New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

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New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

July 05, 2018, 12:35:47 am

Just came back from putting in almost $30K at FOT. All new Batteries and a bunch more, It ran great driving back 1300 miles, The rig has been plugged in to 50 amp shore power since parked for 9 days and we thought everything was fine. We were to be headed out early in the am, I went to start the rig to pull in the slide and I'm 100% dead, no lights on the dash etc. So frustrated I can't even speak!

Any help appreciated.

Paul

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #1 – July 05, 2018, 12:48:45 am

I plug my coach into 50 amp shore power at home. It charges the house batteries. For the engine/chassis batteries I have a trickle charger plugged in. I don't believe the shore power will charge the chassis batteries unless the boost switch is activated. NOT a good idea to leave the boost switch activated for extended periods of time, thus the trickle charger.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #2 – July 05, 2018, 12:59:56 am

Thanks for the reply. I've had other engine driven RV's. (this one is new to us). Never needed to trickle charge starting batteries before. Is this a Foretravel thing I need to be aware of?

I've got to assume that after buying all 3 new Redtop starting batteries that there is a demon somewhere drawing power. I do have a very good NOCO charger that I can hook up while on shore power, but that just seems crazy to me?

If anyone has any ideas as to what can be causing the drain, I'd appreciate your reply.

Paul

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #3 – July 05, 2018, 03:31:15 am

I killed a similar set quickly by leaving the headlights on,....

Only way I know to help the battery issues is to cross connect both battery bsnks.

I put in a auto/manual magnetic relay that disconnects the banks on discharges.

Then I use a small solar setup to charge the bsnks, With my particular old cheap stuff controller and undersized wiring through the refer results in 13.54 volt batteries every time I check.

Same red tops and three mk 8g8d's. no Charger, direct to auto connect from,solar.

You have your coach plugged in. You might just need the auto connect ACR.

Better on a modern inverter which is temp compensated and can be set to cycle the batteries as needed or wanted.

A mechanical connection that auto disconnects on discharge seems the safety and easiest.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #4 – July 05, 2018, 06:59:20 am

Yes, from the factory (as with many other coach brands) the chassis batteries do NOT charge from 120 VAC.

Good choices are "smart battery combiners" and "smart stand alone small amp chargers".

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #5 – July 05, 2018, 07:09:14 am

It sounds like something was drawing power from the starting batteries.
It is normal that without using Boost Switch that there is no charge to starting batteries when plugged in, but 9 days seems very short.
If you can't start, use the Boost Switch to join the house and starting batteries.
That will also put a charge into the starting batteries if plugged in.
I also use the trik-l start device to keep starting batteries charged. Ultra TRIK-L-START Starting Battery Charger/Maintainer
There are other similar devices.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #6 – July 05, 2018, 07:22:50 am

If the batteries are new and should be fully charged after a 1300 mile trip. Then the batteries are dead only after 9 days there is a problem that need to be addressed first rather than just throwing parts at it. Not saying that some type of charger isn't a good idea (we use the Trick-L-Start our selves) but lets find out what is causing the problem first.

You have ghost loads like engine and trans ECM units that you can't shut down (which no way should draw your batteries down in 9 days themselves) , headlight relays, map reading light, several things are on the buss that stays hot with the key in the off position. You need to start looking around to see what has either been left on or has developed a draw.

One of the batteries could have developed an internal short drawing the hole system down. I would start there in disconnecting them and seeing if a battery is bad then go from there . If a battery is bad no amount of charging (with what ever gismo you choose) will fix that. Some other things to look at is, the battery isolator for failure, possible bad diode in alternator and things like this for your draw.

Mike

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #7 – July 05, 2018, 07:58:36 am

Quote from: OSIN – July 05, 2018, 12:59:56 am

If anyone has any ideas as to what can be causing the drain, I'd appreciate your reply.

The best place to get "ideas as to what can be causing the drain" is the 12V wiring diagram for your coach. Assuming you received a full set of factory manuals with your coach, the wiring diagram should be tucked away in one of the binders. You can trace out the flow of power from your start batteries, and see exactly what is (or can be) powered by that battery bank. Of course, any "custom wiring modifications or additions" done by prior owners will probably not be noted on the diagrams. Might take some clever sleuthing to figure out what is draining the start battery bank.

Anytime you have a new "problem" immediately after having work done on the coach, the first place to look is where the recent work was done. You got "new batteries and a bunch more...". Was any of the "bunch more" new electrical equipment or devices? Besides the things mentioned by Mike (above), another possible power drain is the entertainment system. Anything new added there?

