All The Stuff On The Battery Side Of The Battery Switch

[Roll With The Changes]

So I finally got around to identifying all the parasitic drains on the battery when it is turned off. Some, I expected. Some, I didn't. Here's what I found for those who are interested.

The brake wire is basically direct to the battery (no breaker). I expected that, and that's good.

Battery charge from the truck is on a breaker. Also expected that, but a couple lights were on that circuit as well. Not sure if I would have done it that way, but I don't see anything wrong with it.

So far, there is no drain on the battery as long as the hitch light is off, which you would see from the outside.

Here is the battery killer... The motor controller for the Schwintek bed slide is powered by the battery side of the switch. The motors can't run because the switch on the control side is powered by the main panel. But... The controller in idle state draws almost 3/4 of an amp. The quick math says that in 66 hours your 100 amp lead acid battery will be at 50% charge. (Time to shut it off). Any more time and you are damaging the battery. In five days the battery is pretty severely damaged.

I definitely need to fix this....

And then I spent another two hours figuring out what the last parasitic circuit was.... The prep for the wireless camera. The same scenario would apply. As far as I can tell, the camera would be powered up at idle all the time. It wouldn't take long to destroy a $100+ battery.

My to do list is getting longer. Ugh....

[phonemannn]

The controller in idle state draws almost 3/4 of an amp.

That is significant.....Have to check mine....I keep it plugged in most of the time...

[ErikTheRed]

We have a 2020 21g, brought it home in December. A week later our brand new dealer-provided Interstate battery was dead, reading only 5 volts on my meter. Plugged in the trailer to shore power and the battery charged up quickly to full voltage. But, when unplugged and the battery "cut-off" switch (that apparently isn't really a cut-off switch at all) in the so-called "off" position, the battery was zapped dead again in about a week. As frequent boondockers, we NEED realiable battery power. If the Schwintek controller is the culprit and draws the battery at the rate you say, whats the solution? It can't possibly be that we'll just have to deal with a system that drains the battery in 66 hours or less! If thats the case, the battery would be nearly altogether useless, making boondocking pretty much a no-go without running the genny constantly.

[kevinpo]

We have a 2020 21g, brought it home in December. A week later our brand new dealer-provided Interstate battery was dead, reading only 5 volts on my meter. Plugged in the trailer to shore power and the battery charged up quickly to full voltage. But, when unplugged and the battery "cut-off" switch (that apparently isn't really a cut-off switch at all) in the so-called "off" position, the battery was zapped dead again in about a week. As frequent boondockers, we NEED realiable battery power. If the Schwintek controller is the culprit and draws the battery at the rate you say, whats the solution? It can't possibly be that we'll just have to deal with a system that drains the battery in 66 hours or less! If thats the case, the battery would be nearly altogether useless, making boondocking pretty much a no-go without running the genny constantly.

Here is what many here have used:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FOPE1G...TKQWV68X&psc=1

HTH,
Kevin

[Roll With The Changes]

I had the same thing happen to me, so until I could figure this out, I've been disconnecting the battery at the post when not in use. Next step is to move that circuit to the other side of the cut off switch at least. Should be pretty simple, really.

We do a lot of boondocking too and it is causing problems for sure. But that will not solve the problem of a constant drain while the switch is on. It will need a switch to turn the controller off completely, but I don't know yet where to put that so it's not a hack job. Another circuit that I know is a problem is the one labeled Radio/TV in the fuse panel. I haven't measured current on that one, but it runs the antenna amplifier all the time. I'm guessing that will be at least an amp. For now, I'll just pull that fuse since we might go a week without ever turning on a TV.

Long story short, there are many constant small current draws that I will hunt down and correct. Most are related to "convenience" items. Anything that has a remote control to turn it on is never truly off.

[jmbopp]

Off topic, but if you're looking for battery loads the light on the kitchen hood fan was a 921 incandescent in our 2650. I've since fixed that....

[el Rojo]

I had the same thing happen to me, so until I could figure this out, I've been disconnecting the battery at the post when not in use. Next step is to move that circuit to the other side of the cut off switch at least. Should be pretty simple, really.

We do a lot of boondocking too and it is causing problems for sure. But that will not solve the problem of a constant drain while the switch is on. It will need a switch to turn the controller off completely, but I don't know yet where to put that so it's not a hack job. Another circuit that I know is a problem is the one labeled Radio/TV in the fuse panel. I haven't measured current on that one, but it runs the antenna amplifier all the time. I'm guessing that will be at least an amp. For now, I'll just pull that fuse since we might go a week without ever turning on a TV.

Long story short, there are many constant small current draws that I will hunt down and correct. Most are related to "convenience" items. Anything that has a remote control to turn it on is never truly off.

There should be a on off switch for that by the TV.

Red

[CoChris]

Here is the battery killer... The motor controller for the Schwintek bed slide is powered by the battery side of the switch. The motors can't run because the switch on the control side is powered by the main panel. But... The controller in idle state draws almost 3/4 of an amp. The quick math says that in 66 hours your 100 amp lead acid battery will be at 50% charge. (Time to shut it off). Any more time and you are damaging the battery. In five days the battery is pretty severely damaged.

I definitely need to fix this....

One thing to be aware of if you kill power to the Schwintek controller is you need to resync the motors before using the slide after you reapply power. If the slide is in, just hold the switch "in" for a few (2~3 seconds) when you reapply power. If the slide is out, just hold the "out" position. I have rewired my "battery disconnect" switch so it is a true disconnect. The only load left on the battery side is the break away switch for the brakes. When I turn battery power back on, I have to resync the Schwintek slide or I sometimes get erratic and on slide movement. After resync, I have never had any problem with the side.

Chris

[Roll With The Changes]

There should be a on off switch for that by the TV.

Red

Aha!! Found it buried in the retractable TV cabinet.

Didn't think to look for it.

Thanks Red

[Roll With The Changes]

One thing to be aware of if you kill power to the Schwintek controller is you need to resync the motors before using the slide after you reapply power. If the slide is in, just hold the switch "in" for a few (2~3 seconds) when you reapply power. If the slide is out, just hold the "out" position. I have rewired my "battery disconnect" switch so it is a true disconnect. The only load left on the battery side is the break away switch for the brakes. When I turn battery power back on, I have to resync the Schwintek slide or I sometimes get erratic and on slide movement. After resync, I have never had any problem with the side.

Chris

Good point. Thanks for the tip.

Now the hard part is retraining my brain. 😬