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Old 03-18-2019, 11:18 AM   #1
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Charging Batteries

When I've got my 2008 Journey plugged into my 50 amp service the batteries don't seem to charge any higher than 12.8 when I check the reader on the wall of the coach. When the engine or generator is running (as it is running) it reads 14.1, what can I do to increase the charge other than connect a charger/maintainer?
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Old 03-18-2019, 12:14 PM   #2
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Power from your generator/alternator is the same power as what comes from shore power. There's no magic there.

Most recent chargers or inverter/chargers have 3-stages: Bulk, Absorption and Float.

When the battery level meter shows 14+ volts it's just applying a "Bulk" charging rate from those two power sources. When plugged in your converter or inverter/charger should do the same but only when needed. But after that runs for a while the charger will change to Absorption and then Float. The Float charge will be much less and that will show on the meter. But, with enough time, you should be able to get your batteries to 13.1 v if they are in good condition. After your batteries are fully charged - which is around 12.6v to 12.7 - many chargers turn off or go on standby for up to 3 hours and when this happens that's the voltage you'll see on your meter.

It's also possible that your batteries are older and will not accept a full charge.

Is this an ongoing issue? Have you had the RV a long time and this is the best you've seen over a long time? Or is the RV new to you and you are just getting acquainted with how it works.

One last comment, the battery meter in your RV is pretty inaccurate. It just measures voltage of the battery at that moment. So, when the alternator is putting 14v in the battery that's what it shows on the meter. Turn off the motor and the voltage shown will be a more true actual voltage.

For true accuracy you'd have to install a battery shunt and a Battery Monitor Kit. It measure all power in and out of the batteries and gives an accurate SOC "state of charge" that is not simply current voltage based.
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Old 03-18-2019, 12:46 PM   #3
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Thank you! Yes I'm still getting familiar with the coach, we had it for a few months. Interesting that 12.6 v is full, so mine reading 12.8 (as you said) must have been full and the inverter/charger must have been in the standby or float position. The batteries were new when we purchased the coach and I'm trying to keep them in good shape. I've been reading about the battery shunt and a Battery Monitor Kits, do you have a suggestions? I've seen pricing for the blue tooth new type around $400.
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Old 03-18-2019, 02:11 PM   #4
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There are lots of choices for BMKs. My Winnebago has a Magnum Inverter/charger. And it came with a small basic monitor (#ME-MR) in the RV's tech cabinet. But the other more advanced monitors they make are a simple plug n play upgrade. So, I upgraded to the most capable monitor the ME-ARC50 for a couple hundred dollars. I only had to enlarge the monitor mounting hole in the cabinet. Once I did that I added the Magnum BMK which came with a shunt, the controller and a cable that simply plugs into the Inverter.

That's all it took and now all the BMK readouts now show on the remote monitor in the RV. I think all together it cost just under $400 and the BMK works great with the ME-ARC50 so I can control everything with the charger and the inverter right from the tech cabinet.

There are many other BMKs on the market. Some are cheap and some more expensive. A very popular one is the Victron 711-BMS. It has both a monitor you would need to install in your RV (and wire it in as well) and built in Bluetooth so you can monitor your batteries from your tablet or phone when you are in the range of the BT. It's about $215.

Installing the shunt is an easy diy project. You mount it to somewhere near the batteries. Run a short negative cable (0/0 ga or 0/1) from the neg take off on the battery that feeds all Neg loads on the RV. And run all neg loads (usually there's a main chassis load and an inverter/charger neg load and solar charger neg load if you have solar) to the load side of the shunt. So all Neg loads go into one side of the shunt and than the battery neg lead is connected to the other side of the shunt.

My Magnum will charge the batteries up to 13.1 then go into standby for up to 3 hours and then when the batteries are back at 12.5 or 12.6 turn the charger back on.

If I've used the inverter and drawn down the batteries some then when connected to shore power the charge side of the inverter will go into Bulk/Absorption/Float for as long as it takes to reach full charge again.

It takes a while to get acquainted and comfortable with all of your systems.

My Adventurer came with one 100 watt solar panel and a 3-port combiner box on the roof. I bought 2 more 100w panels for 300 watts total. It also came with a Zamp 30-amp PWM solar controller. PWM controllers are not as efficient as MPMT solar controllers, so recently I upgraded to a Victron 100/30 MPMT controller with built in Bluetooth. This keeps my batteries pretty well charged up all the time. Between staying at campgrounds with power and storing the RV in the open sunshine my batteries are at 100% SOC nearly all the time. Even having been in storage for a month (with all power off, of course)
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Old 03-18-2019, 03:10 PM   #5
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Just so there's no confusion, when you're on shore power or running the generator the coach batteries are charged by the converter or inverter/charger (whichever you have). Charging behavior should be the same in either case, controlled by your converter or the charger of your inverter/charger and probably includes bulk, absorb, and float modes which each have different voltage and amperage ranges.

When the engine is running the engine alternator will charge both the engine chassis batteries and the coach/house batteries, and the voltage is controlled by the alternator regulator.
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Old 03-19-2019, 07:54 AM   #6
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I wouldn't say the installation of the shunt and running the wires to the inside of the coach to where you want to mount the monitor is quite as "easy" as stated above.
You do need to be somewhat mechanically inclined. You will have to buy or build a short heavy cable (0/0 ga or 0/1 as creativepart wrote) to go from the negative terminal of the battery pack to the shunt. You also need to find a place to mount the shunt, perhaps drilling mounting holes in sheet metal. Additionally you will be running small wires to each side of the shunt and a small wire to +12 volts to power the monitor. Also you will have to run the small wires from the shunt to the inside of the coach to attach to the monitor.
Amazon has short cables available: https://www.amazon.com/Spartan-Power...gateway&sr=8-1

If that is not the right length use a search argument on Amazon like: "1/0 gauge wire 12 inches".

Here is a link to the install instructions for a Trimetric Monitor: http://www.bogartengineering.com/wp-...2=false&r=wide
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Old 03-19-2019, 10:30 AM   #7
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Here's a link to a thread on IRV2 regarding battery monitors. It has some low cost (<$40) solutions, including one I purchased (post #3) which is easy to install (no shunt) with a wireless Blue Tooth display that you can mount anywhere. It has a sensor that your battery cable runs through:

http://www.winnieowners.com/forums/f...ml#post3836154

Here's a direct link to the unit I purchased:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/17305814208...m=173058142084
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Old 03-19-2019, 12:24 PM   #8
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Thank you all for very clear information! I'm still working full time in construction management and will put to use your-all information as time permits. But learning what/how to do these install is a big help. Thanks again; Jack Kimenker
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Old 03-26-2019, 05:16 AM   #9
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Had similar low charge voltage

My Adventurer had a similar low charging voltage from the converter. I found that it was loose connections on the back of the converter. Found it because the connectors were quite warm. These were the heavy gauge power wires. Tightened the screws and the charging voltage jumped up, when on shore power.
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Old 03-26-2019, 04:44 PM   #10
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Thanks

Thanks I'm going to check the wires to be sure.
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