Battery Drain

smokjump · 07-23-2013, 04:07 AM

The battery in my camper drains down in a very short period constantly. I use the battery disconnect switch when parked so in theory there is no draw on the battery as far as I know. The only other thing I have is an electric jack motor, but I don't think that is drawing anything from the battery when not in use. Any suggestions on what could be causing this ??

thefarside · 07-23-2013, 04:58 AM

Does the propane leak detector shut off when you turn battery disconnect off? That is one of the biggest battery drains in campers.
If not I would disconnect the battery and see what happens, that will tell you if the battery or wiring is at fault
If the battery loses power then replace the battery. If the battery holds a charge then look for something connected before the disconnect switch or maybe a damaged wire. Good Luck, Let us know what you find.
What year, model do you have?

John

webslave · 07-23-2013, 07:40 AM

There are a number of parasitic drains on the battery, even with the disconnect in the "off" position. The LP leak detector is one (for safety reasons it is direct wired to the battery) and another, if you have a stereo unit, is the the unit itself. When you pull the disconnect, go inside the trailer and look at the unit (most likely a Jensen) and the faceplate is probably still illuminated. It, too, is usually direct wired to a battery feed so that the clock stays up to-date, but, there are other functions beside the clock in the unit that draws power. Even the break-away brake switch will leak a little current over time as it gets wet in the rain and the rain water creates a small current path to the frame. It all adds up over time and can drain a battery fairly quickly.

Most trailers are built that way. If you haven't installed your own disconnect switch directly between the hot wire and the battery, then the only "true" disconnect is going to be disconnecting the hot wire at the battery. Those of us that are fortunate enough to be able to have an RV electrical connection at our storage area (in my case at my house) just leave the trailer plugged in 24/7 without worrying about it. I put in a 30 amp RV plug for my trailer and it powers the trailer all the time; I can fire up everything in it except the 2nd A/C unit prior to a trip or in the off season if I need to vacuum the carpets or "pre-cool" the refrigerator. I've even used it as a guest apartment for visitors if I run out of room in the main house. If you keep your trailer at your house, you could get a 30 amp to 20 amp dogbone to allow you to plug it into a regular household socket and you could just leave it plugged in all the time or you could install a dedicated RV 30 amp plug. If you store your trailer at a storage facility, then your best bet is to disconnect the hot cable (black on most) to remove all the loads from the battery.

smokjump · 07-25-2013, 01:55 PM

Thanks as usual for the replies and here's what I found so far. As webslave says the gas detector is on with the disconnect switch off but the stereo does not lite up. That's all I have found that is always on that could drain the battery and I am not gonna disconnect anything with the sensors. I am thinking that the factory battery is probably not the best out there so I'm sure that has a little to do with it. I'll probably just keep it hooked up during the camping season as suggested.

I have a Viewfinder 27RBSS that I am relatively happy with. I will say that my rookie season has been pretty trying at times, I've got another I'm gonna post now, but thank goodness for this site, sure has saved me both time and $$$ many times.

BTW the new one is the gas "side" of my frig won't work. When I go from electric to gas nothing happens,