Forum Discussion

FLHTCI's avatar
FLHTCI
Explorer
Jul 13, 2022

Battery issues

I have a 2012 Winnebago Itasca. I bought all new Interstate battery in February, took the coach to Florida for 7 weeks without battery issues. All seven weeks we were plugged into shore power with the chassis batteries switched off, coach batteries on.

I dropped my RV off to have some work done on it in June, when I went to start the coach all batteries were dead including the chassis battery. I get home and plug the RV in assuming it will charge the batteries. Three weeks latter the batteries are dead.

My questions are as follows:
Shouldn’t the batteries be fully charged after being plugged into shore power for that length of time (3 weeks).

If when plugged in to shore power, when the RV is not in use, should I shut the coach battery off? If the coach batteries are off, with the batteries charge?

Thank you in advance.
Class A
  • MountainAir05's avatar
    MountainAir05
    Explorer II
    Jul 13, 2022
    With a slight load on any battery without any charger on it will go dead in a few hours to days. Once its dead they usually do not charge back up.

    Check the battery voltage on each battery using a volt meter. If each is below or near 2 volt DC they will not charge back. The new chargers will not charge a very low battery.

    Have you check the liquid level on each cell and each cell voltage. If you do not know how to do that post back.
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Jul 13, 2022
    Three weeks without charging and with parasitic loads while at the repair facility can drain and kill house batteries. Sometimes a dead battery can be recharged but it will still be damaged. One solution is solar charging which will maintain the battery during the repair and in storage. Yes, a kill switch to off is a good idea.

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