2nd battery - works great!

[caseyc]

Blkjak / Steve,

Good news here! I opened the hood to see if maybe the primary engine battery had a loose wire connected to the 2nd battery. That is when I noticed and remember the car stereo guy had installed a fuse switch next to the primary engine battery. Apparently, the fuse switch was tripped, probably because I had too many devices plugged in simultaneously. After I pressed the reset button and flipped the small lever the other direction, this did the trick! The 2nd battery is now working again! The voltage meter now reads 10.9 while engine is running and Dometic fridge turned on. I will leave engine on to hopefully charge up 2nd battery some more. Man, I can't believe I now remember what my car stereo guy told me about that little fuse switch box connected to the main engine battery under the hood!

 

[caseyc]

Here is a pic of the fuse box switch that i had to flip the switch the other way, and now the 2nd battery works again!

 

[Nemo]

Late getting back into this, and looking at the messages, you have a good idea about the voltages and capacity of your battery.. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> another thing to keep in mind with the deep cycles, When they are really low, they take a charge fast to a point.. but topping it off can take quite a while, I dont know how often you drive, but if you have been mostly parked it wont have much left after a while. &nbsp;Even running the engine wont always give it alot of juice.<br /><br />

Blkjak / Steve, Good news here! I opened the hood to see if maybe the primary engine battery had a loose wire connected to the 2nd battery. That is when I noticed and remember the car stereo guy had installed a fuse switch next to the primary engine battery. Apparently, the fuse switch was tripped, probably because I had too many devices plugged in simultaneously. After I pressed the reset button and flipped the small lever the other direction, this did the trick! The 2nd battery is now working again! The voltage meter now reads 10.9 while engine is running and Dometic fridge turned on. I will leave engine on to hopefully charge up 2nd battery some more. Man, I can't believe I now remember what my car stereo guy told me about that little fuse switch box connected to the main engine battery under the hood!

 

[caseyc]

Hi Nemo,

Yes i am mostly parked during the week, and only drive relatively short distances less than a hour or so. I guess this explains why the 2nd battery doesnt have a chance to juice up enough?

Casey

 

[caseyc]

But im still confused why low battery shouldnt be around 1.0 to 3.0 ??

 

[caseyc]

What about the 35 hour battery rating? What does this really mean?

 

[sl1966]

Glad to see you found it and it's nothing serious!<br /><br />

 

[caseyc]

Now i think there is something strange going on with the fuse box, as i had to flip the switch again because i got the beeping low battery warning for the 2nd battery again. Hmmmmm.

 

[Nemo]

a battery isnt able to just blindly accept charge.. I wish they could &lt;grin&gt; &nbsp;When they are low, then they have alot of capacity to accept incoming power, As they fill up, they take smaller and smaller amounts, even though they are not yet fully charged.. so if you drain the battery to 50%, it will take a pretty good charge till you hit 80% or so.. then it slows down pretty fast. &nbsp;is one of the things that RV generators do.. they monitor the bank and when it gets low, they kick on and pump juice in for a while.. but when the bank slows down on accepting it, the generator will shut off because it's just not worth running.. &nbsp;same on running the car engine to charge. Initially, it will take a bunch.. but as it fills up, it will accept less and less of a charge even if you have a second alternator to pump out the juice.. it wont take it.<br /><br /><br />

Hi Nemo, Yes i am mostly parked during the week, and only drive relatively short distances less than a hour or so. I guess this explains why the 2nd battery doesnt have a chance to juice up enough? Casey

 

[Nemo]

Thanks BlkJak, this is exactly what I was&nbsp;referring&nbsp;to when I said you could damage the battery earlier in the conversation. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br /><br />

<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>

But im still confused why low battery shouldnt be around 1.0 to 3.0 ??

</strong></span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">A deep-cycle battery is designed to discharge between 50% and 80% depending on the manufacturer and construction of the battery. Although these batteries can be cycled down to 20% charge, the best lifespan vs cost method is to keep t</span><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><span style="font-size: small;">he average cycle at about 50% discharge,</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; font-family: sans-serif;"></sup><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">&nbsp;as there is a direct correlation between depth of discharge on the battery and the number of charge and discharge cycles it can perform.</span></span></strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; font-family: sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_cycle_battery">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_cycle_battery<br /><br /></a>bjkjak ....</sup></span></strong></span>

 

[Nemo]

the power in the battery is a result of a chemical reaction.. even fully discharged (for our purposes) there are still materials reacting to each other inside the battery, so there is still a charge. &nbsp;But there isnt enough juice to pull off it anymore, just a latent effect from the chemical reaction..<br /><br />

But im still confused why low battery shouldnt be around 1.0 to 3.0 ??

 

[Nemo]

without looking at the specs on the battery, can take a guess.. that the 35 is Amp Hours.. so if you run something off it that takes one amp, you cold run it for 35 hours.. but, since you dont want to take the battery below 50%.. you would have 17 hours.. but thats drawing a single amp. &nbsp;if you are pulling multiple amps, then not only will i drain in less time, but say you are pulling 5 amps, it will pull the juice out even faster than the math would suggest.<br /><br />figuring battery bank size is (at least to me) a pain in the rump!<br /><br />

What about the 35 hour battery rating? What does this really mean?

