This is for a good friend. I told her this group is one of the most knowledgeable on this sort of thing....
So, electrical geniuses in the group, any ideas about why my RV batteries damn near melted down the entire RV and I won't even think about the house and hay barn in close proximity.
The RV ( a '98 Bounder class A diesel pusher with no history of metabolic disorders) was last used the first week of June and I noticed on the way home I had to use the little button that recruits every battery available to get the ignition to turn over---but that's not too unusual if I've been running fans and lights and not the generator, so didn't think too much of it. When I got home, I started it up again to park it after unloading and hmmm, still not much juice to kick it over. My bad, I checked the water level in the 6-volt batteries and they were very low, but not totally dry. Filled them up and plugged the 30-amp land line back in, as it has been for the past several years.
So this morning, we go outside to do some chores and the inside of the battery compartment is significantly charred and black. No evidence of actual electrical fire but sufficient heat that all three of the batteries are melted down, warped, twisted and undeniably cremated almost beyond recognition. Lots of heat damage and more char on the inside of the compartment hatch. I would prefer not to imagine how close I might have come to actually burning the whole frigging thing down to the ground.
So, obviously, I have an electrical problem beyond just replacing three batteries. Was this caused by the batteries overcharging and if so, is the problem with the inverter? Or could it be something else? If the inverter, I assume this is a replacement fix, not a repair (and we were looking into adding solar, more batteries and a larger inverter, anyway). After we replace the batteries, inverter, cables, and nearby wiring, is it likely that we've also blown anything else in the system? I know I'm going to have to run a check on EVERYTHING, but don't know if there's anything specific I should be looking at.
Posted 2012-07-08 9:31 PM (#145456 - in reply to #145451) Subject: RE: RV Batteries melted
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
I would first look for a short to ground. It would take a lot of amps over a short period of time, to do that much damage. If the batteries were just changed and you had no prior or similar problems, I would inspect first, the wiring that was involved during the swap. Missing grommets or a space of insulation is all it takes to create a short. Look for a specific burnt spot.
Hooking up a low amperage battery charger to the circuit, may enable you to duplicate the source of the problem, with arcing or even some smoke. With a built in short protection, you will not be able to apply enough amperage to further damage anything.
As far as the charging circuit, are you saying inverter and meaning converter? Do you have DC power to your system when using a shore cord? Do you have ~13.5 V + from your present converter? It should be available on the output terminals of the converter, regardless if the batteries are hooked up or not. If the batteries are discharged, the output voltage will be higher, in the 14 V range. Once charged, the output will lower to the low 13 Vs.
It's pretty easy to determine the condition of the converter by measuring its output.
Posted 2012-07-08 11:58 PM (#145461 - in reply to #145451) Subject: RE: RV Batteries melted
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
Your Battery has melted due to being overcharged! The Voltage regulator failed...If you check your battery charging voltage from the battery terminals with a multi meter when its in operation you probably will find over 14v, which boiled off the acid...
Posted 2012-07-14 10:25 AM (#145587 - in reply to #145451) Subject: RE: RV Batteries melted
Member
Posts: 12
Location: Vail AZ
I posted about a similar, though not so severe problem a month ago--batteries boiling over. It turns out that the switch on my battery compartment that I thought was turning off the power to the batteries when plugged into my landline was defective and the batteries were being charged even then I had the switch turned to off.
Posted 2012-07-14 11:56 AM (#145590 - in reply to #145451) Subject: RE: RV Batteries melted
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 373 Location: Texas
Thanks for all the replies folks! I passed them along, and she is checking the system out. Thankfully she does not have any rides to head to right now, so she can get it taken care of, and not be in a huge rush
RV Batteries melted
