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Help, Battery drains while being stored and cut off.
Donkeythekidd
Member Posts: 40
So I bought my 2021 T@G Boondock brand new back in June 2020. I went on 3 trips and the battery seemed fine. Before we left on the last trip I plugged into shore power and charged the battery. We camped for 2 nights. The first night we used the outdoor and indoor lights a little bit, charged the cell phones and used the water pump - someone left it on all night or turned it on in the morning and had it on till about noon when I noticed it and turned it off. We have the solar that came with the camper. It was under the shade most of the day but got some sun. That night when I went to turn on the lights the battery was completely dead. I brought it home, charged the battery fully, and used the cutoff switch to disconnect it. 1 month later the battery percent dropped to 50%. I fully charged it again. 20 days later the battery dropped to 65%. I removed the battery, used my Noco 10 Genius to charge it and let it sit for 2 weeks with no connection, it remained at 98%. I bought an Ancel BA101 battery tester to check it. I put it back in the T@G and in 1 week it was down to 53%, tested with both the onboard Bluetooth Victron app and the Ancel, both read the same. With the battery cutoff switch in the off position nothing will turn on, so it seems to work correctly. The only thing that should be drawing power is the solar controller but not that much. So there must be a parasitic draw somewhere? I don't have a fridge or TV, I haven't messed with any of the electrical wires or added anything or taking anything from the battery system. The battery is an Interstate Deepcycle. The Ancel shows the health of it at 81%
Comments
Humm!
Ok, since you had it out, didi you check for water level in the battery? Did you leave it on the shelf for 2 weeks and see if it had lost charge? I wouod do that, and if it holds, then I would start looking for parasitic drain.
Yup, checked the water levels and they were fine. After charging it I checked it 3 hours later and it was at 98% I left it on the shelf for 2 weeks and checked it again and it was still at 98%
First, vy locating the main fuse, I would try to figure out with a battery of miltimeter if the battery cut off switch realy turn the power off. First, switch on, pull the fuse, and one side of tge fuse will have power and locate a ground, like the outer edge of the cigaret plug that should be near by. The center is power, the outer ring is ground. If you have a reading, you are fine, then, turn the switch off and test again. If you have power, then the switch is bad.
Then, I would investigate the following. Just so you know, you have tons of phantom power drain aon a T@G. All the usb power plugs have transfo in them that alway draw power. tv aslo draw constant power, the jensen unit or any standby radio or system, etc.
Ok, well, next step would be to rexharge it and pull all tge fuse from the fuse panel. Insert a fuse and monitor for a day or two than had a fuse and monitor and go on to the next.
You might locate some of the draw.
Do you have any other wire connected to the batterie? And I remember having a short in the wire box inside the front of the tongue frame. Parking lights were turned on w/o being hook up to the TV.
Good luck and keep us posted.
So I just removed the cutoff switch and got behind it and used a circuit tester and it lite up the little bulb when it was in the on position and when I turned off the switch the bulb went out so it looks like the cutoff switch works. As far as using a multimeter, the only one I have is this one I got free from Harbor Freight that I don't even know how to use.
To measure Voltage: Put the Black lead in Com (common). Put the red lead in the middle connection. Move the switch three steps to the left. DCV 20. Turn it ON. If the display doesn't light up, shut it off, put a battery in it and repeat. When you measure voltages with it and the display shows a negative (Example: -12.388) you have the black lead on a positive terminal and the Red on a negative terminal. You may find the right most digit fluctuates. It's not a problem.
To measure current, you must open a connection and insert the meter in the circuit. Put the black lead in common, put the red lead in the topmost position, move the switch clockwise to the 10A position. Remove one end of the wire between your cutoff switch and the battery. Connect the black lead to the wire and the red lead to the battery and turn the meter ON. You may need some small spring clips to fasten the wires together.
Always shut the meter OFF when you're done using it and leave it shut off while you're hooking it up.
RV 2016 T@G 5W
TV 2019 Outback or 2011 4Runner
I must be doing something wrong. My readings are all 0. I think I'm going to throw in the towel and take it down the street to an RV repair shop tomorrow. It's still under warranty but the closest dealer is 2 hours away. I'll call nucamp tomorrow first and see what they say. I'll keep you all updated. Thank you guys for your time and help
@Donkeythekidd - do you have an inverter? If it is wired directly to the battery and left turned on, they can discharge a battery.
Sharon - Westlake, Ohio | 2017 TaB CSS - Forum Administrator
No inverter. If there was one installed from the factory I would be able to use the outlets without being connected to shore power correct?
The inverter would need to be turned on, but yes, you would be able to use at least 1 designated 120v outlet.
I asked because it is a common occurrence over on the TaB forum - members forget to turn off the inverter and it does have it’s own draw.
Anything else hooked up to the battery?
Sharon - Westlake, Ohio | 2017 TaB CSS - Forum Administrator
Nope nothing else hooked up, just the way it came from the factory. It being a 2021 it doesn't even have the fridge or TV. It has the solar system that's hooked to the battery. But since it sits in my garage it doesn't get charged.
