Coach Batteries dead all of a sudden

[malibu06]

Batteries fine in am before our trip.
Drove three hours, everything was ok. lights working,

Got to campsite (no hookup). put out awning. went for dinner.  came back and coach eletricity is dead.

toggled the coach battery switch many times but nothing. 
checked fuse box - everything ok.

shore power is pulled into generator.  Of course generator will not start.
The RV will start and drive, but everything in coach will not work.

what are we missing?

 

[John Canfield]

Did Winnebago equip your unit with a voltage meter to check house and battery bank voltages? If not, you need to meter the house battery(ies) to be sure they okay.

This "coach battery switch" - is it the switch that cuts off/on power to the house? You will need to download your wiring diagram (see the Winnebago and Chassis Resources post near the top of this board) and see what's between the battery bank and the house. 

 

[legrandnormand]

If you use your dash mounted "emergency battery switch" that bridges your chassis batteries and coach batteires you could probably start your GEN and from there your coach batteries could be charged.

 

[Alfa38User]

"shore power is pulled into generator." Hmmm, not sure what you mean by this  but....

Were the batteries really charged as much as you think they were when starting out?? How did you determine this?? Did you travel with the battery switch in the Off position by any chance? Your house batteries will not be charged by the alternator while going down the road if you did.

 

[malibu06]

thanks guys - had service guy come out and looks like coach batteries are dead and won't take a charge at all.  with his backup battery charger on to jumpstart, the GEN starts, but as soon as took it off, it dies.  one of them has some corrosion that shouldn't be there.  it looks like there is a wiring issue somewhere. 

it is a new 2016 coach - we bought it in April -

For now - going to have him replace the batteries (to get through weekend before we can take to dealer), then bring to dealer with the old batteries to have them troubleshoot.

 

[John Canfield]

Your batteries shouldn't have croaked this soon. Either they were already old when installed in your unit (I doubt this), or the battery charger went wonky and boiled out the electrolyte. When flooded cell batteries quickly fail, usually the plates are sluffing off their lead which accumulates in the bottom of the case.  When it reaches the bottom of the plates, it shorts out the cells.

Have you ever checked the water level in the batteries?

 

[malibu06]

Your batteries shouldn't have croaked this soon. Either they were already old when installed in your unit (I doubt this), or the battery charger went wonky and boiled out the electrolyte. When flooded cell batteries quickly fail, usually the plates are sluffing off their lead which accumulates in the bottom of the case.  When it reaches the bottom of the plates, it shorts out the cells.

Have you ever checked the water level in the batteries?

Thanks John - yeah, they were brand new when we got the rig in April.

I looked at them about 2-3 weeks back, and everything looked fine.  Didn't check water level as didn't have reason to.
Now they look like the attached.

NOOB Question - are you supposed to run the GEN when running the heater always?  I'm wondering if that is what might have done it?
We haven't had to run the heater much at all yet, but did run for several hours without shore power or GEN on...

 

[Alfa38User]

are you supposed to run the GEN when running the heater always?

There is ALWAYS a reason to check the water level when you are trying to establish the true state of charge. There is a lot of corrosion on one of those terminals.

Supposed to??? No, not necessarily but be aware that the heater (furnace) fan is a big user of 12V and can quickly drain  "not so well charged" batteries so it might explain why they are discharged but does not explain why they did not charge somewhat while driving down the road. The mystery deepens.....

 

[John Canfield]

You need to get some baking soda mixed with water and clean the acid goop off the battery.

 

[Daffy]

Both batteries were new in April and both croaked now? Nope I don't buy it. One of them perhaps shorted out and killed the other. Or something else dragged them to dead.

That corrosion on just the one could be telling you a story...

 

[SCVJeff]

Somthin' ain't right.. while there are batteries that can open up and not tak a charge, you said "batteries" (plural) . I don't but it either. If you have that much corrosion, go final a walmartor auto supply store and get a wire brush/ terminal brush and clean the terminals, then hit them with the baking soda. Wholesale swapping out batteries won't fix the core issue whatever it is

 

[SargeW]

And then there is option #3 (that happened to me).  Dealers are notorious for treating batteries poorly. Heavy use while the rig is on their lot, long periods of in activity without charging.  Your batteries could look brand new on the outside and still be thrashed. 

I had 6 new 6 volt batteries installed by the dealer because after I got the rig home I found that they wouldn't take a charge. The transfer switch also had to be replaced from being abused. 

Oh, and did I mention that they also sent me home, 60 miles on the freeway with a flat inside rear dual tire