Battery drain

[eastkytriker]

2005 minnie winnie E 450. After setting in storage for a month the chassis battery was completely drained. nothing was left on battery is a Duracell bought new in November 2020. What could be drawing the battery and how to check and find what it is. Thanks in advance

[AudiDudi]

Originally Posted by eastkytriker

2005 minnie winnie E 450. After setting in storage for a month the chassis battery was completely drained. nothing was left on battery is a Duracell bought new in November 2020. What could be drawing the battery and how to check and find what it is. Thanks in advance

Hook up an ammeter to the battery (that will tell you what the draw is) and start pulling fuses - that should give you an idea as to what circuit it is.

[Ron Dittmer]

I have a 2007 E350 chassis. I have to disconnect the battery because after 6 weeks the battery is dead. I understand this is normal because there are things within the chassis that draw power. It has nothing to do with the house.

So I suggest you do as I and others do and disconnect the chassis battery while sitting in storage. Some RV owners add a quick disconnect battery switch located on the battery. Here are a few different styles.

I avoid such critical devices that might fail. With my luck, it would happen at the worst opportune time.....while driving down a mountain byway.

[youracman]

I have an E450 (2006 chassis) and I found my chassis battery was 50 percent discharged in just a couple of weeks of storage! Installed one of the manual switches/disconnects that Ron pictured; so just another easy item on the checklist for storage.

I also installed a Tri-K-L start so no matter how long I stay at a powered campsite the chassis battery will remain fully charged and the knife switch disconnect is just forgotten about until I get home to the storage lot. (I'm a pole-to-pole camper.)

A couple of cheap and easy improvements/upgrades that you will probably be glad you did...... just my $.02

Batt disconnect: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=battery+d..._ts-doa-p_1_15

Trik-L-Start: Mega TRIK-L-START Starting Battery Charger/Maintainer

Stay safe.

[eastkytriker]

I have this disconnect just haven’t been using because I didn’t think l had a drain problem and another problem l have is the boast switch to use the house batteries is not working. Hold the switch in and nothing happens any ideas on that problem

[twinboat]

There is a boost solenoid that's probably bad, they fail often.
Its the same solenoid that allows the chassis battery and charging system to charge the house batteries while on the road.
In some RVs, it also allows the house battery charging system to charge the chassis battery, while on shore power. If that's the case,you don't need to buy add on things.

Find the solenoid by switching the boost switch on and off, while listing for it. If its clunking and not working, good chance its bad. Replace with a continuous duty solenoid.

[Ndrorder]

If the battery is left connected, there are some hidden draws that cannot be turned off without a disconnect. One is the propane detector. It is a constant draw while the battery is connected. It will start beeping when the battery gets low, whiches increases the draw even more. The lower the battery voltage the more often the detector will beep until the battery is toast.


A functioning battery disconnect is a good thing.

[AudiDudi]

Originally Posted by Ndrorder

If the battery is left connected, there are some hidden draws that cannot be turned off without a disconnect. One is the propane detector. It is a constant draw while the battery is connected. It will start beeping when the battery gets low, whiches increases the draw even more. The lower the battery voltage the more often the detector will beep until the battery is toast.


A functioning battery disconnect is a good thing.

I could be mistaken, but I believe the CO/Propane detector is connected to the House batteries, not the Chassis battery in most motor homes.

[CharlesinGA]

Originally Posted by eastkytriker

I have this disconnect just haven’t been using because I didn’t think l had a drain problem and another problem l have is the boast switch to use the house batteries is not working. Hold the switch in and nothing happens any ideas on that problem

What brand? Model? Year?

If a Winnebago, the relays are junk. The contacts in them burn up fast and they don't charge the house batteries nor do they "jump start" the chassis, but they click like they are working (they are, just that the contacts are burned up). The common replacement is a Cole Hersee 24213 which is rated for 200 amps continuous and has silver tungsten plated contacts and lasts "forever".

Charles

[eastkytriker]

Originally Posted by CharlesinGA

What brand? Model? Year?

