battery issues on new TT

[coachsburke]

My wife and I bought a new Forest River TT from the dealer last month, and I'm having issues with the battery draining. Even with nothing on and the TT sitting in the driveway. The battery goes from fully charged, to only showing 1/3 charged ( according to the meter on the TT control Panel). The battery shows a manufacture date of 9/18, and everything is turned off. I realize there might be a very low trickle of power to the dormant stereo and control panel but that should be it. I figure either the battery is **** or there is some sort of wiring panel causing a drain on the battery. Does anyone have any tips for how to test for either one? The battery on my pop up would last for days when using the heater, lights, and pump,

[DustyR]

The last two TT I've had would kill the battery in a few days. Solution: install a battery isolator. Problem solved.

[bjkb1f]

Ride S40T wrote:

KD4UPL wrote:
The little 3 or 4 light "battery meter" is pretty much worthless. It will almost never show full unless you are plugged in so consider 2/3 to be full with no shore power charging going on.
Even with "nothing" on you are probably powering: refrigerator control board, LP leak detector, CO detector, TV antenna amplifier, stereo memory circuit.
I suspect nothing is really "wrong".

+1 This newbie killed the battery on our 2019 the first weekend just playing with stuff in the driveway. 😮 Took about 1.5 days and dead. It's all the little things that drain it.

Glad I'm not the only one! I did it twice before I realized what was happening.

[prichardson]

As others have said the "parasitic" drains can add up and can easily amount to 1 amp on newer units. This amounts to 24 amp hours per day. A group 27 battery fully charged has about 80 amp hours.

[rrupert]

The TT may have been sitting at the dealer lot with the battery hooked up. If the battery drained enough over time it could have killed the battery life. Deep cycle batteries should never be allowed to go below 12 volts.

[pianotuna]

Welcome to the forums!

Consider adding a modest solar panel charging system. Your batteries will thank you with a much longer life span.

[Heiny57]

TheY all have power draining. When you go to hook up cables you will see a small spark. That is power draw.

[sgfrye]

bob213 wrote:
If you don't have a battery disconnect just take the negative cable off and nothing will get power. Some of the new switches still allow the co detector to power up along with jacks etc. Pull cable and no drain. Then install a switch that shuts off everything.

x2
this is how our current TT was wired when we bought it.

[RobWNY]

Your Propane detector is always on unless you use your built in battery disconnect or disconnect a battery cable manually.

[old_guy]

sounds like you pulled the pin on the E brake disconnect

[Ride_S40T]

KD4UPL wrote:
The little 3 or 4 light "battery meter" is pretty much worthless. It will almost never show full unless you are plugged in so consider 2/3 to be full with no shore power charging going on.
Even with "nothing" on you are probably powering: refrigerator control board, LP leak detector, CO detector, TV antenna amplifier, stereo memory circuit.
I suspect nothing is really "wrong".

+1 This newbie killed the battery on our 2019 the first weekend just playing with stuff in the driveway. 😮 Took about 1.5 days and dead. It's all the little things that drain it.

[WayneAt63044]

The Dometic refrigerators since about 2012 have a heating element around the door that is always on although older models had a switch. Draws about 0.5 amps full time. (Cheaper to make the frig at the expense of your current draw.) Boondockers have been known to disconnect it at the lamp inside the fridge. Some have added a switch there. The heavier red wire is the one to disconnect or add a switch to.

[bob213]

If you don't have a battery disconnect just take the negative cable off and nothing will get power. Some of the new switches still allow the co detector to power up along with jacks etc. Pull cable and no drain. Then install a switch that shuts off everything.

[drsteve]

coachsburke wrote:
Good call. I also need to figure out how to disconnect the antenna amplifier, as it is never going to be used

Most have a switch, just turn it off.

[ScottG]

I suggest you get a digital ammeter from eBay. There are lots of cheap panel mount units to choose from and they work great.

[RoyF]

Did your RV come with a battery disconnect switch? If not, then one can be installed.

As to the antenna amplifiier, mine is powered by the 120 v. system, and so does not drain the battery. If you look at the back of the amplifier, I imagine that you will find a power cord that can be unplugged.