Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Hot battery not cooling down. (Read 732 times) previous topic - next topic

Hot battery not cooling down.

Well here I am again.  Went to check the 8ds and immediately found the inboard one hot to the touch.  Shut off boost, turned of 12 volt at steps, turned off inverter, disconnected from shore power.  Thought that would cool it to point I could remove caps.  Three hours later it appears to be at the same temp.  With no power to it what the heck do I do next?
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #1 –
Disconnect all cables from the hot battery, are these wet cells or agm.
The selected media item is not currently available.Bill&Doris 97 U270 36'
University of Parris Island Class of 66
Semper Fi  Build# 5174 MC#17094

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #2 –
Wet
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #3 –
Disconnected both.  In doing search on this I noted that the redtops should not be used with wet house batteries.  Wasn't aware of this as they were purchased by PO and I assumed they were correct.  Negative was not as tight as it should have been.  When I checked for looseness as routine checks the two wires straddled the cap and prevented movement when grasped.
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #4 –
Beginning to feel like Billy Crystal on the ranch.  Now to figure out what that was about.
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #6 –
It was 5 weeks ago but hasn't been moved in the last two.  The heat was discovered when I went to check them today.  Small amount of electrolyte visible around rear caps.  How significant is the red top/flood issue?  Letting it rest while I run up and pick up specific gravity tester.
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #7 –
Apparently there are problems with this battery.  Energizer commercial 8D wet and no longer produced.  They used to be available at SAMs but no one carries them anymore.  These are three years old.  I am going to replace them.  Still need to figure out what happened.  From some of the posts this may have been the core issue with the throttle problem.
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #8 –
Quote from: George and Steph –
These are three years old.  I am going to replace them.
Good plan.  Even if the other battery seems to be OK, you want to start out with two "matched" (age, type, size) batteries.

Once the new batteries are installed, be sure to confirm that charging routine is optimized.  Most common cause of premature battery death is over-charging...followed by over-discharging (below 50%) and letting electrolyte dry out (flooded wet cells).
1993 U280 SE 40' WTBI, Build: 4359
C8.3 300hp, 6-Speed, Exhaust Brake
960 watts on the roof (6 x 160)
Sorento (or BOLT) on a Kar Kaddy SS
"Nature abhors a vacuum"

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Chuck & Jeannie –
Good plan.  Even if the other battery seems to be OK, you want to start out with two "matched" (age, type, size) batteries.

Once the new batteries are installed, be sure to confirm that charging routine is optimized.  Most common cause of premature battery death is over-charging...followed by over-discharging (below 50%) and letting electrolyte dry out (wet cells).
.
Thanks Chuck for your response.  I will be moving 600 watts of solar over from our Fox in September.  What battery are you using?  Are Lifelines compatible with red tops?  I will do a search on optimizing.  Thanks again.




George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #10 –
Also check to make sure the charger is set for wet batteries, instead of AGM or GEL
2014 ih45  (4th Foretravel owned)
 1997 36' U295 Sold in 2020, owned for 19 years
  U240 36' Sold to insurance company after melting in garage fire
    33' Foretravel on Dodge Chassis  Sold very long time ago

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #11 –
Quote from: George and Steph –
What battery are you using?  Are Lifelines compatible with red tops?  I will do a search on optimizing.
We have two 6-year old red top Optima start batteries.  They came with the coach and are working great.

We have two 2-year old O'Reilly AGM8D house (coach) batteries.  Highly recommended for combination of performance and price.

I know nothing about Lifelines - other members will chime in, or you can "search" the subject for prior posts on that subject.

