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01-07-2017, 10:05 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 4
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Ghost power consumption
Sometimes when I connect to shore power 30 Amp, I get up to 17 amps showing on my inside meter. With nothing plugged in or turned on. after a while it goes back to normal, about 5-6 amps. Any help will be welcomed.
Thanks Ray
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01-07-2017, 10:12 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club Spartan Chassis
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: FORT WORTH, TEXAS
Posts: 2,254
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuffkidd
Sometimes when I connect to shore power 30 Amp, I get up to 17 amps showing on my inside meter. With nothing plugged in or turned on. after a while it goes back to normal, about 5-6 amps. Any help will be welcomed.
Thanks Ray
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It sounds like the battery charger. Is your refrigerator on electric? That may explain the 5-6.
Bill
__________________
2008 Newmar Mountain Aire
450 HP Cummins ISM 4000MH Allison Trans.
Towing a 2014 Honda CRV with a Blue Ox tow bar.
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01-07-2017, 10:12 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 9,155
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuffkidd
Sometimes when I connect to shore power 30 Amp, I get up to 17 amps showing on my inside meter. With nothing plugged in or turned on. after a while it goes back to normal, about 5-6 amps. Any help will be welcomed.
Thanks Ray
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Guessing what you are seeing is the inverter/charger topping off your battery banks........
__________________
2012 Essex 4544 2011 Jeep JK, M&G Braking, 2014 MTI 27' Hog Hauler, Wireless brake control, 2006 Ultra & 1989 Springer
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01-08-2017, 09:22 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
National RV Owners Club Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Horse Town USA, CA.
Posts: 3,597
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As already said probably your inverter/charger or convertr/charger. Some will go into boost mode when first plugged in.
__________________
1999 35 ft. Dolphin 5350, F53, Banks System, 5 Stars Tune, Air Lift Air Bags, Koni Shocks, Blue OX TruCenter, TigerTrak track bars F&R, Roadmaster 1-3/4" rear auxiliary sway bar, 2004 F450 Lariat Pickup 6.0 Diesel Crew Cab DRW, 4X4, GVWR 15,000, Front GAWR 6,000, Rear GAWR 11,000, GCWR 26,000,1994 36ft Avion 5er, GVWR 13,700, 2,740 Pin Weight.
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01-08-2017, 09:28 AM
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#5
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chboone
As already said probably your inverter/charger or convertr/charger. Some will go into boost mode when first plugged in.
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Thanks, I did just replace all 4 coach batteries
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01-08-2017, 09:31 AM
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#6
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WILDEBILL308
It sounds like the battery charger. Is your refrigerator on electric? That may explain the 5-6.
Bill
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5-6 amps is normal with things plugged in but not turned on, fridge is electric, micro clock, and such
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01-08-2017, 09:56 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 487
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuffkidd
Sometimes when I connect to shore power 30 Amp, I get up to 17 amps showing on my inside meter. With nothing plugged in or turned on. after a while it goes back to normal, about 5-6 amps. Any help will be welcomed.
Thanks Ray
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Let's dig a little deeper here. How long is it before you shut your engine off and plug in your shore power? Is it immediately or do you take your time? What is the voltage on the batteries just before you plug in to shore power?
It sounds to me that your alternator in your coach engine compartment may not producing enough voltage to charge the batteries while you are under way. When you get to the CG the shore power is connected and your battery charger is making up the charge difference your alternator didn't or couldn't. It could mean that your battery charger is set too high. It could also mean that your fluid level in your batteries is low and you could be burning up plates trying to get 13.5 volts out of a battery that doesn't have the capacity because of low fluid. Or your batteries are getting weak and will not hold a charge. All these things could be in question, but having a 17 amp charge on batteries that should have been fully charged when the engine was on for a period of time makes me question some things. The only thing that could be normal is taking your time to hook up to shore power and running an appliance in the meantime. The only way to really know is to check the voltage AND the amperage. Without knowing the voltage it is hard to determine what is going on.
__________________
Bill & Mary USN 69-73 ASW Technician, MBA.
2006 Tiffin Allegro Bus QDP 1060 watts solar
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee '16 Polaris Razor 4
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01-08-2017, 07:11 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club Spartan Chassis
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: FORT WORTH, TEXAS
Posts: 2,254
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billdreamlv
Let's dig a little deeper here. How long is it before you shut your engine off and plug in your shore power? Is it immediately or do you take your time? What is the voltage on the batteries just before you plug in to shore power?
It sounds to me that your alternator in your coach engine compartment may not producing enough voltage to charge the batteries while you are under way. When you get to the CG the shore power is connected and your battery charger is making up the charge difference your alternator didn't or couldn't. It could mean that your battery charger is set too high. It could also mean that your fluid level in your batteries is low and you could be burning up plates trying to get 13.5 volts out of a battery that doesn't have the capacity because of low fluid. Or your batteries are getting weak and will not hold a charge. All these things could be in question, but having a 17 amp charge on batteries that should have been fully charged when the engine was on for a period of time makes me question some things. The only thing that could be normal is taking your time to hook up to shore power and running an appliance in the meantime. The only way to really know is to check the voltage AND the amperage. Without knowing the voltage it is hard to determine what is going on.
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It has been my experience that most chargers will automatically go into charge mode when first plugged in then in a few minutes when it detects the charge is adequate it tapers off. 
Bill
__________________
2008 Newmar Mountain Aire
450 HP Cummins ISM 4000MH Allison Trans.
Towing a 2014 Honda CRV with a Blue Ox tow bar.
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01-08-2017, 07:39 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 387
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Yep, you have a Monaco with a Magnum charger/inverter!
To prove it is the charger you can turn the charger off on the Magnum control panel. This should drop the amperage down to 6 amp. Then switch your Norcold refer to LP and the draw will go to 0-1 amp.
Now you can turn the charger back on and set the refer back to auto.
I presume you have been driving for a while before hooking up. If it takes a while for the charger to top off the batteries after hooking up, you may have a bad Trombretta relay that keeps the engine alternator from charging the house batteries.
Common problem!
__________________
2005 Monaco Knight 40PLQ
2013 Ford Edge
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01-08-2017, 07:54 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 487
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xydial
Yep, you have a Monaco with a Magnum charger/inverter!
To prove it is the charger you can turn the charger off on the Magnum control panel. This should drop the amperage down to 6 amp. Then switch your Norcold refer to LP and the draw will go to 0-1 amp.
Now you can turn the charger back on and set the refer back to auto.
I presume you have been driving for a while before hooking up. If it takes a while for the charger to top off the batteries after hooking up, you may have a bad Trombretta relay that keeps the engine alternator from charging the house batteries.
Common problem!
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Yep...
__________________
Bill & Mary USN 69-73 ASW Technician, MBA.
2006 Tiffin Allegro Bus QDP 1060 watts solar
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee '16 Polaris Razor 4
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01-10-2017, 01:26 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 4,022
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15 Discovery 40E
My initial draw is the electric hot water heater and the battery charger.
__________________
Full Timers.
2015 Fleetwood Discovery 40E on a Freightliner XCS chassis with a Cummins ISL9 pulling 1 and/or 2 motorcycles, '07 Honda Accord OR a 17' Runabout Boat.
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