I'm having dead battery problems and have not found the source. I suspect the diode could be bad from the solar trickle charger.I still have current off the solar panel (although 19v seems high) measured off the wiring. Can the diode still work (all current to pass) when shorted out (blown)?notes: My batteries go dead quick, overnight only, and after 1 or 2 days are down to 1 volt. So, a short would probably have caused a fire, and I have unplugged everything else that I know of. The issue killed a pair of marine batteries in my RV. New batteries, and I thought the problem was solved and they were dead soon. I am unwilling to try different things for fear or damaging the new batteries further. I installed a small charge controller before all this, the solar ran through it, now have it unhooked and just have the charge controller hooked to battery, thus not controlling anything. I think the solar panel is similar to this one http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/athelstone/other-home-garden/10w-10-watt-16v-solar-panel-rv-direct-battery-charger/1019816706 , though should be a 12v model...Fridge was one thing not going through breaker box, but now is going through it - dosent seem to be issue and fridge has an on/off switch anyway. No CO2 monitors or anything either. The only drain on RV coach batteries is the radio memory, which has been the case for 10+ years (but not the radio main power). and The power drivers seat is also hooked up to the RV batteries. Both radio and seat work, so not suspect.

12 volt batteries at 1 volt are destroyed. I would check and water them first.The propane detector runs off the 12 volt system, and a 10 watt panel is NOT enough to run it. you have to disconnect ALL loads and run the 10 watt 12 volt panel. If you are using the RV with only a 10 watt panel, that is your problem - it is not big enough.

New battery time. 1V is dead no coming back territory.

Methinks you are trying to find a complicated answer to a simple question.Anything related to portable power is sensitive. It is not plug-and-play.I remember our professor standing on the dais, birch pointer raised. We had filed into the room 10 minutes earlier and did not know him from Adam."Electrical engineering is a DISCIPLINE!" he shouted "Anyone of you who thinks it isn't can gather your books and get the hell out of my classroom!"Truer words were never spoken. Nothing can be assumed, or surmised. It is done with hard core numbers and calculations. Gut hunches are followed by testing and verification.Many of the posts I read on this forum grasp at straws. Taking the time to learn the basics of RV electrical is indeed a "discipline". So is parting with fifty dollars or so for a meter and a test light. The reward for learning is the saving of a trip to a mechanic who in fact probably knows less about what you're trying to do than you do. At a hundred dollar an hour fee.I glanced through a book I believe was titled "The 12 Volt Doctor". I would recommend purchasing such a learning tool. There are others I am sure that are its equal perhaps even better...

Let me restate: there are no CO2 monitors or anything like that installed.Batteries were dead, I got new ones.The solar panel is just for trickle charging the batteries, not running anything, not that that matters for my issue.Problem persist.Question remains:Can a bad diode still conduct electricity?

A diode may fail and cause your predicament but I doubt it. What you need to diagnose is what causes the draw from the batteries. This is usually done by process of elimination and the use of an amp meter in series with the battery connections. Do you have a 12 volt distribution panel? How is your 12v wiring configured? What make and model is your rig? Do you have a converter or other battery charger? You can do some diagnostic work and then remove one of the terminations on the batteries to forestall loss of the new batteries. If you have a small automotive type circuit breaker that is mounted to frame ground, that would be one of the first places to check.

Solar Diode? | Good Sam Community

24 Replies

ajriding
Explorer II
Jul 05, 2013
Let me restate: there are no CO2 monitors or anything like that installed.
Batteries were dead, I got new ones.
The solar panel is just for trickle charging the batteries, not running anything, not that that matters for my issue.
Problem persist.
Question remains:
Can a bad diode still conduct electricity?
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Jul 05, 2013
Methinks you are trying to find a complicated answer to a simple question.

Anything related to portable power is sensitive. It is not plug-and-play.

I remember our professor standing on the dais, birch pointer raised. We had filed into the room 10 minutes earlier and did not know him from Adam.

"Electrical engineering is a DISCIPLINE!" he shouted "Anyone of you who thinks it isn't can gather your books and get the hell out of my classroom!"

Truer words were never spoken. Nothing can be assumed, or surmised. It is done with hard core numbers and calculations. Gut hunches are followed by testing and verification.

Many of the posts I read on this forum grasp at straws. Taking the time to learn the basics of RV electrical is indeed a "discipline". So is parting with fifty dollars or so for a meter and a test light. The reward for learning is the saving of a trip to a mechanic who in fact probably knows less about what you're trying to do than you do. At a hundred dollar an hour fee.

I glanced through a book I believe was titled "The 12 Volt Doctor". I would recommend purchasing such a learning tool. There are others I am sure that are its equal perhaps even better...
mena661
Explorer
Jul 05, 2013
New battery time. 1V is dead no coming back territory.
christopherglen
Explorer
Jul 05, 2013
12 volt batteries at 1 volt are destroyed. I would check and water them first.
The propane detector runs off the 12 volt system, and a 10 watt panel is NOT enough to run it. you have to disconnect ALL loads and run the 10 watt 12 volt panel. If you are using the RV with only a 10 watt panel, that is your problem - it is not big enough.

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Solar Diode?

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