Community Forums

kirkpal1 · 06-11-2022, 08:22 AM

My chassis battery goes dead after three days while camping connected to shore power. How to I find the drain cause, and should my shore power keep the chassis battery fully charged?

garykk · 06-11-2022, 08:25 AM

Post your year and model, it will help in diagnosing the problem.

Winterbagoal · 06-11-2022, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkpal1

My chassis battery goes dead after three days while camping connected to shore power. How to I find the drain cause, and should my shore power keep the chassis battery fully charged?

Generally no, shore power isn't typically set up to charge the chassis battery, just the house/coach batteries. That's why folks add hard wired, or use portable charger/maintainers, to keep the chassis battery up while camped/not using the mh engine.
Slide operation without running the engine, or repeated extend retract of the power steps may drain the chassis battery, if configured that way. Sometimes using the dash radio extensively without switching it from chassis to coach batteries (if equipped) could add draw to the chassis battery.

DRM901 · 06-11-2022, 03:53 PM

Does your 2012 Open Road have a trickle charger like our 2014 Allegro Bus did? (I replaced ours after killing 2 sets of batteries with a Blue Sea ML-ACR.) If so, that may be bad.

On our Bus it is located above the chassis batteries, plugged into a standard house outlet.

BRodgers · 06-12-2022, 03:06 PM

Depending on the age of your batteries it may be time to replace them.

kirkpal1 · 06-12-2022, 04:08 PM

2012 Tiffin Alliegro 32A Ford F53 chassis.

kirkpal1 · 06-12-2022, 04:16 PM

no I do not have one.

My concern is that I have owned this coach for over two years and have never had a problem with my chassis battery discharging while on shore power.

I do not know how to use a multi meter to test for a drain on the battery, a little tech support would be great.

**Lt Dan** · 06-12-2022, 06:06 PM

Look in your electric bay for a trickle charger. If you haven't had a problem in the past, then chances are you have a bad charger.

DRM901 · 06-12-2022, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkpal1

no I do not have one.

My concern is that I have owned this coach for over two years and have never had a problem with my chassis battery discharging while on shore power.

I do not know how to use a multi meter to test for a drain on the battery, a little tech support would be great.

I have this one. Just put the clamp around the cable that leaves the battery bank. It will tell you how many amps are being pulled from the bank, but I just think your trickle charger died. Disconnect it from the battery bank and test for voltage.

Yooper2 · 06-13-2022, 05:56 AM

On the subject of battery drain, which batteries are used to start the generator? Last time I tried I got a "low battery" alert and generator would not start. I cranked the engine, and voila the generator started.

And I was told the house/coach batteries had to be topped off with distilled water every now and then. How often will they need water? We have owned our RV for only two months.

DRM901 · 06-13-2022, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRM901

I have this one. Just put the clamp around the cable that leaves the battery bank. It will tell you how many amps are being pulled from the bank, but I just think your trickle charger died. Disconnect it from the battery bank and test for voltage.

Link didn't get posted before.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/8...0&ref_=ast_bln

kirkpal1 · 06-14-2022, 08:13 AM

Thanks to all for your suggestions and comments. I think I may have solved my issue.
In my trouble shooting I had suspected the battery was the root of my issues. I had taken the battery to a two different auto parts places Auto Zone and Wal Mart. Both said the battery had 10.4 V but just needed to be fully charged and it would be ok. After doing all the suggestions given on the post, I checked voltage on the battery and overnight it went down to 10.4 V. I fully charged the battery again to 12.6 volts, disconnected all battery cables and left it overnight. the next morning it was at 10.4 V.

A new $225 battery is now in the coach and overnight it is still fully charged.

Of course, the worst of the story is that my wife told me to buy a new battery from the start............

Lez8ma · 06-22-2022, 07:48 AM

Haha, yes, wives get it right more often than not. Now, I put battery disconnects on the negative terminals of both my chassis battery and coach batteries. When in storage I disconnect them both. If camping for more than a day or two I disconnect the chassis battery. Many rv’s are not set up to charge the chassis battery even on shore power. You will need to buy a multimeter (there cheap) and read the manual on how to use it. Its easy and a important tool with a rv. There will always be something you need to check. You certainly know someone who can show you how to use one!

Kid Gloves · 06-22-2022, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkpal1

Thanks to all for your suggestions and comments. I think I may have solved my issue.
In my trouble shooting I had suspected the battery was the root of my issues. I had taken the battery to a two different auto parts places Auto Zone and Wal Mart. Both said the battery had 10.4 V but just needed to be fully charged and it would be ok. After doing all the suggestions given on the post, I checked voltage on the battery and overnight it went down to 10.4 V. I fully charged the battery again to 12.6 volts, disconnected all battery cables and left it overnight. the next morning it was at 10.4 V.

A new $225 battery is now in the coach and overnight it is still fully charged.

Of course, the worst of the story is that my wife told me to buy a new battery from the start............

It is possible that the condition which killed the old battery still exists. For instance, a load on the battery and no means of charging the battery on shore power. The new battery may hold up better for a day, 3 days, a week or more. If it doesn’t get charged, you could end up handing the battery store another $225.

I’d recommend that you install a device to keep your chassis battery charged while on shore power.