Battery Dies Constantly

[Glenda Clark]

I got the idiot response , the thing pulling power was》 Carbon Monoxide Sensor , disconnect battery when not using camp trailer. That came from the R.V dealership salesman.
Les Swabb Tire Store said that little carbon monoxide sensor barely pulls any juice.

So , what's pulling power when it's not in use ?

Now , At home its on shore power. No battery loss. It stays on Full.
Guess using the furnace when I'm out , even for 15 minutes , zaps it.
Understandable !

So , my tire store recommended duel batteries. OK , done , taken care of.

They also recommended , and I took their advice , buy a 12 volt , solar panel , higher Watt. OK , done , I got a 20 watt.
It helps to keep the batteries charged/maintained.

You'll have to excuse me , I might be using wrong word phrases to explain my situation , so bare with me on this stuff.

Solar panel Only to be used out camping , when trailer is not being used for something , such as 》 kitchen light , water pump ( uses electricity )
and , or , any other power draw 》 extend slide , extend awning. Etc. Etc.
Retract them too.

So , to make my story short 》 All I can do is wait and see what transpires from all this , for which I'm trying to remedy myself.

[Glenda Clark]

Yes , LED lights , Inside and Out.

[Glenda Clark]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Glenda Clark you are on the right track here. We've all been where you're at and have learned from our mistakes/experiences. Everyone has an opinion and experiences effect people differently. With that said, when several people tell you the same thing then there's a high probability that it's true. The WWW is good research tool and this forum is the BEST resource I know for RV info.. JMHO

Sure the heck wish I had "HELP" for these issues when i'm out in the middle of the back country and things go wrong.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Glenda Clark

Sure the heck wish I had "HELP" for these issues when i'm out in the middle of the back country and things go wrong.

Being self sufficient means being prepared, that will come with experience. Don't get discouraged. Maybe I can help with your previous post. When on shore power (plugged into a 120vac source) your battery is being charged with the built in converter. As long as your battery is connected you will parasitic drain. This means certain things draw current all the time. Your co detector is one, your radio is another. The radio draws electricity even when turned off to retain all the settings in memory. The antenna booster for the television will draw current as well as the fridge and hot water heater if they are on a gas setting. Both appliances use 12vdc to operate the control board and gas igniter. Also, if you have a cell phone charger plugged in the 12v outlet. The cumulative amperage draw can be significant. The only way to prevent this drain is to disconnect the batteries. Many campers, me included, install a battery disconnect switch to make it easy.
Hope this helps.

[Glenda Clark]

Yes , makes better sense. Now I can understand more , with your explaination , why there are power draws.
So , disconnecting batteries was correct.
Thankyou.

[chuckster57]

When they installed the second battery, how did they connect the trailer leads. If they did it properly the negative is attached to one and the positive is attached to the other battery. If they added a battery and just left the trailer leads connected to one battery, you didn’t gain much at all.

[kench]

Hello All Now I know my 3790RD Montana with Legacy Edition is haunted. IT is also jinxed and has many psychological issues. Has anyone have their radio come on by itself. In 2 1/2 years it has come on by itself about 6 times . Forgot there would be power drain by it as well so am disconnecting it completely. I found it interesting that the radio is 12 volt but the speaker system to hear the radio is 120 volt. Make I will just throw a couple of $2 speakers on to use it when dry camping .
your thought and suggestions are much appreciated. Have learned much more here than speaking to any RV "Teck"

[Glenda Clark]

Yes , it has new cables attached to both batteries. It was done correctly.

[Canonman]

"I drain power with the light on over the kitchen table for 20 minutes.
Heater wasn't on long periods of time. Maybe 10 minutes to get temp inside warmer.
Guess using the furnace when I'm out , even for 15 minutes , zaps it."

I'm sorry, but this just doesn't make sense to me as being "normal". In my dry camping experience we never experienced the batteries completely discharging with this type of minimal overnight use. In fact, camping in the mountains with nighttime temps in the 30's and furnace running off and on all night, lights on for reading, radio on for the news, water pump on for washing dishes and hygiene, we were only down to 2/3 on the battery monitor.
So Glenda, It might be fair to ask how you measured or determined that the battery "drained too fast"?? And, to what level they were drained to?
There may be more to this issue that we are seeing and since the Bullet is new, might be worth a warranty visit to be sure everything is working as it should.

[Glenda Clark]

I Never leave the furnace on All Night. I let it run long enough to bring the temp back up inside , and then I shut it off.
I am not using the radio , nor the Tv .
I never even turn the hot water heater on.
I might have the light over the kitchen table on while eating a meal at night.
But it's not on for very long.

