batteries

BaywoodBill

pre-Yuppiedom
Has anyone worn out their LTV house battery? If so, do you know if there is a battery with more "staying power" that will fit in the same box?
 

mpsan

New member
I have not "worn out" my batteries yet as this is a new 05/06 LTV. However, the batteries are wet and I want to go to LifeLine AGM's. They seem great but I wonder if I should remove the battery from under the front passenger seat at the same time, and relocate it in the rear like the other.

I also wonder about how long we can keep them on shorepower without cooking them. I have gotten two answers from LTV. One is that we should have a small 12V load at all times and the other was that the converter will NOT over charge them!

Has anyone worn out their LTV house battery? If so, do you know if there is a battery with more "staying power" that will fit in the same box?
 

BaywoodBill

pre-Yuppiedom
mpspan: The idea of moving the battery from the front to the back seems on the surface to go right along with your slogan at the bottom of your note.

As I understand it, the battery under the passenger seat operates some of the Sprinter stuff but I don't know what. Maybe the radio or the windows? And it addition, I guess it operates the RV stuff and those who don't have the battery in the rear, if there are any, must run out of power mighty quickly. Anyway, the battery under the passenger seat is a D-C installed item and not one from LTV.
 

mpsan

New member
As I understood it, it was a D-C item but LTV removes it from the D-C functions and puts it in parallel with the rear one. I need to call Wally anyway and will ask again. OH, on new units, I have been told that LTV puts both in the rear and that is why a kit is available from them.

mpspan: The idea of moving the battery from the front to the back seems on the surface to go right along with your slogan at the bottom of your note.

As I understand it, the battery under the passenger seat operates some of the Sprinter stuff but I don't know what. Maybe the radio or the windows? And it addition, I guess it operates the RV stuff and those who don't have the battery in the rear, if there are any, must run out of power mighty quickly. Anyway, the battery under the passenger seat is a D-C installed item and not one from LTV.
 

BaywoodBill

pre-Yuppiedom
Good. Let's hear what Wally has to say. Also, how much is the kit to install a second battery in the rear? And do we order from LTV?
 

What Next

New member
I was at the rally this year. What did Wally say for the other rear battery kit ? I think I heard something like $400, that may have been installed. Anyway you can put an AGM type battery under passenger seat ,put it on it's side and you have modify the pan it sits in but the guy said it was very easy. He also had the two batteries in rear and a solar panel on top.
 

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mpsan

New member
Well, Wally did not call me back today so I will call him tomorrow. The last I heard the rear kit was $190. My wife would like to remove the battery from under the seat as she wants the space.

I am then thinking of replacing the Parallax converter with the kit from Bestconverter.com as it is a 3 stage and can be left on shorepower.

I was at the rally this year. What did Wally say for the other rear battery kit ? I think I heard something like $400, that may have been installed. Anyway you can put an AGM type battery under passenger seat ,put it on it's side and you have modify the pan it sits in but the guy said it was very easy. He also had the two batteries in rear and a solar panel on top.
 

mpsan

New member
OK, I just spoke to Wally. He had been sick and still sounds bad.

The Battery under the seat does NOT power any windows and is ONLY for the Coach power...in parallel with rear battery if you have that option.
Wally also said that the kit is $130 US. He said it was the cables, battery box, and junction box. The junction box is to anchor the live + battery wire from the battery that is removed from under the seat.


Good. Let's hear what Wally has to say. Also, how much is the kit to install a second battery in the rear? And do we order from LTV?
 

Denis w/2005

New member
OK, I just spoke to Wally. He had been sick and still sounds bad.

