Rich Moffitt/Flickr Creative Commons
Electricity is definitely one of the best inventions every created. How else would we be able to cook our meals in the oven, watch our shows on TV, charge our cell phones, or see in the dark? The ability for us RVers to take electricity on the road with us, in the form of a battery, is a wonder in itself. But don’t let your battery dies prematurely, or you could be stuck with a dead cell phone and having to cook your dinner over a fire. Proper maintenance of your RV’s battery is very important to getting the most out of it. Here are some tips on getting the most out of your battery.
- Clean the battery of dirt and corrosion
- Disconnect the battery cables, negative terminal first, and clean the cables and terminals with a water and baking soda solution
- If the battery is not sealed, check the electrolyte level. Add distilled water if necessary
- Check all the cables connected to the battery terminals. Make sure they are not frayed or broken.
- Check the terminals to make sure the cables are a tight fit. Replace terminal connections if needed.
- Clean the terminals with a wire brush. This will ensure a good, clean connection.
- Use a thin layer of terminal post grease.
- Carefully reconnect the battery cables.
The most common causes of battery failure are overcharging, undercharging and poor maintenance. Be sure you take care of that battery! I know I forget about it from time to time, I just expect the lights to come on and never really give it a second thought to where it’s coming from. Keeping my battery properly maintained means years of cell phone charging, cooking and catching up on my shows.