Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Airstream how to's Battery charging trouble

Dry camping drains the camper battery overnight with very limited use of the 12-volt lights. The battery recharges okay while on landline. A sixty-mile trip did not recharge the battery via an alternator charge. Where and how should I continue to troubleshoot?
First be sure the battery is "fully" charged. Monitor the specific gravity of the electrolyte while charging and record the readings every two to three hours. A battery is considered fully charged when the specific gravity peaks and does not increase over a two-hour period. A fully charged battery will have a specific gravity of about 1.265. This may take awhile, so be patient. Do not charge rapidly. Stay below the gassing voltage of 14.3 volts during the complete charging cycle.
Once you are sure the battery is fully charged, look for drains on the system by using a volt-Ohmmeter with a minimum ten-amp scale. Here's how; turn all 12-volt devices off. Disconnect the negative cable from that battery and insert the meter in-line with that cable. Any current draw over 600-800 milli-amps indicates an excessive drain on the system. At the fuse block, remove each fuse, one fuse at a time. The circuit with the drain will be revealed when the current drain disappears as that fuse is pulled. The final step is to simply identify the components in that circuit to find the culprit.
If no drains are found, inspect the positive and negative terminals at the truck/camper connection. Be sure the positive and ground wires are the same gauge. Oftentimes technicians install a large positive wire, (as they should), but neglect to have a like-sized or larger wire on the ground side. Remember, in a DC circuit the negative side of the circuit is just as important as the positive or "hot" side. Look also for frayed wires in the charge line to the camper or the ground connection on both vehicles. Rusted fuse holders, incorrect butt splices, loose terminals, etc., can all contribute to poor charging. Check each inch if necessary. As a final check, have the alternator tested for proper charge output. Batteries should indeed last longer than overnight.

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information obtained from the Airstream web site

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