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Old 12-26-2011, 09:09 AM   #5
Bill
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
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Is there a test you can run to determine if you have a good battery on board? I can get a multimeter ...
As Scrubjay and Brulaz are saying, testing the voltage of a battery that has no load on it isn't always meaningful. To approximate a load test, you can put the TM on shore power, wait until the battery is fully charged, then unplug shore power. Wait at least half an hour for the surface charge to go away, then turn on all the lights and fans in the TM. Now, with the load of all those lights and fans, measure the voltage at the battery terminals. Set your multi-tester to "DC Volts" or "VDC", put the red probe on the positive battery terminal and the black probe on the negative terminal.

What voltage should you expect to see from a good battery? Here is where it gets tricky - opinions differ. I would expect at least 12.8 VDC, but others will suggest something that differs by a few tenths. I think everyone will agree that if you see 12.0 VDC or anything less, you are probably looking at a bad battery.

By the way, you have asked some good questions, but your Trial Membership will expire before long, and you won't be able to see the answers. I hope you will consider becoming a Sponsor. The rather small fee will ensure you continue to have access to all the parts of the board that you are now seeing.

Bill
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