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Old 10-12-2017, 06:47 AM   #1
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Hot battery, fairly new

I noticed a slight odor near my battery so went to investigate and noticed the battery box was pretty warm/hot. I opened the battery box and the battery was hot. I could touch it, but it still seemed excessively hot. It is an upgraded battery that is only 14 months old and rarely used except for the tongue lift and the occasional LED light inside. I am connected to 30 amp service.

Here’s a little more info. The previous owner is a family friend and has taken great care of the camper as he is mechanical engineer and stays on top of maintenance. He did install a small solar panel that slowly charges the battery. During that install he decided to get a larger battery:
Optima High-performance AGM battery
Battery part #: BLUED27M
Camper: Jayflight 264 BHW

The previous owner told me one of the solar cells is damaged and so the solar panel system is not functioning, but it has still been hooked up to controller and the battery. Once I noticed the hot battery I decided to remove the solar panel wiring from the battery (as per previous owner’s suggestion) and take that out of the system since that seemed like the most logical fault in the system. So I did that and let it sit all night to cool down (with the normal battery wires still connected, and the camper still connected to 30 amp service). This morning I go out to check it and the battery is still hot.
Attached is a photo of the system BEFORE I removed the solar panel charging system from the battery. I did this by removing the small brown wire with the translucent yellow connector from the – terminal and then by removing the small red wire with translucent yellow connector from the + terminal. All 3 other wires remain connected to battery while camper is plugged into 30 amp. The clear box on the left side of the photo is the solar charging controller. It along with all the solar panel system is now disconnected. After all night of sitting as described the battery never cooled down. So this seems to tell me it’s not the solar panel system but rather something more internal?
What should I do and check next? I am not good with electricity so please explain things simply. I assume at the least I can unhook the battery until a professional it’s figured out. I really don’t need the battery in the near future since I’m connected to shore power. However I would like to safely troubleshoot the issue.

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Old 10-12-2017, 07:04 AM   #2
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Unplug from 30amp , let battery cool and remove it. Either your battery is bad (likely) or you converter has failed.

The battery is boiling and off-gassing hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell)

A spark with the gas in a confined area could cause it to explode.
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:10 AM   #3
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I think that's what I will try. What would cause a relatively new battery to go bad? If it is a bad battery then I don't want to buy a new one just for it to fail again.
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:14 AM   #4
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Also, take note that it appears you have a black wire (purple crimp spade) hooked up to the positive terminal of the battery. Black normally would go to ground.. but that's what happens when you let a mechanical engineer work on electric systems..

It's likely correct but could cause you a problem when reinstalling the battery if connected to ground.

(If my color perception is off from the photo forgive me...)
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:17 AM   #5
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I missed the part where the battery was AGM. I don't know a lot about them. I have read reports of them not being capable of taking the abuse that a conventional deep cell battery can take. And that unless the converter is a three stage converter they will fail prematurely.
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Old 10-12-2017, 07:49 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustysocket View Post
Also, take note that it appears you have a black wire (purple crimp spade) hooked up to the positive terminal of the battery. Black normally would go to ground.. but that's what happens when you let a mechanical engineer work on electric systems..

It's likely correct but could cause you a problem when reinstalling the battery if connected to ground.

(If my color perception is off from the photo forgive me...)
In RV's if the wiring was not changed by the previous owner, the BLACK wire should go to the POSITIVE terminal and the WHITE to ground (FRAME BOLT)

Check where your WHITE wire is connected to.

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Old 10-12-2017, 08:04 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Mustang65 View Post
In RV's if the wiring was not changed by the previous owner, the BLACK wire should go to the POSITIVE terminal and the WHITE to ground (FRAME BOLT)

Check where your WHITE wire is connected to.

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You are absolutely correct in respect to how a RV is wired and in the back of my mind I knew that... I got stuck on the aftermarket solar panel being added.

Rather what I intended was a poor attempt at humor... and that the OP's focus should be on making sure (regardless of color) that the wires are connected to their respective locations prior to the install of a new battery. I went down this road myself and it can be very confusing to sort out, especially if someone else has done any work on the system.
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Old 10-12-2017, 09:19 AM   #8
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I missed the part where the battery was AGM. I don't know a lot about them. I have read reports of them not being capable of taking the abuse that a conventional deep cell battery can take. And that unless the converter is a three stage converter they will fail prematurely.

Does anybody else know or think that this could be true? Not my expertise
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Old 10-12-2017, 09:46 AM   #9
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Check the polarity from the Factory Jayco had wired the plug for the solar panel in reverse!
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Old 10-12-2017, 09:54 AM   #10
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Check the polarity from the Factory Jayco had wired the plug for the solar panel in reverse!
I'm sorry but can you elaborate? I don't understand because I'm ignorant when it comes to electricity and their circuits
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Old 10-12-2017, 10:48 AM   #11
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Sorry not really a tech from Solar company showed me how to do a simple test. The black and white wires were reversed to the roof mount plug in for my panel which hooked up to my charge controller in the wall. Maybe Google it!
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Old 10-12-2017, 10:50 AM   #12
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Does anybody else know or think that this could be true? Not my expertise
From Optimas own webpage:

https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...pecial-charger

"Under normal (engine-starting) conditions, an OPTIMA battery should never experience “at-rest” voltages below 10.5 volts. In these applications, most 12-volt chargers (old or new) or alternators will sufficiently recharge an OPTIMA battery with at least 10.5 volts. Typically, we only see issues with charging when it relates to stand-alone deep-cycling applications or severely discharged OPTIMA batteries."

