Community Forums

deltabravo · 10-28-2010, 05:46 PM

We have a 2007 Phoenix Cruiser 2100. We love it - however the batteries run down quickly when the vehicle sits for even several hours. We don't want to have to run the generator all the time and wonder what might be causing the draw down of the batteries.

OneRVer · 10-28-2010, 08:41 PM

How old are the batteries? Have you check the water level in the batteries?

nbounder · 10-28-2010, 08:41 PM

Two main causes - 1) ancillary discharge. This would be from a fridge that is switched to the 'high humidity' setting, which runs a heater24/7. Or a radio, light, or other appliance that never really shuts down, etc. 2) You might have a bad cell in one battery which draws it down quickly even without a load. To check, disconnect the negative cable (the cable that goes fromm the battery minus to the chassis ground. See if the battery still goes dead. if so, the batteries should be tested at a professional shop.

Fossilhog · 10-30-2010, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbounder

Two main causes - 1) ancillary discharge. This would be from a fridge that is switched to the 'high humidity' setting, which runs a heater24/7. Or a radio, light, or other appliance that never really shuts down, etc. 2) You might have a bad cell in one battery which draws it down quickly even without a load. To check, disconnect the negative cable (the cable that goes fromm the battery minus to the chassis ground. See if the battery still goes dead. if so, the batteries should be tested at a professional shop.

Check to se if the propane leak detector and CO detectors are on....if not plugged in, I turn off my batter dieconnect switch.

GaryKD · 10-30-2010, 08:46 AM

Hi deltabravo,
Welcome to iRV2. The problem is either the batteries or the drain on the batteries.

The batteries are the easy to check. Consider starting there first.
1. If they are the kind you add water to, is the water covering the cells? If not, add water to cover the cell plates. Use only distilled water.
2. If the water is okay, measure the VDC when the batteries are fully charged. To do this you will need a meter (preferably a digital meter that has a clamp on AMP measurement capability).
3. Fully charge the batteries, remove the source of power charging the batteries. Turn off everything you can think of. If there is a coach disconnect switch, turn it off.
4. What is the VDC reading immediately after completing #3? It should be around 13 to 13.5 VDC.
5. What is the reading after letting the coach sit for about 2 hours? It should be 12.6 VDC or greater.
6. If this is not the case, remove the batteries and take them to your favorite auto parts store or battery store. Have them do a load test. This is the final answer on the batteries. They are either okay or need to be replaced.

7. If the batteries are good, there is quite a drain on them. Do you have an inverter? If so, turn it off.
8. Make sure there is no source to charge the batteries and they are fully charged.
9. Take the meter and use the clamp on AMP measurement to measure the draw on the batteries. To do this put the clamp on,,,on the positive wire from the batteries to the coach.
10. Somewhere in the coach there should be a 12 VDC fuse buss. Remove one fuse at a time until the AMP draw on the batteries drops significantly.
11. You have found the guilty circuit.
12. Now you'll need to determine what is on that circuit and make appropriate changes to minimize the battery drain.

kidashley25 · 03-30-2011, 02:27 AM

There is no "standard" interval for the replacement of automotive batteries because there are so many different batteries with different characteristics.

The time to replace an battery is when it will no longer accept and hold a charge.

______________________
pt cruiser parts
Direct OE Replacement Parts

Cat320 · 03-30-2011, 09:26 AM

When the vehilcle "just sits" try turning off the master battery switch. As mentioned above, there are many items that draw constant power even when "off."