Starting Battery Issue

Eric2 · 02-29-2016, 08:26 PM

Starting battery in my 2008 Adventurer is gradually loosing charge while in storage. I charged it up, then disconnected the positive lead to the main post to measure the draw of .28 amps.
Anyone know if this is normal? It's a pain to have to keep throwing the charger on.

Jim_HiTek · 02-29-2016, 08:29 PM

Pretty much normal in my experience. I just bought a Trik-L-Start for my new to me '02 Journey to take care of the same problem. True, it's offered as an option on some Winnies and comes standard on others, so you should check your battery banks. Maybe you have one and it's gone bad?

You can also just disconnect the negative battery lead when in storage and there will be zero draw.

twinboat · 03-01-2016, 06:04 AM

.28 amps over a 24 hour day is about 7 AH. Over a week that's near 50 AH.

If you have 1 average starting battery, you are discharging it to 50% every week. 2 batteries = 50% every 2 weeks.

If you stop by every week or two, you need to run the engine at least an hour or more to recharge it.

If you don't get the battery to 100% charge each time, you are in a death spiral of battery life.
That along with deep cycling it, every week, is probably why so many are dead in a year or two.

I don't know if the draw you see is normal, try disconnecting things to check, but the biggest thing you can do is disconnect the battery while in storage. A solar charger would be another option.

If your looking for the draw, along with the detectors, computers and radios, remove the main power to the alternator. I have seen some that, although they charge, have a high draw, when off.

If you have power at the storage yard, and your system does not charge the chassis battery, get a Trik-L-Start thing.

Hikerdogs · 03-01-2016, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric2

Starting battery in my 2008 Adventurer is gradually loosing charge while in storage. I charged it up, then disconnected the positive lead to the main post to measure the draw of .28 amps.
Anyone know if this is normal? It's a pain to have to keep throwing the charger on.

If you have the original chassis battery I would say it's at or near the end of it's life. Depending on the date of manufacture the battery is a minimum of 7 years old and possibly more than 8 years old.

In addition there's always the parasitic draw of the engine computer, radio, and any other accessories powered by the chassis battery.

From your description it appears you do not have a battery disconnect switch for the chassis battery. We added a chassis battery disconnect switch like this in our 2001 Adventurer:

The Big Switch - FR1003 - 584 - 5465

I installed it in the battery compartment on the wall forward of the chassis battery. The installation took about an hour which included the time to remove the chassis battery to mount and wire the switch.

It isn't the cheapest switch in the world, but it did keep the chassis battery from discharging. Even though the switch was installed shortly after we bought the coach in 2001 the chassis battery still only lasted about 9 years. That was with the battery fully charged and disconnected immediately when it went into storage.

If you do not have shore power at your storage site I recommend you install a similar switch. Even if you have a Trik-l- Start system the coach needs to have shore power for it to work. It will charge the chassis battery from the house batteries only if it senses shore power is available to charge the house batteries.

tderonne · 03-01-2016, 10:49 AM

Do you have a Radio/TV switch for the rear speakers?

I do on my '04. When it's in the TV position, it powers a relay that switches the speaker wiring to the TV. The power for that switch and relay are from my chassis battery. If I leave it in the TV position, it's a constant draw on the battery.

I don't know how much it draws, but something to check if you have the same system on your '08.

Eric2 · 03-01-2016, 10:50 AM

Thanks all. I do have shore power in storage so I think the Trik-l-Start is the right thing to do. It does have a small(10 watt) solar panel but it's not putting out due to the overall cover.

Eric

Jim_HiTek · 03-01-2016, 11:18 AM

Good choice.

BTW, those optional solar chargers are a marketing scam, IMO, because they're only 8-10 Watts. That's under an amp of charging on a sunny day. The panel would need to be 60 Watt to be useful, and out from under cover.

jerichorick · 03-02-2016, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric2

Starting battery in my 2008 Adventurer is gradually loosing charge while in storage. I charged it up, then disconnected the positive lead to the main post to measure the draw of .28 amps.
Anyone know if this is normal? It's a pain to have to keep throwing the charger on.

Is your salesman switch on or off? Even with it off, some coaches still have a battery connection to the engine and transmission computers. This will drain the battery. If you disconnect the battery over the storage period it will still sag at a slower rate because of the nature of the battery. I hope these thoughts help.

Happy trails,

Rick Y

SCVJeff · 03-03-2016, 04:40 AM

Which battery?
The starting battery is still keeping the engine and transmission CPU' alive, and if the dash radio is fed off that battery, it too is a factor. Obviously there are draws in the coach on the house batteries.

