Dead Batteries (help)

[mainer]

This is really getting old! Last year on our Southwest trip our battery was dead so we thought we would have it replaced and had 2 new batteries put in. That worked for awhile and then we noticed that our batteries would not hold a charge. Sooo we had the converter replaced last fall when we returned home and really had not used the Monty much since then.

The other day we noticed that the lights looked dim and the battery was on empty, checked and the circuit breaker had popped, reset it and we have been okay for the past three or four days. Tonight checked it and again the reading said empty, circuit breaker okay. (this morning the battery was okay, have started checking it more frequently)

Oh, before I forget, we are hooked up to 50 amp shore power and using air conditioning. Any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Okay we stopped using the air conditioning a few hours ago and now the reading for the battery is 3/4 full. Is this the way it's suppose to work?

[H. John Kohl]

I would look at the converter/charger. Good luck. If it is an IOTA do you have the Q4?

[stiles watson]

I agree with John. Sounds like the converter/charger is not functioning properly. If you are constantly connected to shore power, your converter/charger should be able to keep up. Running your A/C with shore power 50 amps should not create a battery problem.

[firetrucker]

Here are a few checks you should do first, if you have a multimeter and are comfortable with electricity:

Start by checking the fluid level in the batteries and topping off with distilled water if necessary. Then check the battery connections, both at the battery and at any connections between the battery and the converter. Make sure the ground connection to the frame is tight.

Turn off the converter and measure the battery voltage. What you'll measure will depend on the battery condition and the load, but should be between 10.5 and 12 volts. Turn on the converter and recheck the voltage. It should jump to 14.2 to 14.6 volts if the converter is working correctly.

If the converter is a multistage unit, it should drop to 13.6 to 13.8 volts when the batteries are fully charged and the converter is in the float stage. If you have an IOTA converter, make sure it has the IQ4 adapter that makes it a multistage unit. If it's another brand, make sure it is also multistage. It is the best long term protection for the batteries.

If you're up to it, I'd even check the connections at the breaker panel and the converter itself. It's not unusual to find they were never properly tightened, or have vibrated loose.

If everything checks out, then I'd have the batteries load tested. It doesn't sound to me like the batteries, though, good one minute then bad the next.

Bob