I judge all of this by the electrical "Mother Board". This shows Battery use > Full , 3/4th's , 1/2 , and on E.
Could this be a Keystone Bullet Problem ? I am at a loss on some of this.
But from the other info I just read , I now see how the power drains. Makes better sense.
I will see if the Duel Batteries make a difference. If Not , then it's a Keystone Bullet issue (Possibly).
I will have to play this by ear and see if this resolves itself. Can't take it back to dealer for any service issue's required. (Long Story , Wont get into that.)

I will wait and see what happen's when I take it out again in afew weeks what transpires.

[Canonman]

"I judge all of this by the electrical "Mother Board". This shows Battery use > Full , 3/4th's , 1/2 , and on E."

So did the display show "E"?? Any chance the furnace was running when you checked?

You really do not seem to be using the accessories enough to completely discharge the battery. I agree your next trip will tell you more and each successive trip will provide even more experience and knowledge about how your RV works. Count on your friends here on the forum to help any way we can.

[arch113]

When parked I pull the Furrion radio/dvd player fuse, my parents do this to theirs because it wold drain the battery. Mine has been parked for a month now and still has full charge (according to the indicator).

[SummitPond]

Glenda

In our 19FBPR the radio/CD/DVD display light stays "on" even when the radio is turned off. I'm not sure how much of a drain this is, but I have pulled the fuse for it if we are parked for an extended time without shore power.

We had WFCO converter problems about a year ago - the lights would flicker and it wasn't properly charging the battery. Replaced the converter and upgraded to a group 27 deep cycle battery. Before we made the change I know that the battery would run down within a week with no appliances on (but the radio "off" but still powered); I haven't checked since as we now have shore power when we are parked (stowed).

Have you confirmed the light on the power jack and the light in the pass-through are turned off? I can't think of any other parasitic draw other than what has been mentioned in earlier posts. We installed the Progressive power management system (with display) and parasitic draw on the 110V line is anywhere between zero and 4 amps (not quite sure how this converts to battery draw); note this is with the fridge on electric vs gas but the WH is off; no lights on.

Ken

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by Glenda Clark

Yes , it has new cables attached to both batteries. It was done correctly.

What I meant was are the positive and negative going to the trailer attached to one battery.

Not the ones between the batteries.

[flybouy]

This what Chuck is talking about.

[Glenda Clark]

The Radio/DVD player Light is off , unless I turn it on.

But the light for the TV itself stays on when on shore power. Even if it's Not actually turned on.
I'll remedy that real quick. I'll unplug the dang thing. No power draw.

I checked it this afternoon , Full charge for both batteries , but I am on shore power.
I will unplug it and see what , if anything , causes a drain.

All my lights are LED. So they shouldn't cause a fast drain.

I think what nails me , the Furnace. And it's not running long.

Well , hopefully the Duel batteries will make a difference. Lol.
And , if need be , the 12v 20 watt solar panel maintainer.

Trial and Error here. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
I am learning , sloooooooow.

[notanlines]

Glenda (may I call you Glenda?), what you are experiencing is a very gradual learning slope, one which could lead you to being a moderator one day. You know; those highly paid, knowledge-filled, masters of the RV trade that keep us all in line. Some of us have learned our lessons with a serious frown on our face. Wanna hear my low-hanging steel cable story? I thought not.....
You might not look back on this and laugh, but you will remember all the ins and outs of the problem and know what to do next time!

[Glenda Clark]

Yes , you guys can call me Glenda . This entire situation has been a blasted nightmare from day one. Long story , won't go into it.

Jim , I will never know enough to be a moderator . Lol.

I feel really embarrassed , and down right stupid typing out my post because half of what I'm trying to describe is phrased wrong.
Looking for the right words about this stuff is a pain in the rear end.

So everyone will have to forgive my newbie status of stupidity here.

The thing that is hard , I am by myself , and when you have No one to refer to for assistance on these situations , and trying to answer your own questions about them , is tough.

Glad I can come here and ask my new friends for help.
But when your out in the toolies, and things go sour , you have to think fast for yourself. Hope you chose the right fix-it procedure . Lol

I need a live in mechanic along on these expeditions of mine. Ha ha.

[Glenda Clark]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

What I meant was are the positive and negative going to the trailer attached to one battery.

Not the ones between the batteries.

Yes , they appear to be Chuckster57 , then the mechanic/salesman at
LES Swabb tire store , attached 2 cables that cross over to battery 2.
So everything does look correctly.
The cables come from the frame of trailer , attach to Battery .
I Checked this afternoon , both are fully charged.

[sourdough]

As folks have mentioned, things will get easier as time goes by. I am sure many facets are completely new to you and what seems like jibberish today will some day mean something. Here's to hoping it all comes together quickly.

BTW, if you like staying in the boonies, I have one motto that I always stick by for stuff like that; "overkill is good"! More battery than you need, more all kinds of everything. When there's no one around, and/or it's 35 miles to the nearest pavement and 70 to the nearest town - you want to have more than enough "stuff" to hopefully prevent any unpleasant experiences.