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #8 – July 05, 2018, 11:27:05 am

My new radio with memory draws the bat down in about 16days . I pull the radio fuse for parking and disconnect the bat for more then 2 wks.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #9 – July 05, 2018, 11:55:55 am

Easiest solution is to get a trickle charger designed for AGM batteries,all the Foretravels have a drain,leave the charger plugged
in when not driving and forget about it.PS,fill in your signature with coach info so we can help better.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #10 – July 05, 2018, 04:56:30 pm

Paul, what is the year and model number of your coach?

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #11 – July 05, 2018, 05:25:15 pm

Quote from: Dakota Slim – July 05, 2018, 04:56:30 pm

Paul, what is the year and model number of your coach?

Slim,

Here is a little tip: If you click on the name of the poster (in the left page margin) it will take you to their profile page. There, you can often find out what year/model coach they own. Handy when the info is not included in their signature.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #12 – July 05, 2018, 07:58:13 pm

Did the batteries go dead, or did your ignition solenoid? Nothing at the gauges makes me suspicious.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #13 – July 05, 2018, 08:32:33 pm

Plus one on: use the trik-l start device to keep starting batteries charged. Ultra TRIK-L-START Starting Battery Charger/Maintainer

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #14 – July 05, 2018, 08:48:55 pm

Until the OP tells us battery voltage (digital voltmeter) I suspect there will be a lot of speculation.

Same for possible excessive parasitic draw-- will require an ammeter to get the FACTS. Pull fuses until you narrow down the circuit that is taking excessive power (if there is one).

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #15 – July 05, 2018, 09:39:54 pm

Paul, much easier to assist if the model, year, etc is known.

Many install a $50 Trik L Start to keep a small charge on start batteries while plugged in or on generator. Simple install and forget it is there.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #16 – July 05, 2018, 10:22:49 pm

Agree w Brett. Before the OP worries about charging his engine batteries, he needs to determine the amp draw on the system. There is obviously an underlying problem. The monitor on my coach shows I only lose 0.03 volts off of my engine batteries every 12 hours. I parked mine 3 days ago and it just now bled down to 12.77v.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #17 – July 06, 2018, 11:37:22 am

Paul, sorry for your experience. First off, just because your engine won't start, doesn't mean the start batteries are dead.
1st, take a voltmeter to it, and see what the voltage actually is. If they are down below 11.8 volts or so, then you know you have a draw issue. Measure it unplugged. Then plug in to shore power and see if there is a difference. If you have some kind of charger another owner installed you will see higher voltage plugged in.
If not,then like others have already said, you need to start finding out what is connected to that battery and seeing what is on while the engine is off. My guess is your radio but there will be others.
Also, on my dash, I have 2- 12 volt outlets. 1 is to the chassis batteries, 1 to the house. A simple plug in voltmeter will tell you what you need to know to properly monitor your batteries from the driver's seat. Won't help you know, but will for the future. Keep the start and the house loads isolated by not using the boost switch. Make sure you have someway to trickle charge your start bank, either thru the main charger, or a additional charger. AMP-L-START is the big brother to the trik-l-start. $75 bucks usd, or go with the trik-l-start for $35.
Your inverter/charger might have a 2nd charge circuit. My Victron has a 4 amp charger for the start battery. When AC power is available it will charge the start batteries.
What ever you find out, and decided to use, let us know. I hate threads that one never knows what happened.

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #18 – July 06, 2018, 11:57:28 am

Quote from: Caflashbob – July 05, 2018, 03:31:15 am

I killed a similar set quickly by leaving the heais to cross connect both battery bsnks.

I put in a auto/manual magnetic relay that disconnects the banks on discharge

Hey Bob what source/brand?

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #19 – July 06, 2018, 05:42:56 pm

ML-ACR Automatic Charging Relay Manual 12V [Bulk] - Blue Sea Systems

Replaced the boost switch with the ACR's control. No indication of status wire ran

Re: New starting Batteries, dead after sitting for a week?

Reply #20 – July 07, 2018, 12:33:58 am

Quote from: Caflashbob – July 06, 2018, 05:42:56 pm

ML-ACR Automatic Charging Relay Manual 12V [Bulk] - Blue Sea Systems

Replaced the boost switch with the ACR's control. No indication of status wire ran

Thanks Bob

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