The "optimization" of your battery charging is done in the setup menu of your inverter/charger.  See your owner's manual for details.
1993 U280 SE 40' WTBI, Build: 4359
C8.3 300hp, 6-Speed, Exhaust Brake
960 watts on the roof (6 x 160)
Sorento (or BOLT) on a Kar Kaddy SS
"Nature abhors a vacuum"

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #12 –
My Lifeline AGM charging by solar is pretty much the same as wet cells. They are so close I do not see that is an issue.
Are your batteries getting air (vents) and were are they stored and what is ambient temps?
JohnH
Coachless, now use aircraft. 2003 Ford Travelair TC280 class C. Super shape. Just for 1 yr .
1994 Ford E350 ClassC,total renovation inside and out. Now sold.
2000 U295  36' Cummins 350 c/w Banks Stinger, Resonator upgrade,Solar, LED lites.Residential fridge with slide out pantry. Build 5674. Sold
ex 92 GV 022C ored Cummins. Sold
ex 95 GV240 cat 3116. Sold
2017 Mini cooper s & 2016 land Rover LR2 HSE  LUX.
jhaygarth@aol.com    SKP #130098
treat everyone as you would like to be.

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #13 –
John the temperature was high 90s near 100.  We have been at this heat level for over a week.  Unusual for mid Atlantic but not for other locations.  Thought this might have contributed to over charging.  Read old posts on setting charging sources and kill switches.

It has rested overnight and later this AM will check it out again. 
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #14 –
Quote from: George and Steph –
John the temperature was high 90s near 100.  We have been at this heat level for over a week.  Unusual for mid Atlantic but not for other locations.  Thought this might have contributed to over charging.  Read old posts on setting charging sources and kill switches.

It has rested overnight and later this AM will check it out again. 

Mine did the same thing last week.. took all night but it finally cooled down.. 10.7v after it cooled
Dead dead now. Mine was super hot and was venting real bad. Temps are way over 100 here also

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #15 –
Just out of curiosity were you plugged into 30A?  I had one AC running, ice maker, fridge, HWH, inverter.  Mine is also very dead.
George and Steph
1997 U270 36 Build 5081 "Honu"
1180w Solar 400A lithium all Victron house system
Motorcade 17670, SKP 128300, FMCA F459019
73 VW Camper, 79 VW Camper, 2363 Sunline, and an Arctic Fox 25P

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #16 –
Quote from: George and Steph –
Just out of curiosity were you plugged into 30A?  I had one AC running, ice maker, fridge, HWH, inverter.  Mine is also very dead.
I was driving with the generator on.. we had been on the road for about 2 hrs but I could smell the sulfur when we were at the camp ground plugged into 50amp plug

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #17 –
Batteries usually get hot when they are overcharged.  As this occured while you were driving, there may be something wrong with the alternator.  Normally when driving, although the generator may be running, the engine alternator does the charging as it produces a slightly higher voltage than the inverter/charger if everything is normal.  The inverter/charger could be doing the overcharging or it could be the alternator.  The generator does not have an alternator to directly charge the batteries, it just supplies 120v to operate everything that uses 120v and that includes the inverter/charger.  And of course you could have a bad battery.  Wet cell batteries are charged at a slightly higher voltage than gel or agm.  One should either have all wet cell or gel/agm for both house and chassis so the charging voltage is set correctly.  Charging voltages for wet cell should not be above 14.5 volts or 14.2 v for gel.
Jerry Whiteaker former owner 96 U270  36' #4831 Austin,TX-Owner Mods LCD TV w/front cabinet rebuild - LCD TV bedroom - Dual Central AC, either can cool coach w 30 amp - Skylights at roof AC openings - Drop ceiling for ducting of AC - Shower skylight white gelcoat/wood/epoxy frame - Air Springs/Shocks replaced - 2014 CRV - 8K Home Solar - Chevy Volt
 

Re: Hot battery not cooling down.

Reply #18 –
A bad cell in a battery will boil and put out excessive gas and heat the battery.
1999 40 ft. U-320 wtfe build 5563 Chuck & Lynda's "Rollin' Inn"  2030 watts solar
prev. mh's 71 GMC 5 yrs. 73 Pace Setter 1 yr. 78 Vogue 5 yrs 81 FTX 40ft all electric 18 yrs. 1996 Monaco Signature 3 yrs.
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland
Dream as if you will live forever. Live as if you will die today.  James Dean