Battery issue, not mine.

[DutchmenSport]

The trailer in question is a Keystone Hideout 176LHS, date on side sticker is 8/1/2019, so this is probably a 2020 model. Single axle, bunks in the rear, main bed in front, East-West model.

First off, the camper is not mine. I am currently serving as a "camp host" at a Louisiana State Historic site. The site has 2 campsites available for volunteers who stay on the park. The 2 sites are full hook-up, one on each side of the original maintenance shop, which is now a storage / laundry / multi-purpose building. The camper in question is powered by a 30 amp RV (properly installed) RV receptacle.

The camper itself is property of the State of Louisiana. It arrived at the park a few days ago as there are going to be some Louisiana State Employees staying in it for a couple weeks as they are engaged in cutting trees in the surrounding area.

The driver who delivered the trailer knew nothing about it. In fact, he wasn't even sure how to set it up. Also, the staff in the park know nothing about campers either. So, I've been the watchful eye since it got here and am making sure everything is working and functioning as it should.

Which brings my narrative to the present. When the trailer was delivered there was no battery on the trailer tongue. The slide barely moved and the awning took a long time to extend and retract, running just off the converter.

Sometime between Wednesday morning and Thursday late afternoon, a battery appeared in a normal RV battery box on the tongue and it was hooked up. There was no strap over the removable plastic top, so I know this was not there when it was delivered, otherwise the battery box top definitely would have been lost in transit. (I certain hope I'm not crazy here, no remembering the battery missing when first delivered).

Curiosity got the better of me, especially since there was no tie down strap on the battery cover and when I touched the plastic box cover, the battery was HOT! I mean, not just warm from the sunshine. I mean HOT to the touch. The battery was even hotter.

I talked to the property manager and he agreed with me to simply disconnect the battery from the terminals, which I did.

This morning I talked to the property manager and his "second in command" about the battery and they took a look at it this morning (Saturday), but are clueless. The regular maintenance people on the park will not be returning until Monday morning. Monday is when the tree workers are scheduled to arrive.

Now, I looked at the camper and I looked at the converter inside the camper and I can't see anything obviously wrong. It appears the ground and the hot battery cables WERE connected properly and not connected backwards. The converter appears to be working as house lights (12 volt DC) and the microwave (120 volt AC) and the air conditioner all work just fine.

So the question? Does anyone have suggestions why the battery got so hot? In this case, there are no right or wrong answers, only ideas I can throw at the maintenance people on Monday morning.

Also, these maintenance people are NOT RV's at all. They are knowledgeable with electricity and plumbing, air conditioning, and automotive electronics. But I doubt they know anything about how a "converter" works in an RV. (actually, I know very little myself.... about all I know is, they charge the battery, they manage the AC and DC power, and either they work or they don't.) So any help, ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated helping me look like I know "something" when I see them Monday morning?

Thanks in advance. (IF there is a solution and they let me know, I'll definitely follow up with what that solution was!) Thanks again!

 

[chuckster57]

How old is the battery? Is there any water in the cells?

 

[sourdough]

Sounds like a bad battery. Was/is it new? All the cells filled? Even if they are if the plates have been damaged/warped and are shorting out the battery can get hot, bulge and/or explode - btdt.

 

[DutchmenSport]

How old is the battery? Is there any water in the cells?

No idea how old the battery is. The date punch card on the top of the battery was not punched out.

Second, you might have hit one problem right on the nail. I did not check the fluid level, and 3 of the cells looks pretty bad. No acid / water covering the cells and the cells themselves look like wet soggy blackened leaves left in the bottom of wet bucket for 6 months.

(my first guess is, the battery is simply shot!)

But, keep the responses coming please?

A little more close up view of the cells. Looks awful in there. 3 are covered still, 3 look like black mush!

 

[chuckster57]

That battery is toast...don't waste any peanut butter or jelly on it

 

[sourdough]

^^^^ I agree. Looks like they found that one in the throw away bin at some auto store.

 

[flybouy]

My guess, the battery was there but without a stop it fell over, draining the acid out and cooking the battery. Turn off the shore power before the converter gets fried. Disconnect the cables to the battery and wrap the positive cable to prevent it from shorting out. Restore the shore power and insert a new battery asap.

 

[DutchmenSport]

Thanks for the feed-back. I appreciate the responses. I'll tape off the positive lead for the trailer. With no one in the camper right now, the only thing running is the electric side of the refrigerator and the converter itself, maybe the CO detector too. I'll talk to the property manager again about unplugging from shore power. But, with only the converter running and the DC electronics of the refrigerator, does it hurt to leave it plugged into shore power with no battery?

Personally, I've NEVER done that on any of my campers. But again, this one is not mine and I have no jurisdiction over it at all. I'm just trying to be helpful and hope the guys coming for the tree service will have a safe nice place to sleep.

 

[flybouy]

Shouldn't be an issue to run everything with the battery out. I wouldn't run the slides if you can avoid it.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

An easy check for water in those Interstate brand batteries is to just pull it out of the box and look at it. The sides are translucent and is is really easy to check water level without opening anything. I had two of them in my Passport and in 5 years either in use, plugged into shore power or sitting on my workbench on a battery tender I never had to add a drop of water.

Anyway, I think we all agree at this point that the battery is dead. The converter can be used to supply 12v to the camper without too much issue (avoid running the slide or awning if you can help it). Operating lights and the control circuits for AC, water heater and refrigerator shouldn’t ask too much of the converter. Naturally, having a (good) battery installed is best, but it isn’t required on older RV’s as much as it is on new models

 

[jasin1]

remember to save the old battery for the core charge

 

[DutchmenSport]

Follow up and resolve.

Today is Monday, the staff are all back at the park. I talked with the head maintenance man and he said I did the right thing by disconnecting the battery. He had already been informed by the property manager by the way.

The park staff purchased a brand new battery and installed it. Then they asked ME to check everything out and make sure I was happy with it all. (Imagine that!).

I was just finished checking things over when the guys showed up who will actually be using the camper, as was the Park Manager, ranger, and several other people in state jobs. We all talked. I asked one of the guys who's going to be using the camper if he's familiar with RV, and he said "yes" he's used them before.

So, now everything is good. Everyone is happy, and EVERYONE is glad I caught the battery problem and disconnected it. I did the right thing! One of the maintenance men said he was in close proximity of a battery that actually exploded once. If he had been in just a slightly different direction, he would have been hit in the face by the shrapnel.

 

[Kirk's Outback.]

My original 2018 battery got super hot to the touch with a slight scent of battery acid when I noticed it and the end of a work day back in early 2023. I used a towel to remove it from the case. The only difference is mine still had some fluid in the cells.

I replaced the battery and it's been fine ever since, with no converter issues. The volt meter is what drew me to further investigate, because the smell would change with wind direction making it harder to identify.

Good catch on your part!