Community Forums

Rburian · 05-23-2014, 11:26 AM

The house batteries are slowly discharging, after the salesman switch is turned off, about a 20% reduction in 24 hrs, I have solar, seems odd to be experiencing discharge. When I turn off chassis battery switch, no discharge, any thoughts?

dennis45 · 05-23-2014, 11:36 AM

Suggest editing your signature to show what make/model etc we are talking about.
Normally the chassis battery will have some parasitic load for various electronic functions. For this reason, you have a Chassis Disconnect Switch. The so called Salesman Switch only disconnects the House Batteries.

Rburian · 05-23-2014, 12:01 PM

My point is that the Salesman switch does not seem to be cutting off all power to the house batteries, however if I shut off the house main battery switch there is no discharge,
.
Bob B
2005 HR Scepter , new to me

dennis45 · 05-23-2014, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rjburian

My point is that the Salesman switch does not seem to be cutting off all power to the house batteries, however if I shut off the house main battery switch there is no discharge,
.
Bob B
2005 HR Scepter , new to me

Are you sure your Solar Panel is connected to the Batteries?
Then, with the SW in the Off position, remove the Neg cable from your battery bank and put an ammeter from the terminal to the post. Check to see if the reading is higher than the output of the Solar Panel.
Then, it's a matter of going over each device to find where the draw is coming from. Not much help I know but that is basically what your RV Tech would do at $100 per hour.
Maybe another Scepter owner will chime in that had a similar issue and she'd more light on your problem.
The other possibility is that your batteries are no good. Suggest getting them load tested before going too much further. Also, check the Converter Output. Battery Voltage should read Max 13.6 - 13.7 VDC if it is working properly.

Rburian · 05-23-2014, 02:09 PM

Thanks, will do the test with the neg. battery cable removed, house batteries are new.

Bob

Pusherpilot · 05-23-2014, 09:18 PM

On our 04 HR Imperial the solar panels function is to keep the chassis batteries up not the house batteries. I'm no sure what they are but there are some house dc functions that are not shut off with the salesman switch.
Ron

Luv2go · 05-23-2014, 09:32 PM

A lot of times the inverter does not go through the salesman switch, too much current for the relay to handle. Does your coach have one?

ShapeShifter · 05-24-2014, 05:44 AM

On my rig, there are still a few key circuits that are not cut off by the salesman switch, like the refrigerator. There could be some phantom load on one of those circuits. My first step would be to turn off the salesman switch, then try everything and see what still works.

Also, don't discount dirt on the top of the batteries. A good layer of dirt can attract moisture, and it forms a leakage path for current right across the top of the battery. 20% in 24 hours seems rather much for this scenario, but something to check.

There are often several positive cables coming off of the battery bank - big ones going to the inverter, slides, main fuse panels, etc. and smaller ones going to some other circuits. Measuring the standby current into each of them then tracing the cable with the parasitic load on it might help you narrow it down.

YC1 · 05-24-2014, 06:17 AM

Are your engine batteries new too?

If not, the solar could be keeping the combining solenoid engaged which would keep both battery banks connected. If your engine batteries are sick they could draw both banks down.

I won't go into the details of how that works until your issue is isolated. If you want to dig into how the system works do a search with BIRD in the search field.

Measure the voltage on each bank of batteries with the sun shining on the solar panels. The voltage should be the same if the BIRD is working properly.

Pusherpilot · 05-24-2014, 03:55 PM

If your 05 Scepter has Aladdin you should be able to see the solar panel voltage on it.
Ron

Rburian · 05-28-2014, 12:29 PM

Check the circuit today , when battery cutout(salesmanship switch) is off, all inside circuits are off, however I get a reading from the RC7 display with flashing indicating battery is full, And I was able to switch on the inverter even though the salesman switch is off. Is this normal?

Bob.
2005 HR Scepter
.

ShapeShifter · 05-28-2014, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rjburian

And I was able to switch on the inverter even though the salesman switch is off. Is this normal?.

It probably is normal. The inverter can draw LOTS of current (a couple hundred Amps) which would be too much to feed through the salesman switch solenoid - it could melt the solenoid contacts, plus with that much current the normal resistance of the contacts, connections, and the necessary extra wire would cause too much of a voltage drop.

If you trace the wires, I'll bet you'll find an as short as possible run of heavy wire from the inverter directly to the batteries.

Rburian · 05-28-2014, 07:17 PM

Thanks, now I know why the house batteries drain, with the salesmans switch off, just re-read manual ,recommend to shut off house battery cutoff when more than 48hrs off shore power.

Bob

tompn · 05-28-2014, 07:35 PM

On my 06 Camelot there is about 6 amp draw on the house batteries when everything (that I can turn off) is off. I have a trimetric 2025 battery monitor that tells me so. During the day the 300 watt solar keeps up and adds to the charge but after the sun goes low the flow goes negative pretty fast. It is best to start with fully charged batteries. I am still chasing where all the load is.

I did pull all the 12 volt fuses (one at a time) to find what was creating the load but found nothing - will keep looking. Some of the thing I have found that are still drawing: CO, LP detectors; Keyless entry (trimark); dash radio (would think is on chassis batt); Intellited EMS; Auto Gen start (light is on); Inverter (as mentioned); Air leveling (light flashing).

Good luck in your hunt for the phantom loads.

Tom