And Also:

https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...ng-agm-battery

"AGM and gel technology differ. Remember that the technology of an AGM battery is not the same as a gel battery, which has its own charging requirements. If your charger offers different modes, select the correct one for your battery. If you use the gel setting to charge an AGM battery, it won't fully charge and, over time, it could actually damage your AGM battery."

I'm not saying this is your issue or that your converter is not capable of handling AGM technology. These are just examples of some of the things I came across when researching which batteries I was going to use in my RV.

Optimas website does indicate that the bluetop battery is designed for marine and RV use....

The easiest thing to do at this point is simply remove the battery and take it to your local chain parts store and ask them to test it for you. If it's not the battery then you start looking at why the converter is continuing to try to charge the battery and work your way from there. In reality it can only be a couple of things.
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Old 10-12-2017, 11:24 AM   #13
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Rustysocket, thank you very much for the info. Huge help and it gives me somewhere to start my investigation. I will continue to update this thread as I find out more.
As for now I have disconnected all battery cables and properly insulated and set them aside.
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Old 10-12-2017, 08:26 PM   #14
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Ok so I have some new information that will get me closer to determining the problem. I went to my control center and looked at the fuses. The one that says "Reverse battery protection fuse" is melted (see pics). After reading the manual (pic), it appears that at some point the circuit received reverse polarity.
So in a perfect world I would replace the fuse and everything would be back to normal (I'm not connecting or messing with the solar panel anytime soon until I learn the basics of my camper). However, I want to make sure the problem is solved and not just enevitably going to happen again. So what steps should I take?
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Old 10-13-2017, 05:10 PM   #15
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So if I were in your position I would start by replacing the fuse and getting the battery tested. I would also purchase a couple of spare fuses.

If the battery tests good. I would replace the fuse and start hooking the battery back starting with only the cables that directly power the RV (anything that was obviously installed by the previous owner would be left disconnected) while monitoring the fuse as I add each additional system.

I would do this while disconnected from shore power.
My reading suggests that the reverse polarity fuse should only blow if the battery is connected backwards. But there are some reports that a dead short from shore power could cause this fuse to blow as well. I don't know the reason behind it, only that I have read it could happen.

My guess is still that your battery is bad..

I'm not sure what to make of that fuse. Typically those fuses just blow, I can't say I have ever seen one that melted the housing like yours appears.
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Old 10-13-2017, 07:27 PM   #16
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Thanks for the help. I think will do just that as what you suggest seems like the safest route to best determine what is going on. I will be sure to update. I plan to investigate this weekend
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Old 10-14-2017, 03:16 PM   #17
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Update: I replaced the "reverse polarity" fuse located in control panel. It actually did NOT appear to be blown. That crazy melted look was actually some kind of gunk and dust. It appeared to still be intact. I also have an in-line fuse on my green cable about 8" away from battery terminal. It was corroded a little. It also appears to still be intact.
I then unhooked from shore power then reconnected the battery just as it was before (without solar(battery has been disconnected for 3 days). The jack would not move but the cabin LED lights did come on. I waited 20 min and the battery came alive as it should. I am monitoring it today to see if it gets hot &/or emits a smell like before. If it does I will disconnect it. I still need to have it load tested which I will do on Monday.
I also bought a surge protector/polarity tester for shore pedestals. My current power source is reading fine (but last weekend pedestals are unknown).
The hope now is that if anything IS wrong it's just the battery. I will keep you updated and greatly appreciate the input.
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Old 10-14-2017, 03:38 PM   #18
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Every RVer needs one!!!!!!! .... and don't leave home without it.

You need to purchase a Digital Voltage meter, something like the one below. It will answer 99.99% of your electrical problems. They are not expensive. It is difficult to try and figure out electrical problems unless we can ask you to check voltages at different times and places in the circuit. If you are comfortable plugging in an extension cord, you can work this meter.

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Old 10-14-2017, 09:12 PM   #19
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Update: I replaced the "reverse polarity" fuse located in control panel. It actually did NOT appear to be blown. That crazy melted look was actually some kind of gunk and dust. It appeared to still be intact. I also have an in-line fuse on my green cable about 8" away from battery terminal. It was corroded a little. It also appears to still be intact.
I then unhooked from shore power then reconnected the battery just as it was before (without solar(battery has been disconnected for 3 days). The jack would not move but the cabin LED lights did come on. I waited 20 min and the battery came alive as it should. I am monitoring it today to see if it gets hot &/or emits a smell like before. If it does I will disconnect it. I still need to have it load tested which I will do on Monday.
I also bought a surge protector/polarity tester for shore pedestals. My current power source is reading fine (but last weekend pedestals are unknown).
The hope now is that if anything IS wrong it's just the battery. I will keep you updated and greatly appreciate the input.
Time to quit messing around with this battery. Considering you suspect that the problem might be that the battery is bad, why keep reconnecting it to an expensive RV? Remove the battery and hook it to a charger and see if it will take a charge. If the battery is bad, it will show a failure on the charger or will not charge. Let the charger run and watch to see if it is heating up. If not and the battery takes [and holds] a full charge, then I'm going to suggest that your problem is not the battery but something screwed up by the previous owner. Even if the battery is bad, the problem could have been caused by bad wiring.
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Old 10-16-2017, 04:26 PM   #20
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Update

Had battery load tested and it is bad. Still under warranty so a new one arrives tomorrow. I will hook it and and monitor it and provide another update/conclusion
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