Community Forums

Rolly Zimmer · 04-19-2013, 02:29 PM

I have just got my 2006 Monaco Camelot. My chassis batterys go dead aftger 2 days, I have tested them and they are good. Do I have to shut them off on main chassis battery switch when not on Shore power/plugged in ? Thanks for any comments in advance.

Rolly

palehorse89 · 04-19-2013, 02:42 PM

Hello, how did you test your battery's to tell if they were good? Did you take them out and use a load tester to test them? You can get a good reading with a voltage meter and still have a short inside one. You really have a drain somewhere to kill 2 big battery's in 2 days, I never turn my disconnect off unless I am servicing them.

clyon51 · 04-19-2013, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rolly Zimmer

I have just got my 2006 Monaco Camelot. My chassis batterys go dead aftger 2 days, I have tested them and they are good. Do I have to shut them off on main chassis battery switch when not on Shore power/plugged in ? Thanks for any comments in advance.

Rolly

When not on shore power and not in use, yes you should use the coach battery disconnect switch (BDS) and make sure if you have an inverter, it is turned off. However, the safety features (propane, CO2, smoke detectors, ect) are usually not disconnected by the BDS. So, they will eventually run your batteries down. It's always best for your batteries to be on some sort of charge when not in use.

Dunner · 04-19-2013, 03:40 PM

It takes a good 6-8 hours or longer to put a full charge on lead-acid batteries. If you test them with a volt meter right after taking the charger off, you are just reading a surface charge. They need to sit over night with no load to get a true reading. Should be ~12.6v.

Rolly Zimmer · 04-19-2013, 05:33 PM

Wondering if anyone has had an issue with the keypad? Maybe this may be part of my problem, I have been locked out on 4 different occassions for some unknown reason. I also have had the keypad going thru a beeping action until I hit a button I think I shud disable this keypad, a key hid outside will perform admirably I think. Has anyone got any suggestion on this and your past experiences. THANKS

ROLLY

Tony Lee · 04-19-2013, 06:36 PM

Last week my MH suddenly decided not to start after being continuously on the road for three months. Couple of half-hearted turns and a lot of clicking.
Each time I checked the batteries they tested OK with a voltmeter. 12.6V or higher so I suspected a bad connection.

I actually found a couple of bad connections but it didn't make any difference. Nor did operating the battery connect override switch.

Still didn't suspect the batteries because by the time I got back to the rear after trying to start, they showed as fully charged.

Eventually got smart and turned the headlights on and watched the voltage drop like a stone. Swapped two of my house batteries and away we went.

Also had been having problems with the dash meters randomly doing stupid things or not reading at all and this trip it had been getting worse and worse. With new batteries, every meter is working. The batteries have been going bad for a long time and it just wasn't noticeable.

Just relating this to show that battery voltage readings don't always mean much.

If your lock is giving problems and is powered from the engine batteries, then that might be another indication the batteries are suspect

Dunner · 04-19-2013, 07:09 PM

I'm sure you meant chassis batteries, as house batteries have nothing to do with starting, except when you use the aux switch. 12.6 is a good "at rest" voltage.

The electric horn is another good test of batteries. They draw a lot of current. If the horn sounds weak, so are the batteries.

YC1 · 04-19-2013, 09:58 PM

If you are referring to the bank of 4 batteries they could go dead in two days if you leave lots of lights on or the inverter. Not knowing how you tested them leaves plenty of questions. A hydrometer is really a must for me.

I suspect you know little about your rv and could easily have lights on in the bays, the inverter on, fans on, and such. Did you get the operator manual. Mine is 240 pages long and I still look at it after 4 years.

Tony Lee · 04-20-2013, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dunner

I'm sure you meant chassis batteries, as house batteries have nothing to do with starting, except when you use the aux switch. 12.6 is a good "at rest" voltage.

The electric horn is another good test of batteries. They draw a lot of current. If the horn sounds weak, so are the batteries.

Language differences. I stole two of the four 12V batteries from the house battery bank to replace the dead 12V engine batteries so I could get going.