Did we just kill our brand new batteries?

xdr

We are veteran campers/backpackers but new to the RV life. We got our 2021 Tab 400 BDL this spring and have been on 2 overnight trips, both times boondocking. 
We came back from the last trip May 17. On May 21 we cleaned up the camper, put the cover on it and parked it on the side of the house because there was not a trip planned until July. (We had just got an awning and the cover in the mail and we were trying them both out. It seemed like a good idea to keep the cover on for storing.)

For the last few days, I kept hearing a beeping sound at night but it was faint and couldn't find the source. Yesterday, I went out to work on the yard and heard the beeping coming from the Tab. We opened it up and the CO2 alarm was beeping continuously. We opened up a window and the door and then the beep went to a chirp- much like a low battery chirp in a smoke detector. 

As we started investigating, we realized we didn't have lights so I hooked up the generator to the TAB. I also removed the cover from the camper. I let the generator run for over an hour but no power unless the trailer was connected to the generator. Turned off the generator and plugged it into the house power and left it overnight. 

When I went out this morning and it was connected to shore power, the Victron app showed the battery at 6V! All outlets worked because we were plugged in. As the sun came up and hit the panels, I could sit and watch the battery voltage go up on the app. 

So, we have no power in the trailer unless it is on the generator or shore power.

Our fear is that we have trashed the batteries by letting them deplete down to potentially nothing! What is our next step here in checking out the damage? I am just sick about this--It didn't even cross my mind to disconnect the battery with the switch. 


Current readings on the Victron App:
Solar:  65 W   Voltage 22.40V  2.9A
Battery: 11.06V   5.8A   BULK state
Load output 0.0A

xdr

pthomas745

If you left your battery on the parasitic drain of the trailer drained your battery.  If you have an inverter, there have been some reports that not shutting it completely off will drain the battery, even with the battery switch off.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/10071/400-inverter-parasitic-drain

xdr

Unfortunately, I did not think to disconnect the battery when we stored it. 

AirBoss

Argh...yeah, it's possible. AGM's are sensitive in that regard (assuming that's what you have on board). Are they still charging? They may continue to reach full charge. Have you tried connecting your TV to the trailer with the battery switch on to see what you get for lights, etc.? 

Couple options to consider if the Victron doesn't do the trick. Look for an up to date battery charger that has an "AGM" option or switch. These are designed to charge deeply discharged AGM's. 

Another option might be to take a "good" battery (out of your car, truck, etc.), wire it up to the AGM's in parallel (positive to positive/negative to negative), connect a battery charger to the "good" battery as normal, turn on the charger. The charger will see the "good" battery and turn on at a level of charge, which will transfer to the AGM's. Sometimes older battery chargers don't see a heavily discharged battery so, if you just hook the charger up to the AGM's, the charger gets confused, so they do nothing. 

Watch this set up closely. Don't leave it charging for more than 45-60 minutes. If either battery gets hot to the touch (not warm...warm is expected when charging), or starts hissing, disconnect. 

Good luck...hopefully you'll be in good shape later today! 

Denny16

if if the battery was deep discharged, it will take time to charge them back up, several days of charging with the TaB converter/charger.  The only damage to an AGM battery, is a shortened it’s life span, so it might last only two years, instead of three or four.  Previous (original) owner did this to the factory AGM on our a 2018 TaB 400, and the battery had to be replaced after two years of use.
So we got the TaB with a new AGM already installed.

To allow the solar panels to keep the battery charged, you could always modify the camper cover, to replace the solid covering over the solar panels with a clear vinyl panel, so the panels get light.

 I am going to build a lean-to style carport cover for our TaB and will use clear roof panels where the solar panels on the TaB are, so they will still get some light.
Cheers

jkjenn

Don't beat yourself up too much over this. It is almost a rite of passage to ruin your first battery or batteries.  

falcon1970

Unless you simply can't get a charge to the battery at all, your battery is probably just fine.  At worst, as mentioned above, you may have shortened its total life span somewhat.  I bet by not much though.

xdr

Well it's good to be part of the club! jkjenn- thank you for the encouraging words. 
Dh has the batteries charging and we will see what happens. I'm personally going to be crazy about checking our battery level for quite some time. 
You all are great! Thanks,
mer

Denny16

Yes, you want to keep the charge above 12VDC, to be safe, and not over discharge them.
cheers

xdr

Here is an update on our dead batteries:
It has been 24 hours and the battery is at 11.4 V. The sun has just come up and it is a beautiful clear, sunny NM day so we will have solar charging. The Tab has been plugged into our 15 amp house since yesterday. Not sure that it has had near the affect on the battery as the solar has. 
Hoping to see more charge today. We will let you know. 

