Visit our Popular Forums

cynth42 · 06-11-2017, 05:00 PM

We are on our second trip on our 2016 Airstream Interstate and the house battery seems to be draining much more quickly than it did last year on a similar trip. Previously, we could boondock overnight with no noticeable dimming of lights or difficulty with the water pump.
This time, the lights are dim after one night or several hours parked. We can run the engine to recharge the house batteries, but we don't understand why it is draining so fast.
It was plugged in to power for several months, but was taken to the dealer to be serviced a couple of weeks before we left on our trip and they did not alert us to any problems.
I would appreciate any suggestions.

amirm · 06-11-2017, 08:21 PM

Definitely sounds like a weak battery. It is possible the batteries were not charged prior to you picking it up last year resulting in their short life.

cynth42 · 06-12-2017, 08:14 AM

Thanks. We are going to stop at a dealer and have them check the battery when we get to a large city. In the meantime we can still charge the house batteries by running the engine a little while.

Coloradobus · 06-12-2017, 08:49 AM

Does your generator not work? Just asking

cynth42 · 06-12-2017, 09:47 AM

Truth is we have never tried generator yet. Real newbies! Managed to forget all the manuals by the front door at home so afraid to start generator.

gghayes · 06-12-2017, 12:43 PM

Starting the generator is not difficult. You need to prime lt first for a few seconds, then press the start switch
But remember to turn on your propane and it helps your batteries if you start it with the engine running
Gloria

toskeysam · 06-12-2017, 01:16 PM

The propane generator does not get primed.

amirm · 06-12-2017, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cynth42

Truth is we have never tried generator yet. Real newbies! Managed to forget all the manuals by the front door at home so afraid to start generator.

Not that they are very useful but you can download the pdf version of the manuals.

On generator, as mentioned make sure the propane on/off switch is set to on (behind rear curb side wheel). The push the button for it in the up direction and hold it down until the generator fully turns on and stays on. Then wait about 2-3 minutes until it warms up and activates.

73shark · 06-12-2017, 04:57 PM

Onan limits each continuous start attempt to ten seconds due to a starter motor is not designed as a continuous run motor. Mine always took two attempts from a cold start. Keep the switch depressed until the generator is up to speed and then release.

Place a piece of black tape over the word Prime as it only applies to gasoline fueled generators.

cynth42 · 06-12-2017, 05:07 PM

Thanks for all the help. You guys are really awesome. We are so glad we joined this community. We are going to wait to try anything new until we are in a big city in case we screw anything up, but we are feeling much more confident.

gghayes · 06-14-2017, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toskeysam

The propane generator does not get primed.

Our generator in the 2015 does needs to be primed.

Pahaska · 06-14-2017, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gghayes

Our generator in the 2015 does needs to be primed.

I don't believe that is correct. Other than turn the generator off, the prime switch does nothing. My 2014.5 is the same as the 2015 and my prime affects nothing other than ignition.

One thing that will stretch your battery life is to get rid of the SB-164 "fix" that Airstream put on 14s and 15's. SB-164 adds a solenoid that stretches battery life when the AI is stored, but burns unnecessary power when the AI is in use. I have a recent thread that shows how I got rid of SB-164 on my AI. The added solenoid in SB-164 gets hot enough to burn fingers and that is sheer wasted power.

gghayes · 06-15-2017, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pahaska

I don't believe that is correct. Other than turn the generator off, the prime switch does nothing. My 2014.5 is the same as the 2015 and my prime affects nothing other than ignition.

One thing that will stretch your battery life is to get rid of the SB-164 "fix" that Airstream put on 14s and 15's. SB-164 adds a solenoid that stretches battery life when the AI is stored, but burns unnecessary power when the AI is in use. I have a recent thread that shows how I got rid of SB-164 on my AI. The added solenoid in SB-164 gets hot enough to burn fingers and that is sheer wasted power.

Thanks.

cynth42 · 06-15-2017, 02:23 PM

We took our RV to Airstream Adventures Northwest in Caldwell Idaho (boiseairstream.com). They were awesome. Rosemary Francisco got us in right away, and their tech, Claudio Coronado, explained everything to us better than even the original dealer that we bought our rig from.
It turns out that we were not charging our battery correctly. If the house battery falls below 10V, it will not charge even if you have it plugged in. We had it plugged in all winter, but did not realize that it was not actually charging. Claudio told us to turn on the engine and make sure the battery was showing enough voltage and then plug in while the engine was still running. When we turned off the engine, the battery would then switch to charging from the outside source.
Since our battery was so low, he said to leave it charging at least 24 hours, which we have, and it is working beautifully.
He also walked us through starting our generator, so we are set to go.

73shark · 06-15-2017, 05:28 PM

I suspect if your house batteries were below 10V, then they're most likely toast. While they may still seem to function, their capacity will be a lot less.

cynth42 · 06-15-2017, 05:36 PM

I expect we will know in a few days once we are on the road again.

cynth42 · 06-17-2017, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73shark

I suspect if your house batteries were below 10V, then they're most likely toast. While they may still seem to function, their capacity will be a lot less.

You were right. House battery won't take a charge. Luckily we now know how to start our generator (vehicle motor needs to be running for a few minutes, then press prime, then start generator). We will just wait until we are home again to find out how much new batteries will cost us. 😊

Boxite · 06-17-2017, 08:15 AM

Despite the enthusiasm many profess for their expensive designer-batteries with designer-charging systems.... If I'm ever troubled by a toasted battery while on a trip.... my simple, EverStart 27DC flooded-cell-replacement solution is at the nearest WalMart....and then for the next few years any problem is their free warranty replacement.

But I've yet to have any such problems.

FlyFishinRVr · 06-17-2017, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxite

Despite the enthusiasm many profess for their expensive designer-batteries with designer-charging systems.... If I'm ever troubled by a toasted battery while on a trip.... my simple, EverStart 27DC flooded-cell-replacement solution is at the nearest WalMart....and then for the next few years any problem is their free warranty replacement.

But I've yet to have any such problems.

Many recommend going with the $50 Sams Club 6v golf cart batteries. Apparently they have much thicker plates than the 12v AGMs and can take a lot of abuse. $100 gets you 12v and 220Ah.

Boxite · 06-17-2017, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyFishinRVr

Many recommend going with the $50 Sams Club 6v golf cart batteries. Apparently they have much thicker plates than the 12v AGMs and can take a lot of abuse. $100 gets you 12v and 220Ah.

(this is not meant to be arbitrary but the internet sometimes makes replies seen so)
The least expensive Sams Club golf cart battery listed today is $85, ...it will take two of them and require additional wiring costs to install, ... and they are actually 8-volt.