Battery overcharging??

[Jmilam]

Have a 2016 Cougar fifthwheel bunkhouse and when I bought it last summer thr battery was busted open on thr top. Just figured it froze and busted so I put a new deep cycle in it and within a 10 day trip that one swelled up and leaking acid. Also hot to thr touch. Was hooked up to power thr entire time. What happened??

[JRTJH]

Possible bad battery, possible bad converter/charger. You'll need to do some troubleshooting to determine if the converter/charger is working properly.

You can follow the troubleshooting guide in the WFCO Owner's Manual.

I would guess your trailer is a 50 amp shore power model? If so, then your power center is a WF9500 series. I'd guess a WF9560 with a 60 watt converter/charger.

You can download the owner's manual here: https://wfcoelectronics.com/product/wf-9560/

Pages 9 and 10 are the troubleshooting procedures and "logic tree".

MAKE SURE TO COMPLETELY DISCONNECT THE BATTERY WHEN TROUBLESHOOTING... If you leave the battery connected, you can't determine if the converter voltage readings are correct or if you're reading the battery voltage, so the battery must be completely disconnected from the system before troubleshooting.

Once you download the manual and look it over, if you have any questions, just ask. It's a fairly straightforward procedure, but can get confusing if you're not sure of what you're doing.

NOTE: If your trailer has a 30 amp shore power system, then the power center is a WFCO 8955 and the converter/charger is a 55 amp unit. The Owner's Manual is located here: https://wfcoelectronics.com/product/wf-8955e/ and the troubleshooting guides are on pages 8-9.

[Jmilam]

Awesome thanks..It is 50 AMP. Downloading tonight

[Lee]

Hi,

I've experienced over charging batteries a few times and never seen a result as you describe. They usually just boil over/out.

To be swelled up and leaking acid sounds like extreme heat damage resulting from a shorted cell.

Anyway, as John suggests, ... download the manual for the converter/charger then with a multimeter, measure the DC voltage being applied across the battery(s). Automatic three-stage output voltage modes of 13.2 VDC range “float” mode, 13.6 VDC range “absorption” mode, and a 14.4 VDC range “bulk” charge mode.

[foldbak]

It's got to be a shorted cell if only one of the two batteries were affected. Easy way to tell is using a volt meter test each cell one at a time. They should all be 2 volts. That is if their not maintenance free batteries and you can access the cells.