2005 Beaver Monterey House Batteries Not Charging

[coldcowboy]

I have owned a 2005 Beaver Monterey for more than a year and until recently had just a few common problems. We parked at our summer home 3 weeks ago and do not have shore power there. We ran the 8kw generator every 2-3 days, but our house batteries are not charging. We just returned from a 3 day 900-mile trip where for 2 days we were plugged into 30-amp shore power. House batteries are not charging from the shore power, generator or the driving.

I think there is a switch or reset that needs moving, but for the life of me I cannot think what we have changed that is causing this problem. I am not technical minded, repair shops are 250 miles away, and I doubt if they would be able to fix the problem. I would appreciate any suggestions as to what I can check.

I have 4 house batteries, there is an inverter, and my display shows battery charger is enabled, but no AC current is making it to the batteries. Everything works when on shore power, although our rear coach TV does not and several outlets on 30-amp do not. Our system is a 50-amp.

Thank you all in advance.

[wolfe10]

Coldcowboy,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

Give Monaco a call -- they can tell you what 120-VAC charger (inverter/charger) and alternator output have in common on your Monaco coach: Monaco Technical: 877-466-6226

Normally, the two systems are not related.

[coldcowboy]

Thank you, Wolfe.

Did as you suggested and they said try the basics first. Check battery level and charge the batteries if they will take a charge, then more in-depth troubleshooting. Sounds like I may need to replace all 4 batteries.

Thanks for your help.

[coldcowboy]

Wolfe,

Hope you are still there.

Have topped off the water and reset my RS2000 which now shows the batteries charging. I would like to use a stand alone charger Stanley 6-48 volt. vehicle and golf cart charger. Will this do the job, and if so how do I connect the leads?

Thanks Again

[wolfe10]

Actually, your RS2000 is an excellent charger. Why use anything else?

Again, fully charge the batteries and then have them load tested.

If you suspect a bad battery, PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON BATTERY TEMPERATURE AND OUTGASSING.

What happens when a battery has a bad cell is that the charger (no matter how smart) tries to charge a 10 volt battery as if it were a 12 volt battery. That severely overcharges the remaining cells, causing overheating, outgassing and in many cases swelling of the battery case.

Be careful working around batteries. Sulfuric acid, hydrogen and oxygen can be explosive as well as corrosive.

[coldcowboy]

OK, will do as you say.

Thanks for the information. Will mark as solved.

Thank you again for your help