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MURPHY55347's avatar
MURPHY55347
Explorer
Jul 21, 2016

Another battery drain question

I have a new Sunseeker 2800 GTS that appears to have a battery drain. Charged battery for several days then measured after resting for a day and it reads 12.7 volts. After 2 weeks it is down to 12.3. I believe it has a Xantrex 3 stage charger. Battery disconnect switch is off. I have read all the info about parasitic drains and other possible causes but if this switch is off doesn't that mean everything should be off. My last motorhome when the switch was off I could leave it for months and the batteries held their charge. This is what confuses me about this one. It goes in for some other warranty issues in a couple of weeks but I wanted to ask you all if this seems normal or if I am missing something obvious.
Class C
  • korbe's avatar
    korbe
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2016
    With the battery switch still in the off position, you could test and see if there is amp draw. That would tell if the battery just can't hold a charge or not. I have heard that some switches don't turn everything off.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Jul 21, 2016
    It's always confusing to me to figure out what the 'disconnect' switch is doing when it's ON. To me that means it's disconnecting. If you called it a 'connect' switch, then when it's on, it's connecting.
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    Jul 21, 2016
    MURPHY55347 wrote:
    I have a new Sunseeker 2800 GTS that appears to have a battery drain. Charged battery for several days then measured after resting for a day and it reads 12.7 volts. After 2 weeks it is down to 12.3. I believe it has a Xantrex 3 stage charger. Battery disconnect switch is off. I have read all the info about parasitic drains and other possible causes but if this switch is off doesn't that mean everything should be off. My last motorhome when the switch was off I could leave it for months and the batteries held their charge. This is what confuses me about this one. It goes in for some other warranty issues in a couple of weeks but I wanted to ask you all if this seems normal or if I am missing something obvious.
    Is this your chassis battery or house battery? Disconnect neg cable set your MM to 10 amps, put your leads between neg cable and neg post,and see what your parasitic amp draw is. Several amps could draw your battery down. .5 amps or less would be normal.
  • Artum_Snowbird's avatar
    Artum_Snowbird
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2016
    I would make the same test with one battery lead disconnected. If you have different results, you can then put an ammeter in series with a battery lead to see how many milliamps are being used. Sometimes battery disconnects might leave safety items still powered.
  • PSW's avatar
    PSW
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2016
    Many rvs apparently leave the safety alarms wired hot and bypass the connect/disconnect switch. I have used a simple battery switch mounted directly on the battery for years on several different rvs. I find this to be an adequate solution for storage.

    http://www.walmart.com/ip/BATTERY-DOCTOR-20308-Battery-Disc-Switch-Top-Term-Brass/41867337

    Paul
  • drmopar's avatar
    drmopar
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2016
    Easy test-get a voltmeter, disconnect positive cable at house battery, and hook one voltmeter lead to the positive house battery, hook the other voltmeter lead to the positive cable you just removed. Before doing this, check battery voltage and record. Once you hook up your meter it will show either full battery voltage or something lower if there is a draw on system. If it shows anything on meter, go to you fuse panel and remove one by one and see if voltage draw goes away. Full battery voltage on meter is easy to trace, lower voltage can be a short, poor ground, and a number of other things.
  • Bordercollie's avatar
    Bordercollie
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2016
    If you have interior lights on and press disconnect switch, lights should go out meaning that house battery is not connected to lights, etc. There may be separate circuits to alarms that do not get disconnected and these will slowly run your house battery down in addition to normal battery self-discharge rate which is related to battery condition/age.

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