All Batteries going dead

[MSN Member]

From: jbrt1989
Sent: 12/18/2002

I replaced all three batteries on my 76 Chiefton, 2 coach and one chassis. 

The coach sat for over a week while I  prepared it for use and kept a strong charge in all three.   Now I'm hooked up to shore power and all three are dead.  Due to lack of time to charge it, I got yet another chassis battery to get the coach moving, drove several miles round trip and idled for a total of an hour or more, hooked back to shore power that afternoon and by nightfall.. no juice in any again.  The converter must be doing great, I can run off shore power indefinitely. Initially, I drove the rig over 200 miles before getting to my destination and hooking up without incident, starting and stopping several times.  So, my altenator must be fine too. 

Any ideas?  I'm drawing blanks here.  I don't believe there is an isolator installed, that's on my list, but, there has got to be something I'm missing here that's draining my bats while on shore power.  I have the "Dual/Mom" bat switch and I've tried both neutral and Dual settings.  "Mom" is momentary if I'm not mistaken.  The only other switches I've found are the two 20 amp breakers in the coach. Turn those off and the whole coach goes dead.  I'm winter/full-timing for the moment.  So, I'm running furnace, 120V fridge, tv, etc.  Nothing has been affected by any sort of power loss.

As usual, thanks again for advice/help. 

Jeff

jbrt1989@aol.com

[MSN Member]

From: Colin
Sent: 12/19/2002

I have been thinking about your problem and regret that none of us has had any suggestions for you yet.  We should always try to never leave a post unanswered.  Are you the fellow that was driving over to winter on the western slope?  I still think you should have your electrical system checked at a NAPA or an Autozone.  They can hook up their machine to your vehicle while it is running without having to take anything apart.  My next thought would be to check your coach batteries and chassis batteries separately for a current drain while you're hooked up to shore power.  Next I would take your rig by an RV shop and see if they can check your converter.  Even if it delivers the shore power OK it might still have some internal problem that drains your batteries.  If your batteries are OK when you are off shore power it seems that the problem would have to be in the converter.

[MSN Member]

From: jbrt1989
Sent: 12/20/2002

Thanks for the input.. I was sorta thinking along the same way regarding my converter, however, seeing as I'm new to this, I've found it's best to ask vs. jumping to conclusions.  I now have a 40 gallon portable LP tank hooked up to keep me from having to drive the rig to get LP.  I'll have a 2nd one soon to be certain of never running out. 

And, yes, I'm the one wintering in the Rockies.  So far so good.  With the exception of a well learned lesson regarding keeping the grey and black water tanks warm so they can be drained when needed, I've done fine so far.  I must have missed class the day they discussed some sort of skirting and perhaps even a light under the tanks to keep them from freezing. .. on my back under the rig with a hairdryer to the dump valves is an experience I won't soon forget.

[denisondc]

Sent: 12/20/2002

I am impressed that anyone can full-time in their winny in a Colorado winter!

I don’t know much about later winnys, but I would expect that your engine battery should normally be isolated from the coach batteries. On my 72 there is a relay to connect them, mounted inconveniently inboard of the battery tray, that gets its power from a dashboard switch.  That switch wiring isn’t so good anymore, it doesn’t connect them reliably.  Maybe someone solved a similar problem on yours by "permenently" wiring 12v to the coil that energizes that interconnecting relay.  That coil could draw enough to discharge the batteries in a day or less.  It would also be warm while it was energized.

Other things I would suspect: I have had dead coach batteries because the 12v "maintenance" light inside the rear hatch was left on. There is a circuit in my furnace to light the furnace pilot light - which draws an amp or 2 from the coach battery, but is only supposed to be on when you are pushing on the red button - its not visible from the exterior. Does your range hood fan work? - I think that runs off 12 volts and might be siezed. Do you have a radar detector that is on? If you measure the current drawn from your batteries one at a time ( an ammeter in series with the battery post and its terminal) with everything turned off, I think it should be less than 30 milliamps per battery- I think the memory and clock function in a car radio would be about 5 milliamps.     And if you let us know what you discover, we can try to avoid it.    denison

[MSN Member]