The Battery under the seat does NOT power any windows and is ONLY for the Coach power...in parallel with rear battery if you have that option.
Wally also said that the kit is $130 US. He said it was the cables, battery box, and junction box. The junction box is to anchor the live + battery wire from the battery that is removed from under the seat.
I have a 2005 van/2006 LTV conversion with the twin coach batteries - one under the front seat (very inconvenient to check) and one (connected in parallel) in the left rear, stock installed by LTV. I'd be interested in the kit and set-up. I have found, after using my van extensively for boondocking over 35 continuous travel days, that the available battery power has diminished over time, even though I have been careful not to run the batteries down to lower than 12.2 volts (checked with plug-in 12v digital meter in 12v plug next to antenna amplifier) overnight by starting the van and recharging with the engine alternator. My situation is that I use a 100 watt CPAP machine - anti-snoring unit for sleeping, connected to an inverter, so use lights sparingly and avoid the TV unless I have shore power. Thinking I had, perhaps a bad battery, I disconnected the rear one and checked the voltage of each, only to find that both, over a period of several days, maintain their voltage in the unused state, and draw down equally fast. Perhaps there is some sulfation, so I'll check them further over the winter months and if necessary, replace them before my next major trip, reasoning that the price of the batteries is small compared to the enjoyment of the trip.
 

mpsan

New member
Well, Wally said the kit has a small box to hold the wires from shorting from the battery that you remove under the seat. Wally also said that they send you new wires from the rear battery to the new battery you put in the rear. I am going to AGM's...type 31 that will fit in the rear but NOT under the front seat. In addition, the WFCO kit is a 3 stage Charger that slides in and Walley said we can use the same wiring and breakers/fuses. I, too, have an 05/06 LSS and the batterys are NG after 3 months. I wonder if your fluid it topped off? The AGM's, of course, do not have this issue, but checking the underseat battery seems impossible without removing the seat!
 

Atlee

New member
Glad I don't have that underseat battery up front in my 2003 LTV. That thing seems to be a huge pain in the posterior.

I would like to get the second battery kit for the rear. A second battery would certainly come in handy.
 

BaywoodBill

pre-Yuppiedom
So far I have looked only at the battery in the rear. Removing the front seat with it's pivoting base seems a bigger challenge than I know about but we'll see about that at another time.

At this time I have a question about the battery in the rear. The top of the battery has these kind of things that look like they will break if I try to take them off so I'm wondering about the advisability of trying to add water.

Aren't these the kinds of battery that tell you that you never need to add water?
 

mpsan

New member
Well, the problem is that these are NOT AGM's and do require water! I thought the caps should just snap off. I believe mine in the rear is an Interstate battery.

So far I have looked only at the battery in the rear. Removing the front seat with it's pivoting base seems a bigger challenge than I know about but we'll see about that at another time.

At this time I have a question about the battery in the rear. The top of the battery has these kind of things that look like they will break if I try to take them off so I'm wondering about the advisability of trying to add water.

Aren't these the kinds of battery that tell you that you never need to add water?
 

BaywoodBill

pre-Yuppiedom
Yes. Mine is an Interstate. I'm just being confused by years of only-partly-heard advertising by battery manufacturers. And one time I attempted to remove one of those caps that covers several holes and it broke.
 

mpsan

New member
Well, my Engine one is also an Interstate and I removed the two caps that cover 3 cells each. Glad I did as I added a quart of distilled water before I was done! It helped a lot!

Yes. Mine is an Interstate. I'm just being confused by years of only-partly-heard advertising by battery manufacturers. And one time I attempted to remove one of those caps that covers several holes and it broke.
 

BaywoodBill

pre-Yuppiedom
And, while we're at it, when you remove the rotating passenger seat do you need to remove the huge nut in the center... I looked at it once to see about getting it off the platform and gave up.
 

What Next

New member
I have an LTV I had to remove the large nut 1 1/2 inch if I recall. You can not get to 2 of the plate screws without removing seat. The whole thing with plate would be very heavy. I put an old rug behind seat so I lifted seat up and then put it down on rug. My battery took a lot of water after 14 months. When putting it back together adjust so that seat swivels as you prefer. Also if your seat hits door when swiveled it is probably just the very tip of seat rail which you can cut off.
When my batteries go bad, I figure by spring I plan on putting in AGM 31s but I will stay with the underseat postion just lay battery on it's side. I think the cutting of a new hole in rear and routing cables may prove to be a real job.
 

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