Help, house batteries not charging.

[RKins]

A converter takes 120V and converts it to 12V - could have charger built in. An inverter is connected to the battery bank and takes 12V from battery bank and supplies 120V out - could have charger built in.
You said that everything works when the engine is running - that indicates to me that there is an inverter in the mix. Most inverters will not run the AC or other high draw appliances though. There usually is two electrical banks in an RV when it comes to the Inverter output - circuits it will power, like certain outlets, and circuits it won't power - real heavy draw circuits, like electric cook top, AC, water heater, etc. The inverter will only invert as long as there is charged batteries. The engine is probably providing a charge to the batteries. The real test is like when you're boon-docking - no power pole to plug into, no generator all the time, only charged batteries. In this situation can you turn low current AC things on? That shows how an inverter works.

 

[Wemustrv]

No this is a separate device that switches over the power depending where the power is coming from. For example if plugged into shore power of from the generator it will switch to that power source. They are typically automatic.

 

[Ellano]

A converter takes 120V and converts it to 12V - could have charger built in. An inverter is connected to the battery bank and takes 12V from battery bank and supplies 120V out - could have charger built in.
You said that everything works when the engine is running - that indicates to me that there is an inverter in the mix. Most inverters will not run the AC or other high draw appliances though. There usually is two electrical banks in an RV when it comes to the Inverter output - circuits it will power, like certain outlets, and circuits it won't power - real heavy draw circuits, like electric cook top, AC, water heater, etc. The inverter will only invert as long as there is charged batteries. The engine is probably providing a charge to the batteries. The real test is like when you're boon-docking - no power pole to plug into, no generator all the time, only charged batteries. In this situation can you turn low current AC things on? That shows how an inverter works.

Ok, yes. When it's just batteries , all low voltage items work but drain the battery quickly. Like if I have 2 lamps on and battery voltage is at 12.5 v, after 30 minutes the aux batt voltage is down to 11 and steadily dropping.

 

[Ellano]

Ok, I checked all fuses. None were burned out, I installed the 2 new batteries from dealer. Started off at 12.6. I have 2 exhaust fans and 2 lamps on and she's dropped 12.4 and slowly dripping. I'm still on shore power.

 

[AbdRahim]

Check to see what the voltage is going into and coming out of the inverter. Check the same in and out of the transfer switch. If the voltage is low or no-existent at any of these points, it will help to narrow down the source of the problem.

Also, did you check the voltage at the pole?

This may be good to have, if you are not using an EMS, like, Progressive industries, of Hughes watchdog.
Journeyman-Pro 30/50 Amp RV - Portable Circuit Tester Analyzer Adapter, Male Plug w/LED Test Indicator TT-30 NEMA 14-50 (TT-30 (30 AMP), Circuit Tester (Male Only))

Start at the pole and work your way in.

 

[Ellano]

Check to see what the voltage is going into and coming out of the inverter. Check the same in and out of the transfer switch. If the voltage is low or no-existent at any of these points, it will help to narrow down the source of the problem.

Also, did you check the voltage at the pole?

This may be good to have, if you are not using an EMS, like, Progressive industries, of Hughes watchdog.
Journeyman-Pro 30/50 Amp RV - Portable Circuit Tester Analyzer Adapter, Male Plug w/LED Test Indicator TT-30 NEMA 14-50 (TT-30 (30 AMP), Circuit Tester (Male Only))

Start at the pole and work your way in.

I'll give it a shot. Sorry if this I sound dumb but which one is the inverter?

 

[RKins]

Ok, yes. When it's just batteries , all low voltage items work but drain the battery quickly. Like if I have 2 lamps on and battery voltage is at 12.5 v, after 30 minutes the aux batt voltage is down to 11 and steadily dropping.

That sounds normal. Do you have only one aux batt? If you have room, you could hook another battery in parallel to get more current available for boondocking, which will give you more time before the battery level is unusable. Do you have a manual for the Intellitec EMS?

 

[B52Bombardier1]

I think you are going to need an electronic "multimeter" soon to analyze your situation. This device will tell you if your system is providing recharge current to your batteries under all conditions and if perhaps the recharger is letting too much alternating current through its diodes.

There are plenty of You Tube videos on how to operate a multimeter. Harbor Freight, Lowes and Home Depot all should have them in stock.

Are you still running incandescent lamps or have they been converted to LED lamps? The LED style consumes MUCH LESS current for the same amount of light.

And how big are these "exhaust fans" that you mentioned?

Rick

 

[AbdRahim]

Should have asked how many batteries you have. On my previous class C, if I ran a fan and a light or for, only for 3 hours or so, my batteries would not last overnight, That is they would be down to 50% or less ( 2 100AH batteries. My current class A has six 6v house batteries (200+ AH each). Of course it has a residential fridge, but batteries are often down 50% (12.1v or so) running only the refrigerator, and phone charger, night light, overnight. Unless you have a large battery bank or lithium batteries, they won't go very far before needing charging.

Inverter will have heavy battery cables going to it.

 

[Ellano]

Final update. After some back and forth with the dealer, they sent out a tech at no cost and the guy took 2 mins to figure it out. Said one of the capacitors on the converter went kaput so it was receiving shore power but dishing out little to none. Dealer purchased me a new converter and I installed it myself. Now I'm reading 13.8 and 13.6 across house and chasis batteries. Hopefully all this voltage dropping didn't kill the batteries and they can hold a charge. Thanks for all the help. I'll attach some pics of the converter. It was hiding under a drawer.