If a Winnebago, the relays are junk. The contacts in them burn up fast and they don't charge the house batteries nor do they "jump start" the chassis, but they click like they are working (they are, just that the contacts are burned up). The common replacement is a Cole Hersee 24213 which is rated for 200 amps continuous and has silver tungsten plated contacts and lasts "forever".

Charles

It’s a 2005 Winnebago minnie winnie Ford E450 where do I find those relays

[youracman]

Hey Triker-

Here is some info re the location of the relay/solenoid on my rig; it may be helpful if nobody with your same rig answers…… or if you can't find it by cycling the boost switch as described by Twinboat.

I replaced that solenoid (many call it the boost solenoid) + the coach battery isolation solenoid at the same time. Both were working, but they were 10 years old and I had read a lot of posts where either one of them often fail between 10 and 15 years ……….. depending on use, probably. I used OEM hardware (got it from Lichtsen RV.) The hardware Charles mentioned for the boost solenoid is 10X better than OEM but it is a bit tight in there for my 89 yr-old bod so I didn't want to bother with running a ground wire for the Cole Hersee (the OEM solenoid uses a case ground) and possibly different mounting holes. If you are still nice and flexible, go with the Cole Hersee for sure.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cole+hers...s_ts-doa-p_4_9

Disconnect the ground wires from the coach battery(s) and the Ford battery for safety purposes. Remove the large black cover plate shown in the first pic to expose the DC breaker panel shown in the 2nd pic. Then remove the 4 screws holding the breaker panel and pull it outward while rotating it downward a bit (there is ample slack in the wiring behind.) Both the boost solenoid (on the left) and the coach batt isolation (latching) solenoid will be accessible as shown in the 3rd picture; the boost solenoid you're after is shown in the 4th pic. You can enlarge the pics by clicking on them.

On my coach this hardware is located in the first storage bay aft of the pass-side door. Of course your location may be different….. the location varies across models/years.

Good luck with the fix.

Stay safe.

[eastkytriker]

Originally Posted by youracman

Hey Triker-

Here is some info re the location of the relay/solenoid on my rig; it may be helpful if nobody with your same rig answers…… or if you can't find it by cycling the boost switch as described by Twinboat.

I replaced that solenoid (many call it the boost solenoid) + the coach battery isolation solenoid at the same time. Both were working, but they were 10 years old and I had read a lot of posts where either one of them often fail between 10 and 15 years ……….. depending on use, probably. I used OEM hardware (got it from Lichtsen RV.) The hardware Charles mentioned for the boost solenoid is 10X better than OEM but it is a bit tight in there for my 89 yr-old bod so I didn't want to bother with running a ground wire for the Cole Hersee (the OEM solenoid uses a case ground) and possibly different mounting holes. If you are still nice and flexible, go with the Cole Hersee for sure.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cole+hers...s_ts-doa-p_4_9

Disconnect the ground wires from the coach battery(s) and the Ford battery for safety purposes. Remove the large black cover plate shown in the first pic to expose the DC breaker panel shown in the 2nd pic. Then remove the 4 screws holding the breaker panel and pull it outward while rotating it downward a bit (there is ample slack in the wiring behind.) Both the boost solenoid (on the left) and the coach batt isolation (latching) solenoid will be accessible as shown in the 3rd picture; the boost solenoid you're after is shown in the 4th pic. You can enlarge the pics by clicking on them.

On my coach this hardware is located in the first storage bay aft of the pass-side door. Of course your location may be different….. the location varies across models/years.

Good luck with the fix.

Stay safe.

Thanks so much for that info I had looked at the breaker panel but had no idea the solenoid was behind it. It is a tight place to work hard to get both arms in at the same time but I’ll get started soon Thanks again

[chunker]

There are some things that draw power off the chassis batteries such as radio memory and some computer functions. Also dose the radio have a switch where you can select house or chassis batteries for power? My Winnebago A had one.

[eastkytriker]

Yes I have a switch to play radio on house battery but I always turn off the house battery switch by the door when not being used