Seneca batteries

tallcott · 10-05-2018, 07:27 AM

Our new Seneca s2rv 6 wks new, although build date was 10/17/17 completed. Batteries have sure been abused setting around with out proper charging. had batteries plugged in shore power for 2 wks disconnected them only to read 12.5 on digital inverter read out, this to me means trouble any other thoughts

RyRoRyan · 10-05-2018, 09:05 AM

Check water levels if they have been sitting around that long. If that doesnt help, warranty should take care of it.

SloPoke · 10-05-2018, 09:28 AM

you might disconnect one at a time and test them separately... you could have one of the 4 bad, that is reducing the combined readout.

tallcott · 10-05-2018, 03:52 PM

Okay after all the testing and confirming of bad batteries going to change house batteries. Any recommendations.; would like to upgrade to better house battery with little maintenance. And what precautions did you have to do before on the house electronics to remove any interference on them

Robbbyr · 10-05-2018, 04:29 PM

I put four Trojan T-105 6-volt "true" deep-cycle batteries in my Seneca. While not "maintenance-free", they are rugged and long lasting with proper care. They fit easily in place of the original batteries. The Trojans do require regular watering, but it can be made easy using Trojan's single-point watering system called HydroLink. I installed it on my Seneca and it is great. Here is a link to that system: http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/Hyd...LowRes_000.pdf

You do have to modify (slightly) the wiring to use 6-volt batteries, on mine I was able to use the original battery cables, just connecting them differently. It uses two 6-volt batteries tied together in series to create, in effect, one large 12-volt battery. The other pair is hooked together the same, then the two sets are connected in parallel to create the house battery bank.

SloPoke · 10-05-2018, 04:29 PM

Recommending replacement batteries will take this thread in many different ways... Some will say to replace the 4 Harris batteries (27D170) with golf cart batteries (requires some modifications to cabling and the tray)

Others will say to replace them with Group 31 batteries (requires modification to the tray) and then others say just replace them with another set of Group 27's.

Others say that you can deep cycle some batteries more than others, but we try to stay away from ever getting close to a deep cycle in the first place. (What the OP seems to have experienced, causing the failure) Each has merits based on what they want to get out of a set of batteries and how much they want to spend on a premium battery vs a general purpose with a slightly different warranty between the two.

In our particular case, We consistently replace our automotive batteries after 4 years of service. They may have a lot of life after removal, so they go into a secondary service in a UPS array until they die. Now our old Seneca Harris batteries are still good, and going into UPS service.

tallcott · 10-05-2018, 04:50 PM

okay if I put in AGM batteries comparable to what I have, do I have to do anything with any other components such as inverters, and other electronics?

tallcott · 10-05-2018, 04:52 PM

one reason for question just finished about 3 hours of electronics study and fixing satellite and audio/ video switch box and HDMI cables

Robbbyr · 10-05-2018, 05:03 PM

Regarding AGM batteries there is another thread being discussed currently where another Class C owner is having trouble with his AGM batteries. The thread is here: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ths-61859.html

One theory is that our PD converter and its equalization charge may not be compatible with AGM batteries. But I don't know what converter/charger a new Seneca has. Maybe it is more advanced.

SloPoke · 10-05-2018, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

One theory is that our PD converter and its equalization charge may not be compatible with AGM batteries. But I don't know what converter/charger a new Seneca has. Maybe it is more advanced.

That was the primary reason I stayed with traditional Flooded cell batteries...

The second was when I compared the price for these premium batteries: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I can replace the 4- Group31's we put in once a year and spend less that the premium battery. And they don't really offer any better guarantee that they will last any longer as the warranty is the same.

tallcott · 10-05-2018, 07:33 PM

thank you for all the feed back ! will contact jayco Monday to see if we have the ability to even have agm batt. if we can there as you pointed out is the significant cost, will it be worth it ?

mikew968 · 10-05-2018, 07:40 PM

No warranty?

Grumpy · 10-05-2018, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

Regarding AGM batteries there is another thread being discussed currently where another Class C owner is having trouble with his AGM batteries. The thread is here: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ths-61859.html

One theory is that our PD converter and its equalization charge may not be compatible with AGM batteries. But I don't know what converter/charger a new Seneca has. Maybe it is more advanced.

All the new MH converters are directly compatible with AGM with no modification. If you buy GEL batteries then you need to change settings. My 08 SENECA had a compatible AGM charger.

Oma/opa · 10-06-2018, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SloPoke

That was the primary reason I stayed with traditional Flooded cell batteries...

The second was when I compared the price for these premium batteries: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I can replace the 4- Group31's we put in once a year and spend less that the premium battery. And they don't really offer any better guarantee that they will last any longer as the warranty is the same.

Slopoke
Where do you find 4 group 31's for less than $370 and why do you replace them every year?

SloPoke · 10-06-2018, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oma/opa

Slopoke
Where do you find 4 group 31's for less than $370 and why do you replace them every year?

I have a good friend that is a fleet manager for a very large trucking company. I pay their cost of $73 each.

My intention in the prior post was comparing the cost of these "general purpose" units against these other "Premium" batteries (I posted a link to one on Amazon). Since 90% of the time we run our genny on "Auto", it is always monitoring our charge state - we have not deep cycled our house batteries once in the time we have owned them (but cant speak for the prior ownership).

Our batteries don't see heavy duty use, thus we stay with the general purpose units and save the big difference in the process. We do run our Inverter in the morning and evening to power the coffee maker, TV's, Satellite equipment, LTE/802.x Network equipment and the normal Coach appliances/lights. Our usual largest draw from the Inverter is 90A for about 30 minutes in the morning, and about 10A in the evening for a couple of hours. All total, less than half of the capacity before a deep cycle. We let the Genny start when the charge sensor says it's time to charge the batteries.

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