Community Forums

danford50 · 03-05-2018, 06:48 PM

Need some information about a drain on my battery, i used our coach in January and here it is 5 th of march i checked the voltage and it read 11.91 it had 500 amp this is something that always happen after a few months sitting up my battery dropped below 12 volts, keep in mind my coach is always plugged in to power any ideas what could be drawing power from. my battery disconnect is in the store position.

waroland · 03-05-2018, 06:53 PM

If you are talking about your house batteries, the battery disconnect does not remove all loads on your battery such as carbon monoxide monitor. If you are plugged into power, why do you disconnect battery and not let you system keep your battery charged?

WA Larry · 03-05-2018, 06:54 PM

Often the batteries won't be charged by the converter unless the battery switch is turned ON. Check yours by turning the switch ON, then check to see if you are getting charge voltage to your batteries.

danford50 · 03-05-2018, 07:01 PM

should i have my battery disconnect in the on or off to charge my battery?

hclarkx · 03-05-2018, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danford50

should i have my battery disconnect in the on or off to charge my battery?

If you will plug your rv in when it is in storage, most likely you should leave all switches and controls just as they are when you are on the road and using the RV. The converter will charge and then float the battery at home just as it does when you are hooked up in an RV park. I.e., the circuit breaker for the converter should be in the on position and any battery disconnects should be in the closed position.

Lead-acid batteries will self-discharge even if fully disconnected. The voltage and charge will be down noticeably in a few months. Lead-acid batteries will live longest if kept fully charged and floated at a voltage somewhere north of 12.6V, usually around 13V.

The only exception to the above would be a lithium battery (LFP). They can be treated like a lead-acid battery but for longest life, there are some steps that should be taken during storage.

YC1 · 03-05-2018, 07:44 PM

As suggested you may need to leave switches on. For example there is often one near the entrance that shuts of a major bunch of things.

This is of course while connected to shoreline.

You need to do a simple test.

Get a voltmeter and measure the voltage across your batteries. Then set the vehicle in the manner you are leaving it.

If you are not seeing 13.5 across the banks then go back and turn the switch on inside the coach that probably disconnected the charge line.