2003 Sunrise House Battery

[RzRzRzR]

We decided to do a few overnight stays at a nearby state park to work out any bugs before our long trip planned for the summer. I’m glad we did!

Situation: Outside temperature was 33 degrees Fahrenheit, LP heat was on, a few LED lights were on, toilet flushed turned on the water pump. LED bulbs dimmed and the LP detection unit under the sink flashes a low voltage warning. Furnace fan comes on and the same thing - low voltage. Check the levels panel and the battery charge level is on red. Uh oh, the guy said they were new batteries, but I didn’t check. We were on battery to run the furnace for about six hours before this happened.

Decided to tough it out and deal with it this morning. Woke up cold and started the engine to bring up the jacks and pull in the slides. No power to anything that runs off the house battery at all - not even the level check panel. Drove about five miles into town and got a low charge at low voltage, just enough to make the LP detection unit go crazy. Now sitting in a toasty warm diner between a Walmart and an automotive store, thinking about pulling the batteries where she’s sitting now, or go home first. I’ll update this later...

[luvlabs]

I don't know what you have for house batteries but it is pretty obvious that they were either not charged completely or you really mismanaged your use.

Those batteries should be charged with the engine, or the generator, or the converter when plugged into shore power. Since you have managed to run them completely down, you probably have killed them or severely limited their capacity.

You need to check out your charging systems and make sure all three charging scenarios are working. The batteries should be pulled, recharged on a heavy duty charger, and load tested. Be prepared to replace them. Your best bet is 6V deep cycle golf cart batteries.

[RzRzRzR]

Okay we now know they were not charged properly before we left, due to the kid watching TV out there after school let out, and our short drive to the local campground was not enough to charge them properly. Since this happened, I've kept a close eye (and voltmeter) on the situation and we are already budgeting for replacement and upgraded batteries. I'm also in the process of installing an outlet near where we park so we can charge the battery while parked too.