I wasn't interesting in killing those CPU's and teaching the engine and transmission how I drive and let it try and adapt every time, I installed solar with a 5A tap to the starting batteries. Problem gone.

mel s · 03-03-2016, 05:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerichorick

Is your salesman switch on or off? Even with it off, some coaches still have a battery connection to the engine and transmission computers. This will drain the battery. If you disconnect the battery over the storage period it will still sag at a slower rate because of the nature of the battery. I hope these thoughts help.
Happy trails,
Rick Y

jerichorick
The salesman switch turns ON/OFF house battery power to the 12V items in the coach, (fans, lights, appliance control boards, etc.).
It has nothing to do with the starting battery, (aka: chassis battery), which is the subject or this thread.
Mel
'96 Safari

jerichorick · 03-04-2016, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mel s

jerichorick
The salesman switch turns ON/OFF house battery power to the 12V items in the coach, (fans, lights, appliance control boards, etc.).
It has nothing to do with the starting battery, (aka: chassis battery), which is the subject or this thread.
Mel
'96 Safari

Mel, my coach has one for each.

Rick Y

mel s · 03-04-2016, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerichorick

Mel, my coach has one for each.
Rick Y

jerichorick
I have no doubt that your coach has 2 "battery disconnect" switches... one for the house batteries and one for the chassis battery, or batteries ....(MOST coaches do).

However many coaches also have a so called "salesman switch", (usually located near the entry door), which is actually a "house power disconnect switch"... which disconnects the 12VDC power to SOME, (but NOT ALL), of the 12VDC powered items in the "house" of the coach.

See: RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Class A Motorhomes: "Salesman Switch" What is it?

Mel
'96 Safari

jerichorick · 03-05-2016, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mel s

jerichorick
I have no doubt that your coach has 2 "battery disconnect" switches... one for the house batteries and one for the chassis battery, or batteries ....(MOST coaches do).

However many coaches also have a so called "salesman switch", (usually located near the entry door), which is actually a "house power disconnect switch"... which disconnects the 12VDC power to SOME, (but NOT ALL), of the 12VDC powered items in the "house" of the coach.

See: RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Class A Motorhomes: "Salesman Switch" What is it?

Mel
'96 Safari

You are playing with semantics my friend. Both of mine are at the door, side by each, as the Frenchman would say. The simplicity is still true: Is his start battery disconnect switch activated to DISCONNECT?

Rick Y

Patrol 65 · 03-07-2016, 08:24 AM

How old is the battery? If it is the original battery, it may be past its useful life and time for a replacement. Batteries generally last 5 to 6 years.

mel s · 03-07-2016, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrol 65

How old is the battery? If it is the original battery, it may be past its useful life and time for a replacement. Batteries generally last 5 to 6 years.

Patrol 65
5-6 years??

The original set of batteries, (4 12V "house" and 2 12V "chassis'), in my now 20 year old coach lasted 9 years...the 2nd set 10 years.

Mel
'96 Safari, 146k miles
(currently with 1 year on the 3rd set of batteries).

RMSmithJr · 04-18-2016, 08:00 PM

The first season I stored mine, the coach batteries died hard. Need up replacing them & added the Trik-L-Charger.

This past year, I took them out brought them hom & deep cycled/conditioned them a couple of times over the winter. Put the batteries back in this past Saturday, and drove home with no problems.

kb8g01 · 04-20-2016, 06:10 PM

I have a 2012 Itasca with both shut off switches; chassis and coach. Coach powers off and the two 6v batteries stay charged. Chassis battery shut off switch will not shut off and chassis battery is draining down to 7.9 volts after being fully charged. Any help would be appreciated.

Mr_D · 04-20-2016, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mel s

Patrol 65
5-6 years??

The original set of batteries, (4 12V "house" and 2 12V "chassis'), in my now 20 year old coach lasted 9 years...the 2nd set 10 years.

Mel
'96 Safari, 146k miles
(currently with 1 year on the 3rd set of batteries).

Same with our first set of batteries in our '02 Dutch Star except we had 2 12 V chassis and 4 6 V deep cycle.

cwj212 · 04-20-2016, 06:22 PM

My 2010 Suncruiser (on an 08 chassis) does the same thing. Shutting of the chassis switch does not eliminate the drain. I either disconnect the battery when I store it over a couple weeks without electricity or use a small trickle charger if I have power.

Craig and Joan
2010 Itasca Suncrusier, 2014 CRV toad

jerichorick · 04-21-2016, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb8g01

I have a 2012 Itasca with both shut off switches; chassis and coach. Coach powers off and the two 6v batteries stay charged. Chassis battery shut off switch will not shut off and chassis battery is draining down to 7.9 volts after being fully charged. Any help would be appreciated.

:welcome: It it good to see you here!

Here are some thoughts from experience and speculation. It is a fact that the engine and transmission computers are not disconnected by the coach power switch. But, just speculation, I wonder if the dash radio switch is in the ENG position if this will drain the start battery quicker. Sounds logical to me. The roof solar panel is to give a bit of a charge to the house battery when not on shore power.

Happy tails,

Rick Y