2020 LE II - AGM Batteries overheating, Sulfuric smell, leakage - while on Shore (120A) & Solar

[SNY SD UP]

1. have not made any MOD's to SNYSDUP.  i am still absorbing all that i am reading about mods on the forum...  
2. were hooked to 120A, probably charging from solar.
3. had been hooked up in the driveway for a week with no issues, whilst, cleaning and restocking while in-between outings.
4. Because of the temps (yes it gets hot in ND), i added water to the Black, and disconnected power and went to the City Park and dumped and flushed.
5. returned, and re-hooked to shore power, in the driveway.  it was a bright sunny day, so we were probably again charging from solar.
6. later while outside and inside SNYSDUP, Maggie noticed a rotten egg smell, and looked for something we (or Travel KAT) might have left around inside, from our last outing.
7. when i returned home, i began to sniff around and determined that it was coming from outside, not inside.
8. checked the black hose to see if it was leaking, it was not.
9. sniffing around, i determined that it was coming from the Batt Compartment.
10. unlocked it, and felt the batts.  the s/s front batt was so hot, it was uncomfortable to touch.  the s/s rear was hot, but not as hot as the front.  Both c/s batts seemed normal.
11. disconnected the shore power.
12. began to disconnect the cables, making sure not to touch cable ends to anything whilst removing batteries.  NOTE -  (1) MARK BATTS BEFORE AS THEY SIT IN THE COMPARTMENT.  (2) TAKE PICS BEFORE OF THE CABELING AS IT IS.  (3) if time allows...before disconnecting cables, use "Clap-on to measure line voltage".  it may or not be meaningful/useful.
13. the ZAMP appeared to show it was directing energy to the cables in the batt compartment. 
14. covered the solar panels with a heavy packing blanket, to reduce/eliminate any energy coming from the panels.
15. Tape (black electricians) all the individual connectors coming into the batt compartment,
16. turned off the 4 breakers under the dinette, 
17. taken multiple voltage reading of the Batts, (2) in the 12's, (2) in the 13's. 
18. there were codes appearing on the ZAMP and an alarm.  some are obvious, i.e. 601 - Batt disconnected.  i just check now (6/2) and ZAMP is dark.

i opened a ticked which was read by OTT Cust Service Monday, that day i was asked what type of BATTS (AGM) and the voltage readings after removal, i responded.

So my questions to the forum are; 

1. has anyone experienced this before,
2. what was the cause,   
3. what was the resolution,
4. any additional issues with other components/sub-systems like the ZAMP

 

Kindest Regards to all this "Camping Season"..., i await the collective knowledge/experiences of the forum.

 

[John E Davies]

it sounds like a battery has shorted out internally, a catastrophic condition. That will be easy enough to diagnose for a battery shop or an RV tech. You most likely need at least two new batteries,

I bet that was more than a little unnerving. Hang in there.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Ray and Susan Huff]

We had the battery backup for the server at the school I worked at do something like this . . . . it had an obnoxious smell . . . . like hair permanent solution.  The battery in the server's UPS was too hot to touch.  I evacuated the building, called 911, and had the fire department deal with it.  Fortunately, it was summer and school was not in session!

Definitely more than unnerving . . . 

[geokeg]

Just wondering if yours are the AGM batteries that were made in China?  

[SNY SD UP]