Batteries problem

[Guigsy82]

Hi, we recently became the proud owners of 2017 20ft Flying Cloud and are encountering some battery issues.

A few days ago when plugged into source the lights stopped working and we noticed that the battery reading was falling from its usual 13.8. When we woke up the next morning there was no power at all expect for the electrical sockets. Upon arriving at a new campsite and plugging into source nothing worked. We have since attempted to recharge the AGM batteries overnight from 15amp source with both batteries showing as fully charged but only reading 9V on the monitor. I have checked the fuse box and nothing was tripped and I have also replaced the fuse on the converter. The battery disconnect if showing as in ‘use’. The electrical source is resulting in the socket in the bathroom as the only one that we can currently use.

When purchasing the AS last month we were advised that new AGM batteries had been fitted.

Any ideas/suggestions on next steps would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[gator.bigfoot]

Originally Posted by Guigsy82

Hi, we recently became the proud owners of 2017 20ft Flying Cloud and are encountering some battery issues.



A few days ago when plugged into source the lights stopped working and we noticed that the battery reading was falling from its usual 13.8. When we woke up the next morning there was no power at all expect for the electrical sockets. Upon arriving at a new campsite and plugging into source nothing worked. We have since attempted to recharge the AGM batteries overnight from 15amp source with both batteries showing as fully charged but only reading 9V on the monitor. I have checked the fuse box and nothing was tripped and I have also replaced the fuse on the converter. The battery disconnect if showing as in ‘use’. The electrical source is resulting in the socket in the bathroom as the only one that we can currently use.



When purchasing the AS last month we were advised that new AGM batteries had been fitted.



Any ideas/suggestions on next steps would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

So you're saying that your unit is plugged into shore power. And you have the power turned on inside the unit since it worked before. You also have power on the AC outlets. But your lights are not working and now you have 9 volts on the batteries. If you had power for a few days and you had a constant 13.8 volt charging of the batteries and now it stopped it could point to a defective converter. If you only saw the 13.8 for short time it be that there was no charging from the converter. Make sure the converter is plugged into a socket or that it's breaker is not tripped( which you already did). I'm not familiar with the wiring in your unit and I haven't looked it up, but mine is plugged into a socket. Most likely your converter is the issue. You could get by, by plugging into you TV. As long as your TV supports it. That way you can prevent the batteries from being ruined.

The only real way of knowing anything is for you to purchase a volt meter. It doesn't have to be an expensive one. I keep a 20 buck one in the RV just for that. Measure that you have 110 ac into the converter and measure what you have out of it. You should have about 13.8 dc out depending on the load. Measure the battery voltage. 9 volts is not good. You should have 11.8 minimum. Note you might have to remove the battery from the circuit otherwise you'll only measure one voltage on the dc side since it's all connected in parallel.

Even with no batteries in the equation your converter should power the DC side. I ran like that for years. Now I never plug in. The trailer hasn't been plugged into 110 to charge the batteries in over 6 years since it runs on solar.

Good luck.

[Bill M.]

It sounds like the converter either was turned off or failed to cause the initial problem. It is possible to get AGM batteries so low that some chargers will not sense them and recharge them. You might need the help off someone who knows how to recharge AGM's. Get a voltmeter. Assure that the power converter is working. If the power converter is working then deal with the batteries. It sure sounds likely that the power converter is not getting 110. Have you reset all the breakers by turning them off and back on one at the time?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Guigsy82

...... We have since attempted to recharge the AGM batteries overnight from 15amp source with both batteries showing as fully charged but only reading 9V on the monitor. .......

Hi

Which monitor showed them "fully charged"?

Which monitor showed them at 9V?

Obviously there is an issue there. If one part of the system has voltage and the other part does not, that could be a problem with the use/store relay or it could be a DC fuse / wire issue.

As mentioned above, get a multimeter. Watch a couple of YouTube videos on RV electrical systems. Understand what the converter / battery / fuses do. Get a good idea of what you will be looking at. Then go to the Airstream web site and get a copy of the manual. There is an electrical schematic in there.

From all that, you should be able to trace out the voltage from the converter as it heads towards the batteries. At some point things are going to look weird. That' likely the point your problem is at.

If none of this makes any sense, call an RV tech and let them trace it out. Far better to pay somebody than to mess things up making bad decisions.

Bob

[Vantair]

Try tapping the USE-ON selector again.

That’s it’s purpose to disconnect all loads / converter from the batteries. (Except propane detector)

On our 25ft Intnl, the glowing USE LED doesn’t necessarily mean the converter is connecting through and back to the batteries…….if that USE relay is not toggled to connect the batteries they won’t be charging of course assuming converter breaker is on and working properly.

[Wazbro]

If your 15 amp charger can charge both 12v and 6v batteries it may sense that voltage is too low to be 12v batteries and assume they are 6v. Then it will stop charging when it thinks your "6 volt" batteries are fully charged instead of charging to 12 volts.

You may be able to use jumper cables to get voltage up enough for the 15 amp charger to continue charging your batteries.