest to test the voltage at the battery under sunny conditions. If the battery voltage is above 13V, you solar is working. If not, then you'd have to trace backwards from the solar controller fuse, solar controller output, solar controller input, Zamp rooftop box connection, and solar panel output to find the problem.

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

If you get solar from the factory with your trailer, you get an AGM battery. If you have an AGM battery from the factory stock (as opposed to a flooded cell) it is most likely a 100AH unit.

The question of "what is the capacity of the stock AGM?" came up. It *seemed* like answering the question was worthwhile.. Just in case there is interest in the stock flooded cell, they come in around 80AH or so.

Hopefully that's clear enough .....

Bob

More then likely it’s not factory solar or the panel would be 90 watts not 40. If it were from the factory it would likely have come with a 12 volt group 24 AGM battery rated at 80 amp hour. NOT a group 27 like you previously posted.

[AirMiles]

The OP said its factory solar with an AGM battery. Its a good thing that the factory solar option has a 90 watt panel. That takes all discussion about the panel not being large enough to keep the battery charged while in storage off the table. So knowing this information and that everything was "OFF" inside the Airstream, there must be a problem in the solar charging system for the battery to have discharged.

The first thing I would check is the fuse between the solar controller output and the positive busbar. It is inside the white tube (fuse holder) on the red wire at the very bottom of this picture: http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...8&d=1188193315

The second thing I would check is the connection to the Zamp Rooftop Box on your Airstream roof: http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...5&d=1568483386 This connection just plugs in like and electrical cord. Just unplug it and plug it back in. If you have a voltage tester, you could check the voltage on the wire from the solar panel. It should be around 17 volts if the solar panel is working and all the connections are good.

But again, if you are getting over 13 volts at the battery with the Airstream unplugged from shore power under sunny skies, you don't need to check the fuse or Zamp Rooftop Box Connection because your solar is working.

[vanster]

It appears to me that the factory sells new AS with the bare minimum for dry camping. A single AGM with a minimal 40watt solar panel as the OP suggest is marginal. I guess it's fine if you are parked in the sun from sunrise to sunset but many of us like to park under trees and or experience rain, cloudy days. OR AS just thinks that all that buy a new AS are going to camp in areas with plug in's. I'm very sensitive about running my batteries flat. It's not an option.
I have an Zamp 180w suitcase that we always take along, even so this year in the Idaho panhandle we spent days without much light and it got a bit iffy.

[gator.bigfoot]

It's a 2019. Hard to believe that 40 watts would even be an option or that anyone would chose it. But without sunshine it won't generate much if anything. Personally I'd start over. But that doesn't help the OP at this point.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Shiny16

More then likely it’s not factory solar or the panel would be 90 watts not 40. If it were from the factory it would likely have come with a 12 volt group 24 AGM battery rated at 80 amp hour. NOT a group 27 like you previously posted.

Hi

Nope, the factory solar comes with group 27 AGM's.

Bob

[Shiny16]

I don’t think any newer Bambis came with group 27s. In either case there was no 40 watt solar option either. So it’s something other then the Solar package offered by Airstream.

[Shiny16]

Additionally an email from Jackson center confirmed that it’s a group 24 Lifeline AGM battery that was supplied with the factory solar package on 2019 sport 22s.

[drobert33]

On our dealer installed solar panel setup I found the batteries dead on one occasion and after pulling the controller out of its cabinet discovered that one of the wires from the panels had pulled away from its terminal. I reattached it and put the controller back in place and still had no display. When I pulled the controller out again I found that the wire had once again pulled away from its terminal, probably as a result of my wiggling the unit back into place. Stripped off a bit more insulation to give its set screw a little more to bite on and problem solved. Once the now toasted batteries were replaced. We won’t mention how I discovered that solar panels covered with snow do not pass on a great deal of charging current. ‘Noco Genius’ charger to the rescue....

[Dallashayes]

We had the same issue with ours. Swapped out batteries and were told to keep a close eye on the water levels. Now I check and fill the battery about every other month. Also, the company that makes the board and controls told our repair man to swap them out with new ones. Those had a known issue and told him how to set it up properly and that proper is different from the factory. We have a 2018 Sport 22 FB