damn batteries

im charging my batteries in my caravan, have 8 120ah
charging 4 at a time, nothing running off them, charger is 16amp
but after charging them with nothing running off them im losing power
dont know why can anyone help and tell me why im stumped
thay are only year old
pip

Hey Pip,
PM Nuggie Dreamer, he is the guru on Power supplies
regards Pete

ok thanks heep

pip 01 wrote:im charging my batteries in my caravan, have 8 120ah
charging 4 at a time, nothing running off them, charger is 16amp
but after charging them with nothing running off them im losing power
dont know why :(can anyone help and tell me why im stumped
thay are only year old
pip

If they are normal car or 4WD batteries, I believe you have an internal short caused by the lead oxide being vibrated of the plates. You may locate the faulty battery by removing all of the ground or negative terminal leads after charging them. Allow to sit for 12 hours and then measuring each battery voltage. The lowest or any below 12 volts are faulty.

For more battery information check out these links.

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thay are deep cycle would that be the same

pip 01 wrote:thay are deep cycle would that be the same

Still the same but a lot less likely. If lead acid (that includes deep cycle ) last a lot longer if they are not discharged too low. (try to keep them above 12.2v all the time)
Your best bet is have quick read of the second link in my first post.

You can check this out

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ok thanks cliff

Gday pip,
If they are Calcium batteries they will take longer to re charge than lead acid or AGM batteries.
The other possibility could be your charger is Cactus. They just dont build em like they used to anymore.
Try charging the individually or in pairs and see how you go.

Crikey Pip 8 batts in the caravan... what are you doin in there , sounds like you may have 1 dicky one in the bank of 8 that's pulling the rest of them down , to sort it , each one should be charged individually & load tested ,im only 2000km away otherwise it would be my pleasure,   cheers girly , albo

hi albo
only 2000km away thats not far see you sunday
i dont kiss and tell, about what i do in the van
have fun

If you havent already disconnected the battery terminals, do it. Then charge the batteries and see if they drain down without the cables hooked up.
If you see or hear a slight spark as you dissconect the cable...you have something draining the batteries on the vehicle.
Tom

Hey Pip,


Are you a RAC member? They'll come out and test your batteries for free if you are!

it only takes one of those batteries to cause you grief.
(connected together, one bad battery is like mixing old flat and new charged batteries, one will substantially affect the output voltage especially if it is shorted out as mentioned earlier and you need a load tester, voltmeter and hygrometer to properly diagnose what's going on).

If your have had 3 or more years of use out of Deep Cycle batteries them count yourself lucky, really cold winter days will highlight a bad battery, lucky you find out now and not when your out in the sticks.

Danger!
Always turn off any isolator or charger before disconnecting batteries. The Hydrogen gas produced by a battery under charge is highly flammable...