R-pod Owners Forum Homepage

This site is free to use.
Donations benefit a non-profit Girls Softball organization

Forum Home Forum Home > R-pod Discussion Forums > Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed: What happened to my battery ?
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Calendar   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedWhat happened to my battery ?

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
Author
Message Reverse Sort Order
dropkick View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 17 Jul 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 18
Direct Link To This Post Topic: What happened to my battery ?
    Posted: 20 Mar 2017 at 7:41pm
17-18V?? something is NOT right!

Did they give you a 24V charger?  Do you have 1 battery or 2?

You need to disconnect everything right now before something else gets fried.

Back to Top
ToolmanJohn View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 23 Apr 2014
Location: Connecticut
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 451
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Mar 2017 at 7:37pm
 I've heard of campsite shore power being wrong and damaging converters, but never at home. Have you had the Pod plugged into 120VAC while having lighting storms?
2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler
2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD)
2013 VW Touareg TDI
Back to Top
flat6s View Drop Down
Groupie
Groupie


Joined: 21 Mar 2016
Location: Burlington, Ind
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 84
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Mar 2017 at 6:51pm
Hi everyone,
Final result is:  Filled battery with distilled water and installed back in pod, plugged in and check with voltmeter. 17.4 volts .  Run battery down a little, checked charging rate again..,18.2 volts.  Took pod to my wonderful dealer who determined battery charging board not working.  Replaced board and all is well. However , this represents third circuit board to go bad during furst season... fridge, gas detector, and now battery charger. I think we are getting spikes while parked and plugged in at home.  Highly rated surge protection device is on the way.   
Thanks for all the advice.
Joe
Back to Top
JandL View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 29 Mar 2014
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 364
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Mar 2017 at 9:54am
The loss of electrolyte in a flooded lead acid battery occurs through gassing as hydrogen escapes during charging and discharging. You will also lose water when a battery that is run at elevated temperatures thru evaporation. In California my battery sits in a black box exposed to the sun and can get warmer than the ambient air temperature. I check my battery before every trip and need to add water about every 3 months. I also keep the trailer plugged into AC power when it’s parked in my driveway so the battery is always charged up.
JandL
2013 Honda Ridgeline
2012 177
2 Paynes in a Pod
Back to Top
techntrek View Drop Down
Admin Group - pHp
Admin Group - pHp
Avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2009
Location: MD
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9062
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Mar 2017 at 8:31pm
+1, once the plates are exposed they are toast.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
Back to Top
dropkick View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 17 Jul 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 18
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Mar 2017 at 4:52am
If your plates were exposed, that battery is damaged--that capacity will never be fully regained.  But you can refill it with distilled water (only!) and use to diagnose the charger before a potentially bad charger ruins a new set.  Voltage should be just under 15 but more important the amperage needs to drop as the battery nears full charge.  Monitor for overheating.  If it's still pumping in 30 amps after 24 hours and the voltage hasn't dropped, the charger is suspect.  Ideally let it charge for 36-48 hours, the voltage should have dropped to a float voltage just below 14V.  Unplug it and let it rest for 2-4 hours and check the specific gravity of the cells to get the state of charge and check the battery voltage around 12.65V is 100% but it could be higher due to surface charge if u don't wait.  If unable to do all this, just pop the caps after two days of "trickle" charging.  If they're still actively bubbling it's not a trickle!

I had the stock converter/charger in our 2013 '177 suddenly cook a set of group 24's that I had just checked levels on maybe 2 weeks before.  Nothing like pulling out steaming batteries and watching them boil for an hour on the driveway.  Threw it all out and moved up to a pair of GC2's and new converter/charger.

You should not be encountering new batteries with missing electrolyte in the consumer-grade market.  Check levels when u buy a battery. If it's low, someone spilled it, really old stock, or a manufacturing error.
Back to Top
mcarter View Drop Down
podders Helping podders - pHp
podders Helping podders - pHp
Avatar

Joined: 07 Apr 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3419
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Dec 2016 at 5:52pm
I think you need to fill the battery with distilled water, put it in the TT, with shore power.  Using a voltmeter check the charge voltage of the battery using the TT inverter.  Measure between neg and pos terminals.  It shouldn't be more than 15 volts I would think.  Get up into the 15/16 volt range the TT is overcharging. Anything above 16 volts is bad.  You could also fill the battery, distilled water and charge, then test battery to ensure it is good.  You should only test a fully charged battery and if it doesn't charge the battery is bad.
Back to Top
jato View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 23 Feb 2012
Location: Kewadin, MI
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3257
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Dec 2016 at 5:43pm
Now that we have more info I will address this from a different vantage point.  I purchase a fair amount of batteries at the business I work for (golf course).  Local vendors sell their batteries with electrolyte in them.  If they are shipped from a distance, they come dry because UPS or similar will not transport them wet.  So possibly you got a dry battery from the start or the battery was sold with a low amount of electrolyte in it?  I have seen this happen every now and then.  Check the POS where you purchased your battery from; they may come dry and you have to add the electrolyte yourself.  Let me know if that is a possibility.  If not, there are electrical gurus on this forum who can walk you thru the process to check the potential overcharging question.
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
Back to Top
flat6s View Drop Down
Groupie
Groupie


Joined: 21 Mar 2016
Location: Burlington, Ind
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 84
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Dec 2016 at 5:05pm
I re read my original post.  No surprise to me...it is confusing.
Should have read that I brought battery home and stored on floor for a week...but did not put it on any charger.  I went out today to hook up charger...checked water level first...found no water.
So, if over charging is the problem, that means the R Pod is over charging the battery.  So how can I check to see if that is the problem ?
Thanks for your thought, greatly appreciated.
Joe
Back to Top
jato View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 23 Feb 2012
Location: Kewadin, MI
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3257
Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Dec 2016 at 3:51pm
You probably need to get a new charger.  As the above poster noted, "you were getting more than a trickle",  I would second that with 100% certainty.  With your water level way low, you were overcharging and the electrolyte evaporated.  Monitor next charge with a voltmeter as was mentioned.  I am quite convinced your battery is toast, will have to purchase another.

My 2 deep cycle 12V group size 24 batteries were purchased March 2011.  Every winter when our pod is in hibernation mode they sit on concrete from November to April.  The first year they sat in our basement, after that in our unheated garage in northern Michigan.  They receive a trickle charge (2 amps) in November when we finish camping, it usually takes a good day or a tad more for each to reach 100%.  The following March I will give them their 2nd trickle charge before taking them out it April.  Again it takes 24 - 36 hours to bring them up to 100% SOC.  Still work well, 5.5 years old, check electrolyte a few times per year but will only add distilled water to them maybe once/year if that. 
The misnomer of no batteries on concrete goes back to the early days when battery cases were constructed of wood, and they would lose their charge sitting on concrete.  All batteries that I know of today are plastic cased, so that is no longer an issue.
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.64
Copyright ©2001-2009 Web Wiz