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Old 11-21-2017, 10:18 AM   #41
IRV2
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Thanks guys I will you now what I find out. Im going to take them to Interstate battery and they said they will test and charge them overnight. Also I will do the converter output test after I get the batteries out. I was also told that these batteries take a long time to charge from generator or shore power, I only had it charging last night for about an hour. Now that I think about it does seem unrealistic that my genny would bring batteries from full discharge to near full charge in about an hour
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Old 11-21-2017, 11:33 AM   #42
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Yup, A 1 hour recharge capability would make a lot of "dry campers with small generators" very happy. It typically takes 4-6 hours to "top off a slightly discharged battery" and overnight or longer to fully charge a"'almost dead" battery.

Most of us who dry camp will charge our batteries for a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the evening and that's enough to "stay ahead of conservative use" but not enough to fully charge a completely dead battery.
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Old 11-21-2017, 06:04 PM   #43
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I wasn't correct I thought they were Interstate. They are Exide and they are one month apart and so I will charge them overnight. The readings are 7.1 Aug 2017 and 7.6 Sept 2017 the water levels are good each one filled equally. With such low voltage will these be ok? Or should I be looking at purchasing some soon?

Edit: Exide 27MDCST
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Old 11-21-2017, 06:57 PM   #44
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They may recover with adequate charging. If I were you, I'd charge each separately (not hooked to the charger at the same time) on a 10 amp automatic charger, then reinstall them and see what results you get. If they work, I'd go camping, if they won't hold a charge, then I'd find someone to load test them and go from there.
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Old 11-21-2017, 07:09 PM   #45
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I put them on 15 amp charge, its what i have. I do have them in the garage and will charge separately. I will heed the advise. I guess I must have been killing these batteries slowly for the past month.
Is there a monitor for batteries that I could install so I could read my volts, Ive been using the 3.0 level system for volt readings and think they may not be telling me the actual battery status.
This time tomorrow we should be at our favorite local rv park (its about 10 miles from home) sitting in a hot tub.
Thank you for all help and will keep updated. What a great bunch of folks on this forum!
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Old 11-21-2017, 07:35 PM   #46
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Something like this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9ETUZJ...detail_2?psc=1 will plug into the cigarette lighter socket on your TV booster panel. You can plug it in, read the exact voltage, then pull it out (so it won't pull power from your batteries) until you want to read the voltage again. Trying to rely on the "idiot light" panel on your "status indicator panel" will not give you a good reading of battery charge status. It'll fool you more times than it helps.

I've got one like in the link (same type, different brand) and I used it until I installed a built in panel with a voltmeter, USB charging ports and a utility power plug. For you, if all you want to do is get a quick voltage reading, this $8 plug in device will do all you need.
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Old 11-21-2017, 07:45 PM   #47
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ADDED: The reason for charging the batteries separately (not at the same time on the same charger) is because if one battery has a shorted cell, it will not allow the other battery to charge fully, so both batteries will only charge to the level of the weakest battery. So, you may mask a good battery by trying to charge it with a bad battery. Charging them separately will give you the maximum charge on each, then when they are load tested, if one is bad it will show, if one is good, it also will show.

While this will identify a bad battery individually, they should both be replaced with similar batteries if you're going to replace the bad one. So, you're probably going to wind up replacing both batteries, you may identify a good battery that you can use somewhere else in a single battery application. There's no need to "give away" a good battery if you can use it for another purpose.
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Old 11-22-2017, 06:34 PM   #48
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Well I got the batteries at 12.9 each by 1:00pm man these take a long time to charge. I had to get them in the rig so we could leave by 4:00pm. Im going to disconnect each one tomorrow and continue to charge them while we stay here at the park.
I'm plugged in to shore power. Is there anything I should be concerned about if I disconnect one battery at a time to charge them? Do I need to use the kill switch to cut power to batteries while doing this?
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Old 11-22-2017, 07:34 PM   #49
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While you're connected to shore power, you can charge each battery individually with the power center/converter in the trailer. Possibly you can use that for one battery and use the stand alone charger on the other battery.

If you connect a separate charger to a battery that is connected to the trailer system while on shore power, the converter/charger in the trailer will sense the voltage output of the charger and will adjust its output down to accommodate that, so essentially, if you use a stand alone charger "AND" the converter/charger, you'll negate any charging capacity from the converter/charger....

So, separate your batteries electrically, hook one of them to the trailer system and use the separate charger on the other one.

Once you've confirmed that both batteries are in good condition (no shorted or bad cells) then you can charge them both at the same time using the power center in the trailer.
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Old 11-23-2017, 07:48 PM   #50
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Just the obvious that someone else mentioned: why not just install an inexpensive battery cut off switch? I purchased one for $15 or so and put it on the battery cover. I can leave my trailer for a two or three months and the battery still has plenty of life. Then no need for all the other switches.
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Old 11-23-2017, 11:19 PM   #51
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I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but they should have a 1 year warranty, just swap them out. I had a problems with mine about 7 months in. Dealer did a test on them and then swapped them.