From: jbrt1989
Sent: 12/20/2002

don't be too impressed yet, Winter is far from over and has a lot of tricks left up it's sleeve. It's been a day to day thing.  So far hasn't been too bad.  However, as I'm sure many of you know, especially the older coaches, has quite a few "cold spots" near windows and other well thought out places.  Other than the dump tank and battery issues, I've had few problems.  My Atwood water heater leaks like a split melon, so that's been fun.  At nearly 400 bucks, that's just going to have to wait a bit.  I just keep it drained and off except for the hour or so a day so I can shower to save it from killing my demand pump.  My fresh water holding tank is very near the furnace, so the water stays a decent temperature for washing hands, face, brushing teeth, shaving, etc. I could almost shower with it, but, not quite.

I guess the worst inconvienence has been the lack of "luxury" hook-ups.  Had to invest in a sat dish, no a chance of getting TV up there without one.  Can't even get a decent signal on my cell phone or any radio stations. I have to drive to the top of a hill to use those items.  We're talking middle of nowhere here folks.. And no phone hookup.  So, I'm getting my fix of the "real" world here on the net while I'm visiting my folks here in Florida for the holidays. I'm just glad this isn't a lifetime station for me, just temporary for work.

[MSN Member]

From: beach
Sent: 12/20/2002

Just a short question.  Does your fridge run 3 ways like battery propane and electric?  If so, in our newer motorhome the fridge was killing the starter battery when we had the compuer panel taken out so it would only run on propane and electric no more dead batterys and we went thru 10 at least hope it helps

as far as your cell phone get a bag phone they have better reception and output I have one if you want to try it we switched to a regular one a couple of years ago could call Ma from NC with no problem but they did tell us when we had the bag phone disconnected that is a good one to have

[MSN Member]

From: nvdesertrat0775
Sent: 12/21/2002

Hey, Jeff, I hate to point out the obvious, but you only have three possibilities: one, you have a short;
two, your alternator and/or isolator are bad;
three, the batteries, even if new could be bad.

If the isolator is bad, or if the control that prevents overcharging is bad, you could have fried the batteries by staying on shore power. But if you've been close to the RV, you probably would have smelled the "rotten egg" smell of boiling electrolyte.
To test your alternator, start the RV then disconnect the battery. If the motor dies, the alternator is bad. (Make sure you disconnect the 'starter' battery and not the 'carriage'.)
Since the furnace blower/fan draws a LOT of juice, you might want to check the wiring to be sure it isn't drawing from the battery rather than the shore power. It shouldn't, but it could have been rewired.
Are the carriage batteries deep cycle? Are they perhaps two 6-volts, rather than one 12volt? (two 6-volts is preferable). If they are 'regular' 12-volt, one total discharge could've ruined them. If that happened, they simply won't hold a charge overnight.
Hope this helps!
Hey, Beach! I might be interested in the bag phone...I spend a lot of time in the desert, where reception is at best chancy. Do you get service for it in the same way you would for a cell? Or would/could it be set up to use the same service as the cell?

Da Rat

[MSN Member]

From: Faderz
Sent: 12/21/2002

I was having the same problem (dead batteries), until someone here advised me not to put the Dual/Batt switch in the Dual position except while driving. Since learning this -- no problems at all with the batteries.

This little switch, on the other hand, has definitely been the most challenging fix on the rig! I replaced the little relay coil, but still have to occasionally use alligator clips to "jump it" before the Dual/Batt switch will work (by briefly connecting two posts on that relay).

A couple of things I always keep in the rig: hanger strap (for when a tank falls off -- just kidding , and electrical wire. I just discovered, for instance, that my alternator was down to its last 4 strands of wire - and my goal is to NEVER have to pop the hood on a trip! Come to think of it, the Dual/Batt switch has worked fine since I replaced those....

[Daniel Bolger]

Simple test see if you have some drawing from the batteries I take test light take the batteries cable off (does not witch one) hook test light to the batteries and the other in to the cable  If the light come one  some staying one in you RV    Start by pulling fuse out till the light goes off and disconnect stuff it hook u to the batteries    The light must be off If not you batteries will go dead