[Roger]

Don’t believe I ever said batteries were made in China, but I for sure said that about tires and in fact had very good luck running Double Coin tires which were made in Shanghai. I susequently found out the company is Michelin owned.

Tom is our resident battery guru, but the internet is filled with excellent information about batteries, charging batteries, and other technical information.

A discharge down to 2 volts is not a good thing. AGM batteries can possibly be saved by putting them through a full charge, bulk, absorbtion, and float. Sometimes they will respond to an equalization charge. Charging will not repair a battery that has failed.

If the batteries were mine I would separate them and charge them independent of one another. A the completion of the charge I would give each battery a standard test to verify it is OK. Generally speaking well maintained batteries that have not been deeply discharged are going to provide about 5 years of good service. But any battery can have an internal short which not only deeply discharges itself, but pulls the other batteries. That can happen any time in the life of the battery. The bad thing is batteries should be replaced in sets so when one goes bad, despite the remaining batteries being in good shape those batteries need to be replaced also.

From personal experience I have had the best performance with Lifeline. Now Tom will think I am sucking up to him.

[glen]

Your AGM’s are most likely toast. You didn’t mention what type of
charger you’re using and if it has 3 stage capabilities, Bulk,
Absorption and Float. Even if you were able to Egualize, I doubt you
can save them. Best to fully charge like Jon said independently and
then load test. You will know immediately if they are beyond saving, especially if they won’t take a full charge.

If you decide to get the best, Lifeline, with a 5 year warranty,
let me know and I can help you.

[Archived]

Thanks guys. Have a Schumacher Speedcharge (AGM) Charger and they are isolated apart from each and about 3 volt out of each. Not taking a charge . Time for 3 new ones. I Had a new magnum 2500 watt inverter that the electric guru put in at the same time. Are the Lifelines the best. These are SLR 12250 ‘s here. Will go another brand next time. Called the gent I bought um off of and he’s supposed to get back tomorrow on warranty. Never had a battery stand up to warrenty yet. Thanks again for the help.

glen s.

[Doug]

Glen,

If they’re 8D’s, they are either auto post or blade post, sometime referred to as “L” post.

I’ll contact you offline.

[Don]

There is one very important practice that must be observed when you have battery problems. Except in rare circumstances batteries are reliable. If they fail prematurely it is important to make sure they weren’t damaged by improper use or poor maintenance.

The inverter / chargers installed in our coaches are excellent devices, but even the best inverter requires that you set it properly. If it is set correctly for the proper charging protocol then you have to let it do its work. You have to verify it has the correct voltages for all three stages and you should fix the problem if it is not going through all three phases. If the charge current is too low just the use of lights in the coach may prevent the batteries from getting a full proper charge. If you rely on autostart for the generator determine what voltage is the generator start voltage and if possible adjust that so the batteries are at 50% when the generator starts The lower the rate of charge before the generator starts, the fewer life cycles the batteries will have.

I NEVER leave my coach without shore power when it is not in use. I always have the inverters on and functioning to maintain the batteries. If you do not have shore power available for a coach in storage put the entire coach to sleep and monitor the battery voltage often, and try to fully charge the batteries before their voltage gets too low.

Batteries are a big investment, and when batteries are starting to fail the problems you begin to see can drive you crazy because sometimes battery problems make you believe you have problems elsewhere. That is why proper care of batteries will make the coach much more enjoyable. Proper care starts with verifying the inverter chargers are set and performing properly.