Do you leave the rear hatch open when you store it in the garage? I was informed there is a solenoid in the strut that activates when the hatch is open in order to allow propane to flow to the stove. When the hatch is closed, it is deactivated. This was installed as a safety measure, but from what I understand causes some parasitic draw on the battery if you leave the hatch open all the time. There are some posts about it here in the forums.
No I keep the rear hatch closed.
always trickle charge
I have a question to poeples who use solar.
If their is no sun, but the panels are still hook up, will they draw a bit of power as opposed to recharge when sun is hitting them? And when solar equiped, are the panels always directly connected to the battery?
@LuckyJ yeah the solar controller will draw some battery power since it's always connected to the battery. I'm not sure how much but it shouldn't be close to the drain I'm having.
In the last 24 hours since fully charging my battery and putting it back in the T@G it down already to 84% I called 7 rv repair shops around me to see if someone can check it out with no luck. A couple places are backed up for a month, one place the employees are all out sick, another place the employee just had surgery, another place only works on coaches and not teardrops. I called nucamp and talked to a tech and his best guess is it could be the battery although it's holding a full charge not connected for 2 weeks. So I don't know. I have a 5 day trip planned in a week so I just ordered a new battery it's a Duracell Ultra Platinum AGM Deep Cycle Battery Group 31 and a new box. Hopefully the battery was the problem. If not I'll have to have it all checked out when I can.
Ok, then I would definetly try not to connect the solar controler, just in case it is deffect.
But since I place the order for a new battery, you will see.
a thing is sure, the drain should be slowed with the groupe 31, but if you still notice it, your best plan of action will be to go step by step.
Have a nice trip! 😊
Got the new battery installed yesterday. I checked it right after and it's showing the Health is 100% and the charge is at 98%. I'll check it in 9 days right before I take off and see how it's doing.
There should be diodes in the controller preventing current from flowing into the panels. They would only allow current to flow when the output from the solar panel is higher than the battery voltage. BTW, hard as it may be to believe; I've seen the charge controller at my cabin light up (show charging) at night under a full moon.
RV 2016 T@G 5W
TV 2019 Outback or 2011 4Runner
@Donkeythekidd - is the controller a Victron?
Sharon - Westlake, Ohio | 2017 TaB CSS - Forum Administrator
@Sharon_is_SAM Yes it's a victron mppt 75/10.
So I tried my cheap multimeter again to read the current and followed @ras instructions. I removed my solar controller out of the equation and with my battery switch off read 0.00 I added the solar controller back and it read .02 With it being in the garage and solar panels aren't collecting any power just drawing that .02 I'm not sure how to calculate it but my old batteries state of health was 80% which probably reduced the following numbers (RC) Min @ 25 Amp and Amp hours 81. So I'm wondering if at 80% health and a charge of 98% if that small draw of .02 would take the battery down to a 65% in 20 days?
,02a = 20Ma/HR = .02 x 24 = .48 AH/day = 9.6AH/20 days. How significant that is depends on the AH of your battery. Assuming 100%, If it's a 65 AH battery, you'll pull it down to a little more than 55 AH. 55/65 = 84%. If its a 75AH battery, you'll pull it down to 65. 65/75 = 86.66666 %. If its a 105 AH battery, it'll pull it down to 95 which will be still higher. So the answer, theoretically, is no. But either shut the solar controller off or spend $20-$30 on a battery maintainer and play it safe..
RV 2016 T@G 5W
TV 2019 Outback or 2011 4Runner
@ras Thanks for the math and explanation.
The battery was 81 amp 71/81 = 88% considering it was almost at 100% charge.
But the battery had a state of health of 80% would that reduce the volts/charge % quicker?
I assume it would. One more reason to get a battery maintainer-desulphator. Here's an explanation of how they work and why you would use one. I've used wet cell Deep Cycle batteries for as long as ten years by connecting them to a desulphator every couple of years https://www.thedrive.com/reviews/31119/best-battery-desulfator
RV 2016 T@G 5W
TV 2019 Outback or 2011 4Runner
It's been 9 days and the new battery hasn't budged, it's still at 98%. So it looks like that other battery that was only 6 months old was the problem and was bad. It's just weird because when I left it sitting with nothing connected it held a charge but connected to just the solar controller would drain it quick, the last time 53% in 1 week. I topped it off once a month with my noco battery charger so I don't know.
Well, any working solution is a usualy a good solution. Happy you find the prob. At least, 6 months old, you should have it under warranty, wouldn't it??
I am glad you got it sorted! I had a similar issue in one of my vehicles that does not get driven much. I had a brand new battery, and it would always be dead, even on a maintainer. I swore something was wrong with the maintainer or the car. Finally, after I had exasperated all options, I had the battery checked. It was toast... When I installed the new one, everything was perfect, and it has been charging and working fine ever since. Electrical gremlins are sooo frustrating...
Johnny and Chelsea
Deming, NM
RV: 2021 T@G XL Boondock
TV: 2017 GMC Canyon SLT (2.8 Duramax)
I bought the t@g new 6 months ago so yeah the battery was only 6 months old. Nucamp said the batteries are installed by the dealers and unfortunately the place I got it from is a 6 hour drive there plus 6 back. I didn't even bother them about it. I think I got $18 for the core deposit :)
I got back from my 5 day trip and the new battery did great. The lowest it dropped to was around 75% in the morning and charged right back up when the sun came out.