Dead batteries?

[Zephod]

I charged my bus batteries on Sunday. Today I switched the kill switch so they were live in the bus circuit. I sounded the horn once, operated the one working wiper once then sat down with my new multimeter and diagnosed no electricity to the other wiper switch.

I have a digital volt meter that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket. I switched the socket on and it read 12.2 volts. That was curious.

I tried again to sound the horn and it wouldn't.  I tried turning the socket on again to get another reading and the voltmeter flashed briefly and went out.

Putting the meter on the battery bit a reading of zero which had to be wrong. I fiddled with Walmart's volt meter (think they are going to find me returning that) and eventually it registered over 10V.

I have a feeling there are three issues here.
1. Walmart's analog volt meter sucks.
2. Both batteries are probably trash.
3. There's something up with the live wire on the right wiper.

As an aside, I had a Lowes volt meter for years. It had hardly any use then I went to use it and found the needle stuck half way. Nothing could shift it. Then I got a digital meter off eBay and it worked just fine for a couple of weeks then started giving random readings. There would be nothing being measured yet I'd get random voltages showing up. Similarly I'd test resistance and the figure would fluctuate hugely. Even new batteries didn't help. I got myself a meter yesterday from Walmart and the damn thing is just messing about. WTF? I never had this issue when I was younger. I can on,y assume that voltmeters these days are just cheaply churned out Chinese crap.

Frustrating! Looks like I'm going to have to pull each battery out individually, put it on charge and then take it to autozone or something like that to get a drop test done. If the battery was 5 years or more old, I'd understand. I can't find a date on it anywhere though!


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[daddysgirl]

I do NOT know your coach, but do you have a little 12v wire off the engine batts?
I have one, and if I attach anything to a certain stud fed by that wire, it will drain my left bank.
Just a thought.

[B_K]

In most cases I am an advocate for the saying "you get what you pay for!" |

And when it comes to tools and meters this is especially true.

That said in my shop I have several high end meters. (Fluke, etc)

In several of my vehicles I have cheap meters from Lowes, HD or even Walmart. |
In emergency situations on the road MOST times the cheap meters do the trick and give me the answers I'm looking for.  (however there are 2 things about them A} they are cheap for a reason  B} there is a reason I have the better more expensive meters in the shop.

As a side note my father who has worked in eletronics just about his whole adult life since getting out of high school and joining the Navy carries a tool bag everywhere he travels and the one thing that is ALWAYS at the top of that bag is his FLUKE meter! (dad will not even unwrap the leads on the "cheap" meters, he will go get his "FLUKE" meter that is I don't know how old but it is OLD every time!)

So back to the batteries I too believe you have batteries that are shot.
Also they are clearly 36 month batteries so if they lasted 3 yrs they have more than done what they were designed to do. They label a battery at just the length of time the expect it to last hoping it will go bad right in the last couple months so you will bring it back "under warranty" in which case they will "pro-rate" it and you get a very small credit towards a new battery from THEM. and Thus they have just sold another battery. (where as if they battery lasts a lot longer than the warranty a person has no gain to replace it with the same battery as what was in it before and might by another brand of battery and they just lost a sale)

And yes there could be something wrong with the wire to the right wiper.
 BK  

[ol713]

     HI;
      I would pull your battery and take it to a Delco dealer.  Usually
      they will charge/check out your battery with no charge.
      Also you can get a cheap digital meter from Harbor Freight
      for a few bucks.  They work as good as any.    If you want
      a better meter, check Ebay for a Actron meter.  Actron has
      more features that you may or may not use.  It is your choice.

                                             Good luck,    Merle.

[TomC]

I just replaced my 2-31 Interstate starting batteries that were 10 years old. I do not have a battery switch. But then, I live in California 10 miles from the coast where it doesn't get much below 40 or over 90 often.
I use a solar panel charger on my truck that has 4-31 starting batteries and it keeps them up nicely. Good Luck, TomC

[pabusnut]

I just replaced the battery in my car--a 2004 VW Jetta TDI.  I couldn't remember ever replacing the battery since I bought the car used in late 2008.  When I pulled the battery out I couldn't believe my eyes---it was the ORIGINAL VW battery!  Yes, 12+ years in Pennslyvania.

Now only if I could buy batteries like that for my bus!

[daddysgirl]

In most cases I am an advocate for the saying "you get what you pay for!" |

And when it comes to tools and meters this is especially true.

That said in my shop I have several high end meters. (Fluke, etc)

In several of my vehicles I have cheap meters from Lowes, HD or even Walmart. |
In emergency situations on the road MOST times the cheap meters do the trick and give me the answers I'm looking for.  (however there are 2 things about them A} they are cheap for a reason  B} there is a reason I have the better more expensive meters in the shop.

