Bad battery or bad converter

[goswick]

I noticed a "rotten egg" smell in my 1968 Airstream and around the back near the battery. I determined it was coming from the battery. The battery felt hot to the touch and was very low on water. I have a Progressive Dynamics PD9245C – 45 Amp RV Converter/Charger.

Is there a was for a "non-electrician", such as myself, to test to determine if the battery is bad or if the PD9245C – 45 Amp RV Converter/Charger is overcharging the battery?

The PD9245C – 45 Amp RV Converter/Charger is less than a year old and has been working flawlessly as far as I know. The battery is several years old..not exactly sure just how old.

Thanks for advice in advance.

[CBWELL]

Very likely that the battery is/was bad. Any more than 5 years for a battery is considered long life. I have installed several PD9245 chargers for myself and others and have never had a problem with them. Install a new battery and watch it closely to confirm that the charger is ok. If you have the pendant you can see the charge mode that the charger is in.

[goswick]

Originally Posted by CBWELL

Very likely that the battery is/was bad. Any more than 5 years for a battery is considered long life. I have installed several PD9245 chargers for myself and others and have never had a problem with them. Install a new battery and watch it closely to confirm that the charger is ok. If you have the pendant you can see the charge mode that the charger is in.

Thank you.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

You have a battery with a shorted cell. This is a common "end of life" issue on batteries.

Bob

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by goswick

The battery is several years old..not exactly sure just how old.

Thanks for advice in advance.

Batteries will have a code stamped somewhere on the case (not the label, the plastic case). It may also have a sticker but stickers come off. The code can vary by battery manufacturer so you may have to Google the brand of battery to find the code. Some are just as simple as the first number being the last digit of the year. Next is a letter, corresponding to the month (except for the letter i, which is not used.)

So if you see a code 6J123 then the battery was shipped in 2016 in the 9th month. (A=Jan, B=Feb....skip i, J=9, September). I think Interstate batteries have the month-letter first, then the year is the next position.

[JohnTF]

Battery monitoring / maintenance ?
What kind of battery ?
How much did you make it work ? --- monitor - know what your pulling out of & what your putting into - the type of battery .
Generally some type of marine/RV [ never buy those ] deep-cycle - only buy true deep-cycle , THE MORE YOU USE IT - THE MORE YOU NEED TO MONITOR - INCLUDING KEEP AN EYE ON ELECTROLYTE LEVEL - AND MAINTAIN WITH DISTILLED WATER " ONLY " !

[goswick]

Thanks all...I determined it was the battery at the end of it's life cycle. The converter/charger is working as expected. Will simply disconnect the batter for now and get a new one next Spring.