2021 Dutch Star House Batteries Dead Overnight

[Rickinbc]

I bought a used 2021 Dutch Star 4369 about 3 months ago and after driving all day charging, being plugged in or with the generator once the charging stops and you have the inverter on, say an overnight parking lot stopover the house batteries are almost dead and the red low battery light is on. All that was knowingly on was the refrigerator. I suspect if I disconect all the house batteries and test them I may have a battery or two with a bad cell?? Any thoughts and suggestions? Thank you!

[nvs4602]

How many and what type of batteries would be good to know. When was the last time you checked the water level of your batteries?

On our motorhome the 2 lead acid group 27 batteries were lucky to run our residential refrigerator overnight on the 1000watts inverter. I ended up switching to 280ah lifepo4 batteries and no longer have an issue. To calibrate the shunt meter I had to drain the batteries down to zero. I left the lights, television and refrigerator on. It took a little over 22hrs before the BMS shut off the battery.

[Mark_K5LXP]

It's some combination of batteries not being charged, load is too great for the batteries that are there, bad batteries or poor connections. You will have to make some measurements to know what the issue is. A battery monitor would let you know what is happening during operation.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

[USMCRET]

I have eight AGMs. I have found that if I set the AGS to come on at 12.2v, in warm temps it will come on after about 10-12 hr with the only draws being the fridge, basement fridge, and inverter.

[Persistent]

Originally Posted by Rickinbc

I bought a used 2021 Dutch Star 4369 about 3 months ago and after driving all day charging, being plugged in or with the generator once the charging stops and you have the inverter on, say an overnight parking lot stopover the house batteries are almost dead and the red low battery light is on. All that was knowingly on was the refrigerator. I suspect if I disconect all the house batteries and test them I may have a battery or two with a bad cell?? Any thoughts and suggestions? Thank you!

You have not provided enough information to conclude the batteries are defective.
Loose or corroded connections could also be a cause.
Lots of 12 volt devices each drawing a little can be a cause.
Less than complete charging can be a cause.

Battery Storage Capacity
How many of what type of batteries do you have? Are they 6 volt or 12 volt batteries. The spec you want is total amp hours of capacity.

6 volt batteries are combined in series pairs to produce one 12 volt battery. Two 6v 225 amp hour batteries makes a total of 225 amp hours at 12 volts. Two 12 volt 110 amp hour batteries add to make 220 amp hours. Batteries come in widely different amp hour capacities.

Charging Capacity
How many amps of charging from each source are you getting? Engine charging can vary from 10 to 100 amps. How many hours was the engine charging? This combines to make amp hours again. The only way to know is to measure current while charging. It will change under different conditions.

What is the charging capacity of the shore power charger. They come in widely different capacities typically from 10 amps to 100 amps. Provide make and model of charger or charger 12 volt amp capacity.

Charging Lead Acid Batteries
It takes 14 to 18 hours to fully charge a lead acid battery. Four hours using a high capacity charger can provide 80% of capacity. The last 20% charging takes a long time.

Power Consumption
There are many 12 volt devices in an RV that consume battery power. Some are more obvious than others.

Electric refrigerators can consume a lot.
Inverters even while idling can consume a lot.
Water heater, furnace, and A/C controls can consume some even when they appear to be "off".
Entertainment systems cans consume a little even when they appear to be "Off".
Block heaters are big silent consumers.
Water holding tank heaters are silent.
Many other possibilities.

The only way to know for sure is to measure power draw at the battery terminals. Get a shunt type battery monitor and install in the negative lead to the battery bank. It will show current draw and keep track of state of charge better.

It will also show charging current. This is needed to determine charging rate while driving.

[Driveby]

Since this is a new to you coach there may have been some history that you're not party to. IE did this coach ever sit in the freezing weather and harm the batteries at a dealer before sale? Did the PO let them dry out and harm them that way?

I'd start with testing the batteries as that is easy and quick to do. IF they test fine then you're off to hunt for a parasitic load somewhere. Start with the easy stuff.

[Steele]

Originally Posted by USMCRET

I have eight AGMs. I have found that if I set the AGS to come on at 12.2v, in warm temps it will come on after about 10-12 hr with the only draws being the fridge, basement fridge, and inverter.

Your “Phantom” electrical loads are much greater than just the fridge, basement fridge and inverter. Don’t forget all those little power bricks for the TV’s, subwoofer (if equipped). There are more too but even tho they aren’t big users the total can really add up.

[osuallen]

On my 22 DS with nothing running the "Phantom" loads float between 40 to 60 watts. When boondocking I get about the same run time as USMCRET.

[Rickinbc]

Thanks everyone for the input! I am sorry I assumed everyone would know the Dutch Star 4369 would have 8 house batteries, I should have said that. With the short time before the batteries go dead, a few hours compared to what a couple of you said, 10-12 hours I will likely have a bad battery or two. A friend of mine is coming over with some test equipment to check them out and record amp draw. Wether we find a problom or not I may replace all 8 batteries so I have a starting point with this coach.

What do you knowlegible and experienced guys suggest in a replacement battery, Trojans...Duracell??

Thank you!

Rick

[Winemaker2]

Rick
When I replaced my 8 - 6V FLA GC house battya couple yrs ago, on my 2013 VTDP. I used Sams Club Duracell AGM equivalents made by East Penn. I have used a number of East Penn battys with good service life. Nothing wrong with premium $ battys it's just that I question the ability to break even when original price is 1.5X - 2X the price. And do come out ahead those premium battys need to last even longer.
Many will say go LiFePO and that is a different case. They may or may not make sense depending on your budget, expected future use of the MH, frequency of boondocking, etc. I dont know enough about the inverter charger re compatability w LiFePO.
What ever you do take pics & label & diagram all connections to ensure they go back correctly.

[2cyber71]

My 2020 with 6 AGM batteries can go 3 days unplugged with only the fridge running.

[Hodagsugar]

I feel your pain, I have a 2021 used Dutch star that I have for 5 months. We had a trip planned, on are first night out we stop at a Walmart for the night, three hour in with no electric I woke up to dead batteries. So I did some testing and found out that 4 out of eight batteries were bad. So I replaced all batteries with Lifeline GPL4CT batteries and also install victron smartshunt so I can monitor my batteries use. Finally got to test out new batteries yesterday as we lost power due to ice and 15 inch snow in Northern Wisconsin, got over 20 hour of use with lights, heat and tv on most of the day. Very happy with the results.Tom

[Rickinbc]

I think you are correct, there are a few other issues that have appeared, thank you!

[Rickinbc]

Originally Posted by Hodagsugar

I feel your pain, I have a 2021 used Dutch star that I have for 5 months. We had a trip planned, on are first night out we stop at a Walmart for the night, three hour in with no electric I woke up to dead batteries. So I did some testing and found out that 4 out of eight batteries were bad. So I replaced all batteries with Lifeline GPL4CT batteries and also install victron smartshunt so I can monitor my batteries use. Finally got to test out new batteries yesterday as we lost power due to ice and 15 inch snow in Northern Wisconsin, got over 20 hour of use with lights, heat and tv on most of the day. Very happy with the results.Tom

Exactly, last week parked it was only 2 hours, where is the best place to buy those?