Batteries

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Z

ztimbo

Member
Joined
May 25, 2007
Posts
22
Location
Austin, Texas
In my recently purchased coach, the owner told me all it needed was new coach batteries.  I replaced them and the gen, slide, ... worked fine.  Now a week later, they are dead again.  Am I leaving something on, or could something be draining them Im not aware of?
Should they be disconnected completely when at rest?

Thanks
 
    It is information gathering time.  If you have been charging the batteries off of the 110 inverter, you need to check to make sure the inverter is working.  Similarly, if you are charging off of the rig's alternator you will need to check to see if it is charging.  Once that is established, then go looking for the drain, be it a short or something systemic.  The other thing youy have not mentioned is what did you use for batteries, most RVers recommend deep cycle batteries, and many use golf cart batteries, or Gel batteries, both of which provide longer life.
    But the quick answer to your question is that you have a problem.  Batteries should not go dead in a week.  One other thought, is the unit in storage, if so, check the frig setting to make sure it is off, and make sure that you shut off the kill switches.

Ed
 
Hfx_Cdn said:
Batteries should not go dead in a week.
Click to expand...

Eh, I don't know about that.  If left connected and 'on', there are all kinds of small battery drain items in a MH that could be linked in with your house batteries and draining them.  Display panels, electric steps, LP detectors, radios that still draw slight voltage even when turned off, etc.

Is your motorhome in a spot where you cannot leave it plugged in to standard household current, when you are not camping?  I've found that's the best way to keep the house batteries topped off.
 
There are several "Phantom" loads on an RV, these may include (But not be limited to) any of the following

Explosive Gas (Propane) detectors
Control power for Fridge, water heater, furnace, air conditioners
Smoke and CO detectors
Step motor control

If the rig is not connected to shore power, or equiped with a solar charger, you should operate the battery disconnect switch.
 
scottydl said:
Eh, I don't know about that.  If left connected and 'on', there are all kinds of small battery drain items in a MH that could be linked in with your house batteries and draining them.  Display panels, electric steps, LP detectors, radios that still draw slight voltage even when turned off, etc.

Is your motorhome in a spot where you cannot leave it plugged in to standard household current, when you are not camping?  I've found that's the best way to keep the house batteries topped off.
Click to expand...

I am going to move into it in 2 months, so it is sitting in the driveway connected to nothing.  It has a solar panel, but I think that goes to the engine battery.  The steps come out when I open the door, so I assume thats connected to the engine battery also.  Ive looked through the manual, but it doesnt cover anyhing in depth, much less electrical stuff.
Can these brand new deep cells be recharged?
I will be connected to shore power in 2 months, but I would really like to grasp the concept before then.
Thanks
 
Driveway = driveway to your house?  Drag an extension cord out there an plug 'er in!  :)  Maybe you have a setup that prevents that.  You should be able to recharge your batteries with the coach's charging system, either by household current or generator.  Check your dashboard for a "boost" or "battery" switch that will temporarily connect the house and chassis batteries - that will allow you to start the genset even with dead house batteries.  However, the generator would have to run a REALLY long time (a day or two) to fully charge, so plugging in would be the best bet.  Or you can use any standard 12v automotive battery charger, connected directly to the house battery leads.  The solar panel probably IS connected to the house batteries if wired correctly, but rarely do those actually generate enough energy to keep batteries charged up.
 
Your batteries should recharge with no problems, since they are new and still in good shape except for the discharge. Either plug the coach in or run an extension cord and use an external battery charger. A regular wall outlet (15A) is enough to keep the charging system going.

They might run down in a week due to the phantom loads the others described. Some take longer and a few or less, but it does happen. Using the battery disconnect switch will extend the time but won't stop it altogether, since a wet cell batetry will self discharge with nothing at all connected to it.
 
My next move would be to use an ammeter on your house batteries to see exactly how much parasitic current is being pulled from them.  If you are approximately in the 1/2 amp or less area, then I would call that a fairly typical parasitic load.  If you do have a nominal parasitic drain, then I either suspect the batteries aren't being fully charged for whatever reason, or you might have a bad cell or multiple cells causing the batteries to self-discharge.
 
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