 

[caseyc]

Thanks!!! I appreciate your information. &nbsp;I ended up doing another reset of the fuse box/circuit breaker a second time. &nbsp;On the box, connected to the primary engine battery, there is actually 2 different things, a button that I think does a reset, and a lever that goes up and down. &nbsp;I'm not sure what I did the second time, whether to only turn the lever the other way and/or also press the reset button. But whatever I did, it seems to work this time, as the 2nd battery finally appeared to start charging up again while I was driving the van. &nbsp;I even watched a 2 hour video, and kept the engine running idle half the time just to keep charging up the 2nd battery. &nbsp;When I parked the van, with the engine running, the 2nd battery showed a charge reading of 14.0. &nbsp;When the engine was shut down, the 2nd battery showed a charge reading of approx 13.1. &nbsp;In any case, the 2nd battery seems to be acting normal again, at least for now. &nbsp;Woo hoo, knock on wood and fingers crossed! &nbsp;I'm sure there was operator error on my part, as this is all a learning curve for me!<br /><br />Casey<br /><br />

 

[caseyc]

Hi Blkjak,

As far as i know, simply shutting off the inverter (connected to the 2nd battery) should have no effect on the primary vehicle battery. I routinely turn off the inverter to conserve power, and the van starts up just fine. My mistake i think was trying to power a sony ps3 play station connected to a dvd player and stereo with bass amplifier, and boiling water in a coffee percolator all at the same time, duh?!? My bad. I must have tripped the circuit breaker fuse box placed under the hood next to the primary battery, but im not sure if the circuit breaker is connected to the 2nd battery (probably), or to the primary battery. I realize many of you who have a 2nd battery may have installed it yourself therefore you are aware of all the many details imvolved. In my case, i dont have the skill for a DIY job so i paid $1400+ for professional installation. My car stereo guy is currently out for a couple days, when he returns i will ask him to email me info regarding the 2nd battery. BTW, i dont mind if this thread gets moved to another area of this forum. Thanks! Casey

 

[Nemo]

I dont recall if you said you have a seperate volt meter? &nbsp;if you do, it might be a good idea to check readings in the morning on both batteries seperately before you turn on any loads, that would be just to confirm that they are seperate systems and using your house battery at night wont drain the truck battery.. I would just hate to have ya stuck when ya went to start the van.<br /><br /><br />

Thanks!!! I appreciate your information. &nbsp;I ended up doing another reset of the fuse box/circuit breaker a second time. &nbsp;On the box, connected to the primary engine battery, there is actually 2 different things, a button that I think does a reset, and a lever that goes up and down. &nbsp;I'm not sure what I did the second time, whether to only turn the lever the other way and/or also press the reset button. But whatever I did, it seems to work this time, as the 2nd battery finally appeared to start charging up again while I was driving the van. &nbsp;I even watched a 2 hour video, and kept the engine running idle half the time just to keep charging up the 2nd battery. &nbsp;When I parked the van, with the engine running, the 2nd battery showed a charge reading of 14.0. &nbsp;When the engine was shut down, the 2nd battery showed a charge reading of approx 13.1. &nbsp;In any case, the 2nd battery seems to be acting normal again, at least for now. &nbsp;Woo hoo, knock on wood and fingers crossed! &nbsp;I'm sure there was operator error on my part, as this is all a learning curve for me!<br /><br />Casey<br /><br />

 

[caseyc]

Hi Blkjak,

I have the stock alternator that came with this 1995 Ford E150 conversion van. I didnt know it is possible to replace with a higher power alternator. What type of high power alternator should i get?

Casey

 

[caseyc]

Hi Nemo,

I dont have a volt meter, but thats a great idea!

Thanks,
Casey

 

[caseyc]

My head is spinning! I knew i shouldve taken advance calculus in school! Unfortunately because i lack the aptitude, i simply throw money at professional mechanics/installers and let them know what i want! My car stereo guy had suggested i let the new 2nd battery break in for awhile, im sure i will keep discovering new stuff along the way. At this current time, my 2nd battery is acting normal after i figured out about the circuit breaker thing.

 

[caseyc]

Hi BlkJak,

Good news! I found the invoice info providing details of my 2nd battery and inverter. Please Google the Stinger battery for more info.


Stinger battery SPV44

Stinger isolator 200amp SPG32

Stinger circuit breaker SGP90150

Stinger inverter SPI1000 w/3 outlets 1000watt

Stinger volt meter SVRM

Terminals SPT55302 for second battery

Distribution block AGU/4

Battery terminal SPT520 for main battery

Ground terminal SPT5212 for second battery

1/o Wire

Installation of battery under driver seat/rewire accessory

power/ upgrade alternator wiring

Total Price $1,450.43 (including parts & labor & tax)

 

[caseyc]

In doing a quick Google search, the Stinger SPV44 is a 12 volt Dry Cell Valve Regulated Battery (AGM). Is this good???

Thanks,
Casey