Batteries Dead in 3 weeks

[Jerryr]

I recently installed this battery switch and used these cables. This switch is very well built.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MMC914/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BXXNMBJ/

[jkwilson]

That's a little too general. Here's a typical chart of how fast a lead-acid battery self discharges based on ambient temperature:

Attachment 25945

At almost room temp, it takes about 9 months to get to 50% charge level. Depending on how cold it averages over a winter, can be far, far longer before it is something to worry about.
Texas in the summer, still several months.

With a battery that is in good shape, and starts off with a full charge, there is almost never a need to keep it plugged in, whether with the onboard charger or using a trickle charger, unless one will be storing it for a very long time. Eliminates any risk of damage due to over charge/or too low water levels.
Fully charged batteries will not freeze until they get to -74(F).

Things that can draw power, even with the red switch flipped:
1. Smoke detector
2. Propane/CO detector.
3. Entertainment Center.
4. Backup camera (on many units).
5. Antenna amplifier (if not turned off, on some units).
6. Emergency brakes (if pin pulled).
7. Tongue jack on a travel trailer.


So best is to install a true cut-off switch, or disconnect all leads coming off the positive terminals.

Those numbers are way out of line for what real world self-discharge looks like. 15% per 30 days at 80F is a widely used rule of thumb. That graph would be exceptional for some AGMs.

[sande005]

Those numbers are way out of line for what real world self-discharge looks like. 15% per 30 days at 80F is a widely used rule of thumb. That graph would be exceptional for some AGMs.

Sources from manufactures for better data, please?
It does match my real world testing for the 5 batteries in my boat and rv, spanning a 15 year period....(not the same batteries, of course - but all treated the same over the period).

[WhittleBurner]

Temperature is key here. If it's hot out as sande005 stated the battery will discharge faster. If cold out you could go a very long time without a problem.

[Skiddy]

Over the years, different types of GDRVs have been wired differently, even the same model might be different year to year. To see if and what drain is i suggest connecting a digital DC multimeter set to measure amps in one of the battery cables. Disconnect the shore power.
Make sure everything is off, however turn the TV booster amp on.
Disconnect a battery lead, connect the digital ammeter between the battery and the disconnected cable.
The reading is the maximum parasitic drain on batteries. Typically in the 200-400mA range.
Turn off the TV booster, the drain should drop. This tells you what the drain of the booster is. Turn it back on.
Throw the disconnect switch, drain should drop to zero. If it doesn’t determine what is still on.
The TV booster, radio and smoke/propane sniffers are easy, if the light is still on, the unit still has power.

On my Imagine, the drain is 250mA in “normal” mode, when the disconnect switch is thrown the drain drops to zero. Both my tongue jack and electric brakes have power regardless of the disconnect switch position. For storage IMHO, either remove a battery cable or put in a battery disconnect switch that isolates the batteries.

[Gran Casita]

Hello, I have a 2020 399TH. I put it in storage and turned off the red battery key in the passenger side basement 3 weeks ago.

Today my batteries are dead. Am I missing another switch or procedure?

Thank you for any help or advice

Just “food for thought,” but I didn’t want to fiddle with my OEM electrical too much (even though it’s kinda a mess) so I merely upgraded my original single 12V Interstate Deep Cycle to a very common, basic, somewhat inexpensive (comparatively) upgrade:

1) I purchased two 6V GC2 “Golf Cart” batteries from Costco at around $99 ea. (w/core) and connected them In-Series (I bought a battery cable crimper with connectors & some BLK & RED 4-gauge battery cable & made my own custom lengths. Around $40 total.)

2) To solve the “parasitic” draw from various components on my rig (CO-detector/rear view camera/Stereo), I purchased a Blue Seas OFF/1/2/1+2 Switch (Around $35 on Amazon), and placed it in-between the battery (+)POS and the OEM (+)BUSBAR. NOTE: I bought this particular switch to allow me to upgrade to another battery bank if needed in the future. Totally up to you.

I left the OEM 12V disconnect switch in place, and now I just leave it in the ON position when I store my rig. I have my “single” 12V battery (2-6Vs “In-Series”) connected to the “1” position on the newly-installed Blue Seas Switch. Once the battery is fully charged, I turn it to the OFF position and connect a NOCO .75A battery conditioner/maintainer, until I hit the road again.

This setup works for me. I know you can really get “into the weeds” with electrical upgrades, but I tried to keep mine as simple as possible. One size doesn’t fit all, so you’ll have to decide what best works for you. My setup is extremely basic, but it didn’t require a whole lot of modification to the OEM system and it was fairly reasonable. Plus, it more than doubled my battery capacity!

Good luck! -Diego

[jungleb0y]

Hello, I have a 2020 399TH. I put it in storage and turned off the red battery key in the passenger side basement 3 weeks ago.

Today my batteries are dead. Am I missing another switch or procedure?

Thank you for any help or advice

You could always take your multimeter and hook it up between your battery cable and the post and and check for amp draw (of course do this with everything off as you dont want to be pulling big amps through your multimeter), if you see any type of readings you can start flipping the breakers in the panel and pulling fuses till you see the reading go to 0 or there abouts.

If you're unfamiliar with how to do that you can always search YouTube for some instructions
click here to search YouTube

Also make sure if they are flooded that you have them at the proper level with distilled water, another option I used on an old truck I had in storage was the Harbor Freight Solar Battery Tender, worked pretty good but died every few years.

[Dashus]

I recently discovered that the switch that controls my nose lights, pin box light and undercarriage lights is on the wrong side of the battery disconnect. It still had power with the disconnect pulled. I wonder what else is on the wrong side of the disconnect.

[jkwilson]

I recently discovered that the switch that controls my nose lights, pin box light and undercarriage lights is on the wrong side of the battery disconnect. It still had power with the disconnect pulled. I wonder what else is on the wrong side of the disconnect.

Probably intentional. Allows you to hitch and unhitch or check the rig along the road in the dark without the battery switch being on.

[fez111]

It depends on the rig but it's usually the CO detector and stereo (clock only). The rear camera (if installed) was powered on some models.

With the battery switch turned off on our Solitude 379FL all of the above still works with the addition of the hydraulic jacks. We leave our unit plugged in and the battery switch turned on all year except when towing...