As a side note my father who has worked in eletronics just about his whole adult life since getting out of high school and joining the Navy carries a tool bag everywhere he travels and the one thing that is ALWAYS at the top of that bag is his FLUKE meter! (dad will not even unwrap the leads on the "cheap" meters, he will go get his "FLUKE" meter that is I don't know how old but it is OLD every time!)

So back to the batteries I too believe you have batteries that are shot.
Also they are clearly 36 month batteries so if they lasted 3 yrs they have more than done what they were designed to do. They label a battery at just the length of time the expect it to last hoping it will go bad right in the last couple months so you will bring it back "under warranty" in which case they will "pro-rate" it and you get a very small credit towards a new battery from THEM. and Thus they have just sold another battery. (where as if they battery lasts a lot longer than the warranty a person has no gain to replace it with the same battery as what was in it before and might by another brand of battery and they just lost a sale)

And yes there could be something wrong with the wire to the right wiper.
 BK  

Did your dad ever have one of those old Simpson 4" thick meters? They take 2 different batteries and 2 different fuses, and have 6 lead terminals? I have one, but I also have 2 flukes, and several of my favorite digitals. Dad's meter is too busy for me.

[buswarrior]

For what the old fashioned auto shop battery load testers cost...  $21 on Amazon

Add one to the kit, from a proper battery maintenance standpoint, they are brutish, and don't tell the whole story, but it saves you removing and hauling it somewhere that the boob behind the counter goes behind the wall and uses the same tool...

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-BT-100-Battery-Load-Tester/dp/B000AMBOI0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485283058&sr=8-2&keywords=auto+battery+tester

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Jeremy]

For what the old fashioned auto shop battery load testers cost...  $21 on Amazon

Add one to the kit, from a proper battery maintenance standpoint, they are brutish, and don't tell the whole story, but it saves you removing and hauling it somewhere that the boob behind the counter goes behind the wall and uses the same tool...

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-BT-100-Battery-Load-Tester/dp/B000AMBOI0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485283058&sr=8-2&keywords=auto+battery+tester

happy coaching!
buswarrior

I have one of those myself; it's just a big-@$# heating element wired in parallel with the meter, so you're testing the battery voltage (and can see it decaying or maintaining it's strength) when battery is properly under load, rather than simply measuring a fairly-irrelevant surface voltage (which is even more irrelevant if you use a digital meter). You could cobble something together yourself that did the same job, but, yeah, those Schumacher-type units are cheap enough to buy yourself rather than having to cart your battery off to a shop to be tested

Jeremy

[Zephod]

I'll have a go at charging the batteries again, just to make sure. I think it probably is dead batteries. I don't know if the code on the battery of s097p really means September 2007 or not but it could well be or the code explanation could be another of those Internet based fantasies.

I don't have a problem with taking batteries to get them tested. I pass Autozone several times a day. It's no problem to toss a battery in the back of my SUV and take it in for testing. I drive from home to the bus depot and back, twice a day. Being a school bus driver I work a split shift.

It could be one or both batteries that is bad.

I had a look at replacement batteries and it seems that pretty much any group 31 battery will do. As they all seem to be approximately 900cca and 180ah, a cheap pair should work for now. I can get better later. I do wonder about supercap alternatives.


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[luvrbus]

LOL I live in Az if a battery has a 36 month warranty you can bet money it will last 37 months.I just replaced 2 group 78 on the Trek today and yes they were 37 months old 

[gumpy]

You might want to try changing the battery in your cheapo multimeter and see if that makes a difference. However, I believe your bus batteries are probably shot based on your description.

[Gerry H]

Hello: 53 years as a Electronics Tech, I've been through many meters over the years and the ONLY meter I trust EVERYDAY is a Fluke. Expensive for non techs, but true always (unless internal 9 volt battery is dead/near dead or leads are damaged) A quality meter is ONLY a confirmation tool, it will not fix anything. If you know what voltage is supposed to be at a certain point, it will confirm it or not. Skills and knowledge are needed along with a good meter. The cost of buying a Fluke comes down as it ages. Had mine since 1986. The cheap meters WILL get tossed eventually. JMO Good Luck Gerry H

[Beesme]

I also work full time as an industrial electrician my fluke is over 10 yrs old and only meter I will ever use I have owned a few over 3 decades.. I also have a fluke clamp on multi meter that stays in bus . I never leave home without my electrician bag .... Navy also taught me well lol

[Geoff]

The connections on the batteries look pretty dirty.  I would take them apart and scrub them with a wire brush-- cables, nuts, and terminals.  Check battery acid levels, and try recharging them.