Community Forums

cholmes · 09-06-2014, 08:21 PM

does a fridge running on propane use battery power? I had mine on lp all day and a couple of lights on for 2 hours and the house batteries were down to 9.6 volts. I was barley able to start the generator.

fastcat · 09-06-2014, 08:47 PM

The fridge has electronics that draw some power but by itself it would run for days before drawing down your house batteries. Even adding in a couple lights should not cause your situation. There's something more at play here.

How may coach batteries and how old are they?

cholmes · 09-07-2014, 05:35 AM

It's a 2014 Winnebago Class a 35P. Turned everything off overnight and still got the low voltage alarm this am.

ChasA · 09-07-2014, 07:13 AM

Are you plugged into shore power? If so, your converter isn't working. If you don't have access to shore power try running your generator. If the batteries still don't start getting charged, you need to see why the converter isn't working. Check the circuit breaker in your main AC panel. Try these and come back here and let us know what you found.

IMDSailor · 09-07-2014, 07:25 AM

There are lots of other parasitic loads while your on batts. Smoke and LP gas detectors to name but two.

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3wheeljunkie · 09-07-2014, 09:59 AM

Check the water level on your battery's mine were low from the dealer?

dennis45 · 09-07-2014, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cholmes

It's a 2014 Winnebago Class a 35P. Turned everything off overnight and still got the low voltage alarm this am.

Assuming the batteries were fully charged to begin with, sounds like you have a battery and or battery charging problem.
Have you ever checked the water level, cleaned the cable connections? Regular Battery Maintenance is crucial to battery life.

When plugged in to shore power, take out your Digital Voltmeter and check the battery voltage across the battery bank. You should read 13.6 - 13.7 VDC. If you are seeing a higher voltage, your converter may be overcharging the batteries causing them to run dry. In this case, it is new battery time and time time look into your charging system so you don't cook the new ones.

Google RV Battery Maintenance and you will find a Plethora of information on the subject.

Skip426 · 09-07-2014, 10:28 AM

Batteries drawn down to 9.6v would take days to recharge, fully; from gen set or shore power ; if they would come back at all.

More info at

The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1).

BluBounder · 09-07-2014, 10:37 AM

If you have a Dometic refrigerator, you may have a couple of switches on the upper edge of the refrig at the top of the door openings. You have to open the door(s) to see them. One is a low ambient temperature switch for running in cold temps and the other is a heater that - on the side by side two door refrigerators at least - keeps condenstaion from forming on the outer walls of the unit between the refrigerator and the freezer. These are both 12 volt circuits, and the heater in particular will drain the batteries.

sirpurrcival · 09-07-2014, 10:49 AM

The electronics used to run things like fridges, smoke alarms etc. require only the most minimum amounts of current. The OP can be assured that they are not responsible for batteries drawing down over the course of a day. This is a 2014 vehicle so one assumes that batteries are new so aged batteries are not the culprit either. As has been posted above, there is either a bad battery issue or a charging issue.

crockwood · 09-07-2014, 03:49 PM

Cholmes, since it's on propane, it uses very little battery power for the circuit board/ controls on fridge. At 9.6 volts, batteries are dead, remove batteries and get charged/ checked out. Take pics and make notes of cables/ wiring connections. Are batteries 12volt or 6volt?? It's possible you have a bad battery, but doubtful. It's probably a drain. Always disconnect negative battery cable when in storage.

jcullipher · 09-07-2014, 07:27 PM

One day of fridge and two lights would not drain good batteries that fast. Assuming no shorts, either batteries are bad or converter is bad and never charged properly. Warranty will dictate your next move though.

IMDSailor · 09-08-2014, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirpurrcival

The electronics used to run things like fridges, smoke alarms etc. require only the most minimum amounts of current. The OP can be assured that they are not responsible for batteries drawing down over the course of a day. This is a 2014 vehicle so one assumes that batteries are new so aged batteries are not the culprit either. As has been posted above, there is either a bad battery issue or a charging issue.

That is good to know, thanks.

cholmes · 09-08-2014, 06:14 AM

Lots of good ideas, thanks. It seems the most likely problem is the batterys (2 12v) got discharged while sitting waiting for a repair and have not recharged enough. Or one may have good bad. Now to get a tester and check condition. Coach has been in service full time for 20 months except for 1 month sitting waiting for a repair part.