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  1. #1
    Left The Driveway
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    Battery going dead on new 295RL

    Just went to pull out my new Grand Design for our maiden voyage and found the battery was completely dead. Checked all the normal things to assure nothing was left on and could not find anything. Is there a way (I've heard people doing this) to check for voltage draw when I am not connected to power. If I can check this I may be able to find the problem .

  2. #2
    Commercial Member huntr70's Avatar
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    How long has it been sitting around without being plugged in to a power source?

    There are several residual 12 volts draws that are still active when the battery disconnect is used.
    Steve- Inventory Manager at Tom Schaeffer's RV, Shoemakersville, PA www.tomschaeffers.com
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    2011 RAM 3500 SRW Outdoorsman Edition 4X4, 6.7 Cummins--TWEAKED!
    2021 Reflection 310RLS

  3. #3
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    It sat for less than 3 weeks (probably 10 days)

  4. #4
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    Oops probably 15-20 days

  5. #5
    Commercial Member huntr70's Avatar
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    Yep, that's plenty of time for the battery to go dead.

    If it's going to sit that long I would recommend taking the wires off the battery.
    Steve- Inventory Manager at Tom Schaeffer's RV, Shoemakersville, PA www.tomschaeffers.com
    [email protected]
    2011 RAM 3500 SRW Outdoorsman Edition 4X4, 6.7 Cummins--TWEAKED!
    2021 Reflection 310RLS

  6. #6
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    Wow that is much faster than my previous campers (have owned one all my life). I was trying not to have to leave it plugged in because I have (in the past) had problems with batteries not lasting due to constant charging. Are the newer chargers better about not overcharging?

  7. #7
    Big Traveler boyscout's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Barry Mounce View Post
    Just went to pull out my new Grand Design for our maiden voyage and found the battery was completely dead. Checked all the normal things to assure nothing was left on and could not find anything.
    It's a frequent question here. You don't say whether or not you turned off the red battery kill switch, but even if you did that in a factory setup there are things that remain connected to the battery and drawing power from it (smoke and propane alarms are among them). As @huntr70 has said, removing the negative cable from your battery is the way to eliminate all drains on the battery.

    If you search here you'll find accounts of people re-configuring the factory setup for various reasons and as part of their changes they usually reconfigure or replace the battery kill switch so that it completely disconnects the battery(ies) from everything.

    Quote Originally Posted by Barry Mounce View Post
    Is there a way (I've heard people doing this) to check for voltage draw when I am not connected to power. If I can check this I may be able to find the problem.

    The way to check for current draw (which is how you determine if something is drawing power) is with something called a clamp meter. Good ones that read DC as well as AC current are not cheap, but they're certainly worth it when you need them. If you don't want to buy one and can't borrow one I'll give away the story's ending for you... even with the battery kill switch off your trailer is probably pulling roughly 0.5 amps (mine does). If you have an 80 amp-hour battery you can do the math... roughly 160 hours before the battery reaches 20%, which is the lowest it should ever be discharged (50% is a better guideline for longer battery life).

    Quote Originally Posted by Barry Mounce View Post
    I was trying not to have to leave it plugged in because I have (in the past) had problems with batteries not lasting due to constant charging. Are the newer chargers better about not overcharging?
    The converter in your trailer takes in a 120V supply and splits it into 120V AC (for microwave, air conditioning, outlets, TV) and 12V DC (for lights, fans, battery charging). It is designed to be smart enough to not overcharge the battery. While the ones Grand Design uses are not top-line they do have a three-stage charging cycle in which the third stage provides little or no charge to a full battery. I haven't seen a ton of reports here of the converter cooking a healthy battery, so if leaving it plugged in while stored for a month or three is an option it will likely be OK... probably better than draining the battery flat.

    Or, just disconnect the negative terminal of battery.
    Last edited by boyscout; 10-29-2019 at 07:22 AM.
    Mark - 2018 Solitude 310GK - 2017 F-350 diesel SRW short box - Pullrite Superglide hitch

  8. #8
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    Okay thanks for the information. I will probably try leaving it plugged in since we use it pretty regularly (at least monthly). Just haven't had good luck with that in the past. It is at least worth a try. The worst thing that can happen is that i have the replace the battery quicker than normal. Right?

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