When I bought my first RV, a Class A Diesel MH, I received no guidance or instruction on using, setting up, or understanding the meters and display for setting up the electrical system. While I did receive manuals for various systems, real-life application and understanding just didn't relate well, and I simply had to guess, or ignore things I still did not understand.
I'm speaking of the solar & internal systems set up controls, housed (in my rig) behind a cabinet door at the front of my RV.
A recent power outage forced me to stay the night in my rig, and though it was not plugged in to power, the batteries, charged during the day by 480 watts of solar, generating about 26A, appeared to have enough voltage, at 14.2V, to easily last through the night. They did not.
Sometime in the night, about 4 hours later, the internal power shut down, the only things requiring power being the microwave display, and the clock radio in the bedroom, both of which went black. Checking the display up front, the meter read 11.6V, the red "fault" light was on, and the inverter would not come back on. Fired up the generator, and soon noted the meter showed 12.2-12.4V and rising.
As the manual isn't well written (IMO), I could only surmise the system setup included a setting that automatically shuts down power, to save the batteries, when voltage sinks to a given level. But there are other settings, the nature of which remain foreign to me, which likely also have some bearing on what happens, how, and when. And I'm baffled as to how they relate, and what my needs would require, when it comes to adjusting the settings properly.
A recent suspicion had been that my batteries don't seem to be lasting as long as they ought to, for it seems to me that they should easily provide power throughout the night, with such minimal amperage needs as noted above. Because I had recently neglected monitoring them, the batteries, while not completely dry, were damp, and all cells needed fresh distilled water. A month later, i had them checked, and the service tech noted they are in good shape. I still have suspicions that the batteries are not, as I was informed, in good condition (my rig is a 2017, bought off a dealer at the end of the 2017 calendar year, original batteries).
I remain baffled by the system, ignorant of proper setup, having had much frustration in managing it, and setting it up properly, so that it works as well as it is designed to do. The manual is less than clear to me, and I feel like I need a knowledgeable experienced tech to walk me through each step, setting, and consequence, impractical though that may be.
I'm not sure the help I need can be found here, but needed to vent, with perhaps a small hope someone might offer perspective, if not guidance, on how to proceed.
Thanks!
