candace Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 We have been traveling for four months in our 84 huntsman. We rarely paid for camping and therefore only plugged in a handful of times. I suspected we had a problem with our coach battery because after driving long distances and after plugging in overnight a couple of times we just didn't seem to have as much power as we should have. For example, when plugged in, the furnace blew hot air all night. But if not plugged in, it blew hot for a 5-10 minutes and then would continue blowing but blow cold air. Also, when the inverters are on they almost always beep if the ignition is not on. None of this really bothered me because we were able to charge electronics while driving using the inverters. The lights and water pump always worked when boondocking. Occasionally the interior lights dimmed significantly. I finally had the battery tested and the machine said it's bad. The battery indicates it was purchased May of 2014. It's a cheaper autocraft deep cycle battery. Unfortunately the warranty only lasted one year. It has 550 cold cranking amps and a reserve capacity of 140. What kind of battery should I buy to replace it? I don't want to spend too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 It has 550 cold cranking amps and a reserve capacity of 140. To me, this indicates that you have a 'starting battery' installed. You need a 'deep cycle battery'. Many report being happy with those from WallyWorld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 What ever fits in the space like a group 24 pick them up and buy the one that weights the most. Try to avoid starting/deep cycle or hybrid. Generally the one with the best warranty are the better batteries. There are only a few manufactures of batteries in the states so it really is hard to say who made them they are mostly rebranded. If you have deep pockets an AGM battery would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 I am not a battery or charging system expert. They Original Equipment charging system in the Toy is at best not very good and very hard on batteries. 2nd most of us know little about how to properly use battery power. I was told to buy the cheapest batteries I could as I would ruin the first set. I will not babble on about batteries and their usage as it is far too much info for one post. IF you have the time and inclination do a Google on using auxiliary power or living on 12 Volts. Here is one. http://www.dcbattery.com/faq.html It is BATTERIES DO NOT DIE THEY ARE MURDERED!! With the original charger I would put the cheapest "deep cycle" battery in my Toy. Only my opinion and worth what you are paying for it. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 I changed out my battery box and dropped in a larger series 27 battery from WalMart. The battery has been in there for 3 1/2 years and is doing good. I believe that you have correctly diagnosed your problem that the battery is not doing the job. There are several possible problems - You could have a bad connection with either a bad battery, corroded battery posts, bad wiring, or a bad isolator. If you don't have a multimeter (voltage tester) I would suggest getting one. I had the exact same problem when I started out. When I bought my RV, it had a bad isolator which I replaced with one that I bought at O'Reilly's. That one last about 3 trips, each about 2000 miles and a week long each and a couple of weekend trips. It quit working and I just ran a jumper wire around the isolator until I could locate a better one. I would connect the jumper when we started driving and disconnect it when we stopped for the day This worked well but was a pain in the tush. I bought an old fashion solenoid type isolator next (a isolator solenoid, not a starter solenoid) and have not had a problem. When I installed the new isolator, I also installed an LED volt meter for the coach battery that is mounted below the dash with a toggle switch to turn it off when not in use. I can now see what my coach battery is getting for a charge off of the converter or from the alternator. If the isolator fails again, I will know it as soon as I look at the gauge. I also installed an additional wire from the solenoid back to the electrical distribution block to carry more power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candace Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Does it make sense that a bad battery is the cause of our furnace not blowing hot air? It seems strange that it will continue to blow at all when the battery is discharged. But sure enough it starts out hot and then blows unheated air. Plugged in or with the gen on it blows hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Does it make sense that a bad battery is the cause of our furnace not blowing hot air? It seems strange that it will continue to blow at all when the battery is discharged. But sure enough it starts out hot and then blows unheated air. Plugged in or with the gen on it blows hot. Yes it does. The fan has to blow fast enough to open the sail switch which allows the flame to ignite. Yours has enough power in the beginning but after running a short time that fan is slowing down so it's not enough to open that switch so no flame. I buy all my batteries at Walmart. They last a long time, they are pretty cheap and if they fail there is always a Walmart nearby to return it to. Measure your compartment and get the largest one you can. Probably a group 27 but make sure you find a store that has the Maxx ones. They are much better batteries than the regular with more reserve capacity for the same weight and only a little more expensive. Well I am not finding a 27 battery in the Maxx but they have a group 24 and a 29 strangely the same price so if you can fit it definitely go with the 29. See here http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Maxx-Group-Size-29-Marine-Battery/20531539 http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Maxx-Group-Size-24-Marine-Battery/20531538 Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 One more thing. Have you checked the water level in your battery. If it's not too sulfated yet adding some distilled water to the correct level might improve it's function. If it's really low though it might be toast Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Does it make sense that a bad battery is the cause of our furnace not blowing hot air? It seems strange that it will continue to blow at all when the battery is discharged. But sure enough it starts out hot and then blows unheated air. Plugged in or with the gen on it blows hot. All the RV furnaces I know of are designed to work well down to 11.5 volts. A 12 volt battery is basically "stone dead" at 11.7 volts. If your battery is really down to 11.5 volts when the problems start - obviously you need a better and/or bigger battery. Many inverters are designed to trip and "beep" at 11 volts and some down to 10.5 volts. If your inverter "beeps" when you just have it turned on but not using any AC power - then you REALLY have battery problems. If it only trips and "beeps" when trying to use AC power - it can just be too much current demand. E.g. - you could have a fully charged deep-cycle battery with a 1500 watt inverter and try to run a 700 watt microwave oven. It might "beep" just because many single RV battery setups cannot supply the current to the inverter without dipping to below 11 volts for a fraction of a second. That is all it takes to trip the inverter low-voltage protection. Oddly a conventional "cranking" battery is less apt to drop in voltage as a good "house" deep-cycle battery. Doesn't seem fair but that is the way it is. I don't know what sorty of battery you have - but true deep-cycle batteries are rarely sold with "cold-cranking" ratings. Seeing how the battery is near new - there is only one way I know of to try to restore lost battery capacity. it is to use the "equalize" function on a high-end battery charger and charge @ 15.5 to 16 volts for a couple of hours. Some battery companies require it be done before a warranty claim is made on a battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 A couple of years ago I installed a Progressive Dynamics converter. It is a 3 stage charger and it periodically goes through desulfication cycle. I don't know if it does any good but I have not had battery problems since I installed it. I also have a higher end battery charger that has a battery reconditioning cycle. I had a battery in my Dodge truck that would not hold a charge for very long. That truck only gets driven a couple of times a month during the summer and the battery would be low. I connected it to the charger and ran it through the "reconditioning" cycle 3 times. The first time took over a day to complete the cycle. The battery seems to be hold a charge at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Old converter/chargers suck they are poorly regulated and will boil the water out of a battery if left on long term. They did some thing in the 3 to maybe 8 amp charge and took for ever to recharge a battery. One of the best upgrades for an old camper is a modern charger/converter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustrmrk Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 It sounds like you have a battery problem. I would concur with Linda's diagnosis re. the sail switch. We were having problems recently with our furnace starting intermittently or not re-igniting after one cycle of burning. First I checked the voltage, but it was fine. So I pulled the furnace apart and found mud dauber nests and sunflower seeds packed into the combustion air tube?!?! A strange combination. Once I cleaned it out and reinstalled it, there was enough air flow to reliably activate the sail switch and it's worked fine ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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