12 replies to this topic

[travelingdan]

It's a marine battery from Sears, they're top-of-the line.

I never depleted the battery because it's hooked up to my solar panel which is "on" all of the time. (I live in San Diego with lots of sun.)

[K7MDL]

I would keep an eye on the voltage with the new battery and ensure it is up over 13 (or even 14) volts when there is sun on the solar array. Going much further into analysis is probably not worth the attempt over the internet, most likely a bum battery, it happens. If you have the manual for your solar charger unit, that would be good to review. It usually has a troubleshooting section where you can try to verify it is working properly. As mentioned, it should cut off on high and low voltage.

I think the mostly likely non-battery source of failure would be that you are not getting charging voltage from your solar charger unit, perhaps a bad connection, blown fuse, defective unit, bad wiring on the solar panel side, or solar panel itself has a problem. If you are getting 13-14 volts on teh battery during sunlight, truck off, no AC power plugged in, then things are probably just fine and you had a defective battery, If you are getting less than 13VDC, then it might not be charging, or is undercharging, which which can lead to premature battery failure.

[travelingdan]

I have installed the new battery and out in the sun it charges up to 14 volts. I've been running fans, etc. in the camper and the battery seems to be holding its charge.

Thanks everyone for all of your help.