Battery issues

[Peregrine]

Morning all-I am a full timer living in my MH (02 winnebago-sightseer). Start and run engine monthly.Have not taken a trip in a little over 2yrs.Live in central North Carolina.Battery a little less than 2 years old,top of the line advance battery.Battery dead this time had to jump start and let engine run for 1/2 hr or so.Turned off engine and hooked up trickle charger purchased at walmart 2 years ago have used it many times to top off battery charge in between monthly maintenance engine start ups .Yellow LED light began blinking by next morning charger instructions said to unplug and replug unit to begin charging anew.Next morning same thing blinking yellow light.Also screen on Sirius radio glowed green-radio not on-key not in ignition only green screen showing light.Jump started engine again and let in run for awhile.Removed battery cables and hooked up trickle charger once more.Next morning-today-yellow LED blinking again unplugged and replugged unit once more.Lights on recharge unit show good charging according to manufacturers instruction booklet.
Thanks in advance for any answers/advise
Jeff

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Yellow LED light began blinking by next morning charger instructions said to unplug and replug unit to begin charging anew.

Lights on recharge unit show good charging according to manufacturers instruction booklet.

These two statements are at odds with each other. Apparently this yellow led on the charger indicates a problem, so why do you say it is charging OK?

It may be the battery is simply drawing more amps than the trickle charger can sustain and the charger is signalling an overload. A typical "trickle charger" is 1-2 amps max, but a dead battery could suck high amperage for several hours or more. Try a charger with a higher amp rating, or let the engine run a couple hours as fast idle to bring the battery charge up higher before attempting to use the trickle charge.

Another possibility is that you have a bad battery and as the charge builds up it shorts out internally and the charger shuts down.

 

[Peregrine]

Thanks for reply-according to instruction booklet-Blinking Yellow LED indicates the charger is in abort mode-normal glowing Yellow LED indicates the charger has detected a battery and is charging it

 

[Peregrine]

to be clearer-whenYellow LED blinks on charging unit-instruction booklet says to unplug from 110 power and replug.After that both Red LED's and Yellow LED glow as they are supposed to showing charging taking place again according to instruction booklet .Over night charging produces blinking yellow LED.
Jeff

 

[dan2]

Morning, I would replace both.... First with a battery from Sams Club, then NAPA makes a nice unit (part number 85-210) that
would fit your needs. 

Good luck
Dan

 

[PaulinBaja]

Your overnight user load may be overloading your charger.  A good ten amp charger is a good and inexpensive solution.  Get your battery full using it, then go to a good maintenance charger.  The maintenance charger you have may do the job very well once the battery is fully charged.  You may have to repeat this now and then, but keep the battery charged, they last far longer when kept charged.

 

[Old Blevins]

Your overnight user load may be overloading your charger.  A good ten amp charger is a good and inexpensive solution.  Get your battery full using it, then go to a good maintenance charger.  The maintenance charger you have may do the job very well once the battery is fully charged.  You may have to repeat this now and then, but keep the battery charged, they last far longer when kept charged.

X2.  Your cheap Walmart trickle-charger may be different than my cheap Harbor Freight trickle-charger, but mine said to use it only to maintain charged batteries and not to use it to charge.

 

[John From Detroit]

30 minutes may not be enough to re-charge an idle battery.. For DEEP CYCLES a proper charge takes about 4-6 hours minimum,

For starting batteries you can perk them up a bit faster, but still 30 minutes may not be enough. 

Your battery maintainer plan (I would not use a Trickle-charger but a Battery Minder (TM) or Battery Tender (TM) would be nice)

Or if your coach charges both battery banks (House and engine) and you have a good 3-stage converter... That works too (how I did it in fact).

 

[Peregrine]

Thanks to all for your help.
jeff

 

[rvtogo]

30 minutes may not be enough to re-charge an idle battery.. For DEEP CYCLES a proper charge takes about 4-6 hours minimum,

For starting batteries you can perk them up a bit faster, but still 30 minutes may not be enough. 

Your battery maintainer plan (I would not use a Trickle-charger but a Battery Minder (TM) or Battery Tender (TM) would be nice)

Or if your coach charges both battery banks (House and engine) and you have a good 3-stage converter... That works too (how I did it in fact).

Curious as to why you would not use a "Trickle-charger". Am thinking of installing some kind of way to charge the chassis batteries from shore power or Generator. Why your choice of battery tender/minder

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I'm not sure there would be much difference, but unless a specific "trickle charger" is cited it is hard to debate the point. Trickle chargers have very low amp output, rarely more than 2 amps and often 1 or less. It doesn't take much to overload them (draw more amperage than they can produce). The better designed ones shut off before they get damaged, while the cheapest ones simply burn up internally from the excess. Peregrine's apparently is designed well enough to shut itself off.

Battery Minder and Battery Tender are brands of trickle-type chargers. Perhaps designed better and more robust and an el-cheapo trickle charger from Walmart or Harbor Freight, but not substantially different.

 

[Old Blevins]

It doesn't take much to overload them (draw more amperage than they can produce). The better designed ones shut off before they get damaged, while the cheapest ones simply burn up internally from the excess.

Ah.  Now I understand why mine says not to use it when the battery isn't fully charged.  It hadn't occurred to me it might damage it.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

A partially discharged battery is sort of a sump for amps - it almost sucks them out of the charger. A substantially discharged battery acts like a short circuit to a charger because the voltage differential is relatively high and the battery offers very little resistance to the current flow. More sophisticated multi-stage chargers limit the current flow in that situation, but the inexpensive trickle or single stage models mostly do not.

 

[Just Lou]

I agree with Gary, the charger is not 'in charge' when it comes to charging a battery.  The SOC of the battery determines the amp draw on the charger (up to the chargers electrical limit, of course).

A low SOC can certainly overtax a small trickle charger, but likewise, if your batteries are never allowed to significantly discharge, these huge 100amp chargers that folks brag about are unnecessary.

 

[John From Detroit]

Curious as to why you would not use a "Trickle-charger". Am thinking of installing some kind of way to charge the chassis batteries from shore power or Generator. Why your choice of battery tender/minder

A trickle charger is a "Dumb" Charger, it just keeps putting out 1 or 2 or 10 amps.. Kind of like a Magnatek 6300 battery boiler, in fact EXACTLY like a Magnatek 6300 battery boiler..  The battery charger stage of that box IS a trickle charger.

A Battery Tender, or a battery Minder Both trade marks  are SMART chargers, so is the 3-stage converter on many RV's. and thus does not boil the battery dry like the Magnatek 6300.

That is why I do not care for the old trickle chargers..  They make small smart chargers in the same current class that work well and are not all that expensive.

 

[Just Lou]

A trickle charger is a "Dumb" Charger, it just keeps putting out 1 or 2 or 10 amps.. Kind of like a Magnatek 6300 battery boiler, in fact EXACTLY like a Magnatek 6300 battery boiler..  The battery charger stage of that box IS a trickle charger.

A Battery Tender, or a battery Minder Both trade marks  are SMART chargers, so is the 3-stage converter on many RV's. and thus does not boil the battery dry like the Magnatek 6300.

That is why I do not care for the old trickle chargers..  They make small smart chargers in the same current class that work well and are not all that expensive.

I must disagree to a point.  NO charger "keeps putting out 1 or 2 or 10amps" if the load will not accept it.  If the output voltage of the charger remains high enough to seriously overcharge a battery, (which is what a "dumb" charger does) then too much current will continue to flow and eventually damage the battery.  Smart chargers will lower the voltage when criteria are met resulting in a reduction of current flow.