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Old 11-25-2017, 09:05 AM   #52
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I want to update my issue. I was able to get batteries to full charge yesterday using my battery charger. I used the "battery disconnect" and then hooked up the charger cables and let them charge all day while switching between the two.
I have a new appreciation for batteries and their care, our other trailer was a 17' Coleman with no slide outs or electric auto leveling system. This 5er with three slides and auto level is really a resource hog and had no idea about the "juice" required to run such a system. However, I will continue to monitor my volts and make sure I bring the batteries up to full charge after using slides and lights while in storage.
John I did not find the 12 volt socket in my rig, it is not where I thought it would be. I guess that will have be a future mod. Thanks for the links and you help.
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Old 11-25-2017, 10:25 AM   #53
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It's good that you got things working again. With the new "electric stuff" that's included in today's modern RV, we rely more and more on batteries to even be able to unhitch and/or set up a trailer. It's almost impossible to even break camp without a charged battery. Gone are the days of hitching and dragging it home without a battery onboard.

As for the TV booster plate, "back when" Winegard was the only supplier, everyone had the same booster. Now, with Jack's and King TV antenna systems (and I'm sure a few off brand ones too) there are more and more "differences in systems" in trailers.

Here are some pictures of "booster plates", some do have a 12 volt plug, others don't, so I guess it's becoming a "luck of the draw" what's installed in trailers at the factory, depending more on which antenna system is on the roof rather than "like in the old days" they all had Winegard systems (like in the last picture)....
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Old 11-25-2017, 10:32 AM   #54
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We don't have a 12v socket either. Booster switch is in bedroom but no socket. We have the round omnidirectional antenna.
How did your dealer mount the second battery?

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Old 11-25-2017, 12:59 PM   #55
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Originally Posted by jsmith948 View Post
We don't have a 12v socket either. Booster switch is in bedroom but no socket. We have the round omnidirectional antenna.
How did your dealer mount the second battery?

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Hello Jack I going to make a new thread in the 5th wheel section and title it 2018 298SRL Laredo because I think it may help others and maybe someone with one already has this stuff figured out. I have pics of the convenience center and the battery area

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums...658#post264658
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Old 11-26-2017, 08:48 PM   #56
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My battery issue is resolved however I want to understand what happened.
When I parked it at the house I pulled the brake "breakaway" cable could doing this have drained my batteries? This would have been the only thing I did differently, I don't do this at the storage yard because its flat there.
My street has an incline and I thought pulling the breakaway cable might keep the brakes locked along with the wheel chalks.
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Old 11-27-2017, 04:33 AM   #57
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Originally Posted by IRV2 View Post
My battery issue is resolved however I want to understand what happened.
When I parked it at the house I pulled the brake "breakaway" cable could doing this have drained my batteries? This would have been the only thing I did differently, I don't do this at the storage yard because its flat there.
My street has an incline and I thought pulling the breakaway cable might keep the brakes locked along with the wheel chalks.
Doing that will drain your battery very quickly!
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Old 11-27-2017, 05:36 AM   #58
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and burn up your brake magnets... Don't do that..
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Old 11-27-2017, 07:23 AM   #59
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Well that is a lesson learned and remembered thank you for confirming. i've been racking my brain to understand why my batteries went dead.
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Old 11-27-2017, 07:50 AM   #60
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Originally Posted by IRV2 View Post
My battery issue is resolved however I want to understand what happened.
When I parked it at the house I pulled the brake "breakaway" cable could doing this have drained my batteries? This would have been the only thing I did differently, I don't do this at the storage yard because its flat there.
My street has an incline and I thought pulling the breakaway cable might keep the brakes locked along with the wheel chalks.
Bill I don't know how long you had the pin pulled but you can burn those magnets up using the breakaway pin while stopped for a couple of reasons. When your brake controller activates the trailer brakes it modulates the voltage according to the inertia. Typically it will apply full or near full voltage and taper it off to zero or near zero when stopped. With the trailer moving the air circulation helps to cool the brake components inside the drums. When you pull the breakaway pin it connects the brake magnets directly to the trailer battery sending full available battery voltage. The intent is if the trailer breaks away from the TV the pin should pull out applying full brakes to stop the trailer. Obviously, burning up a brake magnet is better than having the trailer rolling lose. I hope this helps explain what happened. I would suggest at the minimum check the braking with the TV before traveling at speed anywhere. You could also check each magnet with an ohm meter but If it were my trailer I would would pull the drums and visually inspect as well.
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