Camper Battery Charging Issue

[Nevrdun]

Hi, I plugged my 1995 Lance 1030 and after a while I began to get a rotten egg smell. I unplugged the camper and discovered one of the two house batteries was very hot.

Notes:
1) On a three day camping trip this week the solar panel would not bring the batteries up above the red low battery level indicator.
2) Previous to this trip I had the camper plugged in for a several days did not bring the battery level above the yellow.
3) The solar panel seemed to bring the battery indicator up to the yellow but would not hold a charge overnight. I am wondering if my batteries are no good, is the inverter overcharging, is there a shut off malfunctioning that would allow the batteries to overcharge? Do I need dealer level service?

Any input is appreciated and welcomed. Thank you in advance

[h45wt]

Something else to consider. Many of the older campers used convertors that did not do smart charging. I believe Magnatek was one of them. They just charge at a fixed rate and never stop as long as they are plugged in. That can cause the acid it the battery to boil out. The newer units with smart charges mostly avoid this issue. Look and see what brand convertor you have and replace if needed so you don't cook your new batteries.

[towpro]

I would remove both, charged them independently of each other, than have then load tested by a battery store.
How old are these batteries? You might find in the long run its better to just replace the pair.

That rotten egg smell is caused by the sulfuric acid in the battery boiling. Its also releasing hydrogen gas which is explosive.

Yes ago when I was an Mechanic apprentice my boss pulled me over to show me how to charge a totally dead battery using a 2nd good battery that would excite the charger so it would turn on. He pulled the charger cable off a battery and the spark blew up the battery in his face. My job was to hose him down to get the acid off his face. There was plastic stuck 12' up in the drywall. I will never forget that demonstration

[pianotuna]

Supercharged111 wrote:
I thought rotten egg smell was basically a death sentence for the battery?

You are correct.

[Supercharged111]

I thought rotten egg smell was basically a death sentence for the battery?

[AnEv942]

Sounds like battery dumped a cell, (or no water).
Couple of times this has happened to me, one of the batteries dumping cell. As it cant take or hold a full charge fools charger (solar and/or converter) into delivering charge. continuously.

most places that sell batteries can test

[jimh406]

If you had it plugged in for several days and didn’t fully charge, it’s almost certain at least one battery is bad. Most people say replace both at the same time. That’s what I would do.

Btw, most RV batteries are only warranted for 2 years, so any time longer than that is good.