Community Forums

kqs-curtice · 03-16-2013, 10:14 AM

We are new owners of a 2002 Monaco Windsor and seem to be losing house battery power overnight. While driving back from Nashville to Ohio (9 hours) we lost power even the dashboard radio quit, therefore we couldn't get the generator started to recharge. The inverter was off. We ran a little bit of heat but not much. Plugged in at home charged up and then unplugged to test. The batteries drained down 60%, and let me just say, we put 4 new batteries in prior to all of this happening. Has anybody experienced this issue, if so, where do we begin?

Steve Ownby · 03-16-2013, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kqs-curtice

We are new owners of a 2002 Monaco Windsor and seem to be losing house battery power overnight. While driving back from Nashville to Ohio (9 hours) we lost power even the dashboard radio quit, therefore we couldn't get the generator started to recharge. The inverter was off. We ran a little bit of heat but not much. Plugged in at home charged up and then unplugged to test. The batteries drained down 60%, and let me just say, we put 4 new batteries in prior to all of this happening. Has anybody experienced this issue, if so, where do we begin?

Make sure the battery cables are clean and tight. The negative cable attachment to the chassis in very important and should be inspected and cleaned up. When you say " charged up and unplugged to test" what exactly do you mean? Did you allow the on board inverter/charger to do the charging. How long and to what state of charge did you charge the batteries. Charge the batteries again and then take all the cabling off and test each battery separately. It's best to use a load tester which is pretty cheap at Northern tool to really see the condition of the batteries. I suspect you are not getting a good charge into the batteries or you have one weak battery pulling down the whole bank.

Good luck & let us know.

GaryKD · 03-16-2013, 11:04 AM

Hi kqs-curtice,
We need to be a bit more controlled on the testing in order to help. Try these steps:
1. charge the batteries for a couple of days
2. take a VDC reading with the measurement device of your choice
3. disconnect from shore power
4. Wait a couple of hours and take another VDC reading (should be >12.6 VDC)
5. Let the coach sit overnight disconnected from shore power and with everything in the coach off. Don't worry about the minimal parasite drain.
6. The next morning take another VDC reading
7. Reconnect to shore power
8. If the reading in step 6 was <12.4 VDC one needs to have a load test done. One can purchase the tool (100 AMP minimum) or take the batteries to your favorite battery store. The batteries need to be fully charged before the load test.
9. All this will tell you if the batteries have a bad cell. It may not tell you if they are just worn out.
If everything checks out okay, one can:
10. purchase new batteries
11. put the batteries back in the coach and start checking for a drain on the batteries. This will require having everything in the coach off and then connecting a meter, in line, with the positive cable leading from the batteries to the coach. The meter should be set on AMPS. If there is more than a minimal draw, you'll need to start pulling fuses until you find the guilty circuit.

Sorry for the complexity, but it is never quick or fun working with a VDC problem.

kqs-curtice · 03-16-2013, 12:25 PM

Thanks Steve... Do you know where the ground for the house batteries is?

Steve Ownby · 03-16-2013, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kqs-curtice

Thanks Steve... Do you know where the ground for the house batteries is?

It should be at the back or behind the battery compartment. You will see a spot on the frame rail of the chassis with a big lug welded to to it and a heavy gauge Cable attached.

Tony Lee · 03-16-2013, 12:54 PM

Why exactly did you replace all four batteries just recently?

Who replaced the batteries?

Did this problem become apparent first time you had to use the batteries after replacing them?