Coach batteries replacement

[Broadstone]

Hi, I'm a very new member and hope I am posting this in the right place but, here goes. I have a perplexing problem with our 2005 Itasca Meridian re house batteries, in that all DC circuits in the coach seem to work fine (lights, sliders, etc) but I have to have the engine running to be able to start the generator. My assumption is that we have one or more weak house batteries (there are 3) which can't accommodate the starting load for the diesel generator. I'm thinking about replacing them before our next trip which starts next week which leads to my question. Because I have 2 new six volt deep cycle batteries from another project, I would like to save some money and use these in series as was the configuration in 2 of our previous campers. I would appreciate any comments or advice.

[John Hilley]

That would be a good idea. If you have the room you could add two more. The problem may be poor connections on the battery terminals and possibly the chassis ground. The generator starter cables could also be corroded or loose. If your house battery shows the proper voltage level, 12.6 volts or more, I would look to the generator connections.

[ddalski]

I just had the same symptoms. As suggested, clean the battery terminals / cables first Check the battery voltage at the 12V house relay in front - if it is anything less than 12V, your batteries are probably near death and you will have more issues soon. I think I gave $86/each for 12V deep cycle replacements at Sam's. Sell your 6 volt batteries on Craig's list and get three new, properly sized batteries - you have too nice a coach there. Good luck!
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2000 Itasca Horizon

[dirko]

Hi Ho: The best solution is 4 ea. 6-volt golf cart batteries. The batery condition is very important in this configuration.

Trojan is good, but definitely not the only game in town these days.

Good luck, Dirk

[skigramp]

There have been two recent posts on this topic that may be of interest to you

First Post

Second Post

I know from experience ... that all of the batteries in your bank need to be very "equal" ... the weakest battery causes the bank to perform poorly.

[Sammie]

Here is an excellent wiring diagram by MrTransistor that will help you no matter which configuration you go with.

http://www.irv2.com/attachments/phot...onnections.jpg

Sammie

[Broadstone]

Thanks for each of these good and pertinent responses. As it turns out, one of these batteries had, indeed, failed. I discovered this by opening the battery circuit and measuring the voltage output of each isolated battery; one of them measured only 4.3 volts and its cells were nearly dry. As a point of info, these batteries are fitted with caps that have float valves to avoid overfilling and all these caps are interconnected with rubber tubes so that they can all be topped up through one of the end tubes. It's a neat idea but it looks like one of the tubes leading to the inside battery had become crimped allowing no refill water to reach it. After I filled it and charged the entire bank for a couple of hours the generator can now be started using the unassisted house batteries. However, they are old and I will replace them all before going back out on the road next week and figure out another way to monitor and fill the new ones. Thanks again to all of you responders; I only wish I had discovered iRV2 many years ago.