Battery Problem

[bounder50]

I have charged my battery to start my motorhome several times and it keeps on losing a charge after two days. I took it in and they replaced both coach batteries and I thought that would take care of the problem. But I still lose the charge in my chassis battery after about two days. Any trouble shooting you would suggest to try and fix the problem of what is draining the battery?

[Jim_HiTek]

All your batteries have parasitic loads which all of us have found various ways to work around. Your coach will have a set of switches that remove some, but not all, of them. Safety devices, like your LP leak detector, the radio memory, etc. will still be powered. The small roof mounted solar panel helps a little but don't depend on it.

What most of us do it to try to keep it plugged into AC when it's parked. And add a small charger for the chassis (starting) batteries to keep them topped off. The inverter keeps the house batteries topped but generally not the chassis battery.

If you can't do that, then the best course of action is to remove the ground leads after the batteries are fully charged.

[Muddypaws]

The most likely answer is that something was left on. Do you have one or two battery cut-off switches? Were they off?

If you can disconnect the batteries momentarily do you get a big spark when you reconnect? Expect to get a small one as there is always 'some' current draw. By some I mean around 200-600 milliamps. That's about what it takes to maintain time and station memory on the radio.

Inverter?

Antenna Amplifier?

12V Lights? (Inside cabinets, closets, etc.)

Propane detector?

C02 detector?

If you have an ammeter hook it up and start pulling fuses. If you pull a fuse and the current draw drops a bunch that circuit is the culprit. Or one of the culprits.

If you don't have an ammeter pull the fuses and look for the ones that throw the biggest spark when reconnected. Most of them should not throw any spark. Radio and propane/C02 detectors are most likely always drawing current.

Good Luck!
Muddypaws

[GaryKD]

Hi bounder50,
Welcome to iRV2. Your question may be specific to your brand and model. Consider posting your question in the Fleetwood Owners Forum. On the iRV2 main page, scroll down about 1/2 way. You'll see all the owners forums sorted by brand. I suggest this because nobody knows your coach like somebody who owns one just like yours.

Having a chassis battery run down after two days requires quite a draw. I know you mentioned you took it in; but I am confused as to why the shop would think the coach batteries would solve the problem with your chassis battery. For me, I'd take the chassis battery(s) to a auto parts store or a battery shop. Make sure the battery(s) are fully charged. Let them test for load. They can tell you if the battery(s) are good or not. If the test says they are good, then one must track down the draw. That can be done by following the previous post(s) instructions.

[DieselOne]

If the isolation diode fails in the alternator there can be massive draw on the chassis batteries. This diode is built into the alternator and can fail if batteries are boosted, charged (even momentarily) or hooked up (even momentarily) with reversed polarity. The cure is to have the alternator rebuilt.