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06-11-2017, 05:00 PM
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#1
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1 Rivet Member
2016 Interstate Lounge Ext
Las Vegas
, Nevada
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 13
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Battery Draining Quickly on AI
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.
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06-11-2017, 08:21 PM
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#2
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Rivet Master
2016 Interstate Grand Tour Ext
Bellevue
, Washington
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 689
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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.
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06-12-2017, 08:14 AM
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#3
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1 Rivet Member
2016 Interstate Lounge Ext
Las Vegas
, Nevada
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 13
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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.
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06-12-2017, 08:49 AM
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#4
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Rivet Master
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 899
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Does your generator not work? Just asking
__________________
JIM n CHRIS
‘62 Overlander 26 ft. ATW Yeager trailer #5289
"62 Airstream 22ft. ATW Hall trailer #83,’90 SQ Sream, ‘06 Bambi Q/S, Prevost Featherlite 45ft, GMC/ Bigfoot camper
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06-12-2017, 09:47 AM
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#5
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1 Rivet Member
2016 Interstate Lounge Ext
Las Vegas
, Nevada
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 13
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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.
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06-12-2017, 12:43 PM
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#6
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3 Rivet Member
2015 Interstate Ext. Coach
Tega Cay
, South Carolina
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 135
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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
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06-12-2017, 01:16 PM
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#7
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Rivet Master
2013 Interstate Coach
Townsend
, Tennessee
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 749
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The propane generator does not get primed.
__________________
FMCA # 436814
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06-12-2017, 03:33 PM
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#8
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Rivet Master
2016 Interstate Grand Tour Ext
Bellevue
, Washington
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 689
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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.
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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.
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06-12-2017, 04:57 PM
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#9
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Rivet Master
2011 Interstate Coach
Overland Park
, Kansas
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,798
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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.
__________________
Glass half full or half empty to an engineer is the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
2011 Interstate SOLD! Upfitted 2017 Transit 350. SOLD!
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06-12-2017, 05:07 PM
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#10
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1 Rivet Member
2016 Interstate Lounge Ext
Las Vegas
, Nevada
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 13
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You guys are awesome!
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.
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06-14-2017, 10:37 AM
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#11
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3 Rivet Member
2015 Interstate Ext. Coach
Tega Cay
, South Carolina
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 135
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Quote:
Originally Posted by toskeysam
The propane generator does not get primed.
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Our generator in the 2015 does needs to be primed.
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06-14-2017, 10:53 AM
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#12
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Contributing Member
2018 Interstate Grand Tour Ext
Austin (Hays County)
, Texas
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,164
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gghayes
Our generator in the 2015 does needs to be primed.
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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.
__________________
John W. Irwin
2018 Interstate GT, "Sabre-Dog V"
WBCCI #9632
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06-15-2017, 10:16 AM
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#13
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3 Rivet Member
2015 Interstate Ext. Coach
Tega Cay
, South Carolina
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 135
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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.
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Thanks.
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06-15-2017, 02:23 PM
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#14
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1 Rivet Member
2016 Interstate Lounge Ext
Las Vegas
, Nevada
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 13
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Happy Ending - Battery now charging
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.
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06-15-2017, 05:28 PM
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#15
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Rivet Master
2011 Interstate Coach
Overland Park
, Kansas
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,798
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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.
__________________
Glass half full or half empty to an engineer is the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
2011 Interstate SOLD! Upfitted 2017 Transit 350. SOLD!
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06-15-2017, 05:36 PM
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#16
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1 Rivet Member
2016 Interstate Lounge Ext
Las Vegas
, Nevada
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 13
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I expect we will know in a few days once we are on the road again.
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06-17-2017, 07:25 AM
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#17
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1 Rivet Member
2016 Interstate Lounge Ext
Las Vegas
, Nevada
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 13
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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.
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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. 😊
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06-17-2017, 08:15 AM
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#18
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Rivet Master
2008 22' Safari
Spicewood (W of Austin)
, Texas
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,987
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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.
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06-17-2017, 09:54 AM
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#19
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Rivet Master
2017 Interstate Lounge Ext
Northern
, California
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,299
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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.
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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.
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06-17-2017, 10:53 AM
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#20
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Rivet Master
2008 22' Safari
Spicewood (W of Austin)
, Texas
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,987
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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.
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(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.
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