Also we hope that our mistakes help many of the other newbies out there as well! 
mer

Denny16

You have taken the battery all the way down, so you need to get 200 amps of charge back in it.  At 11.4 VDC, you have brought it back up to 10-percent of that 200 amp charge.  So you are looking at 2-3 days to get it charged back up.
cheers

xdr

Battery Update: 
Recovery looks possible! We are at 12.87V / 9.1A with the solar continuing to charge. 

AirBoss

@xdr
Well, that certainly looks positive...keep on, keepin' on! 

Denny16

looks like you are at nearly a full charge, 12.7 and up on a AGM is good.  Your charge rate should drop out of bulk level now, did it?  Once you hit 13.x you are done.  The Solar will keep the battery “topped off” maintaining the charge, and feed any small current drain being used by the trailer’s equipment, like the TV and Radio LEDs, etc.

Cheers

xdr

I have sure appreciated the help and wisdom of folks on this site. 
Thank you
xdr

pthomas745

The real test, though, will be how your battery reacts when it is not plugged in to any charging system.  It needs to be measured when "at rest".

Denny16

Also, after it is charged, disconnect shore power and check its ability to run the trailer system under a normal load, refrigerator on, lights and fan.  Check the am hr drain, and if you have the shunt battery meter, check the currant draw.
If the battery is good, the Solar should help keep up with this minimal load.  The battery should not discharge very fast, with a 10 amp or less load on it.  

Cheers.

BrianZ

Before you use it, after charging fully, try letting it sit for 2 or 3 days, disconnected, then check its voltage to see if it stays around 12.8V or whatever the manufacturer says is 100% charged.

Denny16

Good advice, a little rest is a good Idea, to let the battery cool back down, and the electrolytes to settle down.
cheers

Nigll

We had this happen. Got a new battery and all is good. Just drained it to much! We were in an area with no hook ups at all. 
Happy Camping!

Kr@cken

What is the Vitron app? We are brand new to this and trying to monitor our battery? There is a way to monitor solar? T@B 2020. We only got as very short orientation at the dealer and are trying to figure most of the fine tuning out ourselves.

pthomas745

@j@ydub Do you have an installed solar panel?  If so,  you can go to the App Store of your choice and look for the "VictronConnect" app.  You can connect to your solar controller through the app and see various status items on your solar setup.

xdr

Batteries appear to be working but we do not have a way to check actual voltage because now the Victron app is not connecting. Spent some time today unscrewing bed panels looking for fuses and the Victron. There was one breaker he found in the passenger side storage compartment that he reset. We found the Victron behind the big drawer under the closet. Both fuses were good and all other fuses good. Only the one breaker was reset. He has reloaded the app but no success. 

It seems like a hard wired battery voltage meter would be a good idea so we don’t have to rely on an app. 

This yellow button was what he reset. 

Lights are working. The KIB shows battery full. 

Any ideas why the Victron app won’t work? 

We see the mppt controller listed on the app but won’t connect. Could there be a fuse we are missing? 

mer

Sharon_is_SAM

Oftentimes there is a firmware update that needs to take place.  I frequently struggle to connect with VictronConnect.  Do you have the Victron battery monitor as well as the Victron mppt controller?  

The pictured circuit breaker is for your batteries.  If your batteries become very discharged, the attempt to recharge creates too large of a draw and the breaker may trip.  Remember to check that breaker if you struggle to charge your batteries.  I thought that the button was to check the breaker and the yellow flap reset it?  No matter, looks like your battery is providing power.

pthomas745

The Victron requires bluetooth to connect.

xdr

Hi Sharon_is_Sam, we have the Victron 75/15 MPPT smart controller only and not the Victron battery monitor. Up to yesterday it was flawless, no Bluetooth issue, connected easily as long as we were in range. I checked the batteries in the morning, went to check again and the app wouldn’t connect at all. Currently using the Victron manual to troubleshoot but no luck. Have reloaded the app on my phone w no luck. Also checked all the fuses including the one on the MPPT controller itself and on the wiring directly off of it. 

The good news is our batteries seem ok. 

Sharon_is_SAM

@xdr - If you didn’t already, go to your Bluetooth and delete it from Bluetooth, power down, then try again.

Sharon_is_SAM

@xdr - did you see this:  https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/20843/victron-connect-not-connecting.html