Another 12v charging question

"I've paged through 15&#43

"I've paged through 15+ pages of threads looking for the answer to my particular question. Not finding a specific answer, I posit this:
I bought a 2002 2859 Cierra from a local who wasn't mechanical. I have two deep cycle 12v's, one I use for cranking, the other as the house. Within 15-18 hours of water pump use (minimal) and reefer my house battery dies. Using a Honda 2000i, I ran the onboard battery charger and watched it cycle through its recognition phase and see it not recognize that battery #2 needs an 8amp charge, instead it defaults to the 'absorbtion' mode and delivers 1amp.
Next, I ran the engine up to 1200rpms and find the alt is charging only the #1 battery and not #2. I have a switch selector and at this point, I don't remember if I switched between the two during the engine phase, but I bet that I did and still didn't get a charge. I just had them tested and replaced (the new one was bad) by NAPA, so, I'm fairly confident that it is the system and not the batteries.
So, what am I missing?

Chillin' in Alaska"

"Mitch,

I'm assuming yo

"Mitch,

I'm assuming you have taken both batteries off the selector switch and verified that they hold a charge, electrolyte testing, etc...

My knee jerk is that it's a selector switch issue. Most switches have very specific connection methods and operations. Many of the lower end switches don't allow you to charge both batteries except in the "Both" selection. Here is a link to a couple of articles that discuss on the settings.

http://www.jerrylabella.com/ship_shape2.htm

http://members.toast.net/boatguy/dualbatt1.htm

Hope it helps"

"Thank you, thank you, thank y

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! The more I think about and research it, I'm in agreement with you. I'll double check this weekend and I'm taking a third battery down to wire in parallel with my other house battery. From what I can find out, with just the reefer pulling the amps, I shouldn't be losing the battery that fast. I must have another draw, or the battery is crap. I did have them both tested and the brand new NAPA POS was exactly that, a dead POS. Thanks for the links.
Chillin' in Alaska"