New Airstream, what is draining my batteries so quickly?

['55 Airlight]

Originally Posted by tsunami

On an outside chance, check to make sure that the plunger for the emergence brake break-away, on the hitch is still plugged in. If by chance that it's out, it will drain the batteries quickly.

As well as damage your electric brakes if the breakaway is activated overlong, it should be noted.
Michael

[wrhnco68]

If you use the booster for the conventional antenna, it will pull the batteries down in a hurry.

[guskmg]

Parasitic drains are specially hard on weak batteries. Some of them are CO detector, sub woofer and inverter already mentioned, factory solar systems when in the shade, and possibly the converter, depending on Mfg. Looking at drains with a multimeter is a good move. On the class 2 resettable circuit breakers, you will have to disconnect one of the leads to test that circuit. If it is fused just pull the fuse and test across the fuse holder. Also on my Dometic refer, on the right side of the control panel there are two switches the are heaters to help control moisture Make sure they are off. I never turn mine on.
Happy hunting.
guskmg

[HeadWest]

Originally Posted by AnnArborBob

Amsterdamer, I suspect that your dealer meant that when you are connected to shore power, and the fridge is in auto mode, it will actually use electricity from shore power vs. LP to cool and hence it is using more electricity than if it was in gas only mode whether or not you are plugged into shore power. On the other hand, if he/she meant that you will use more electricity when on auto mode vs. gas only when NOT plugged into shore power (i.e., using the 12 volts from the battery to power the computer) he/she does not know what he/she is talking about.

My dealer also told me to switch it to gas only, not auto when boondocking. He said that the auto mode does a regular check every few minutes from see if 110 is present and that checking cycle does use more power (from 12v). He also recommended using the auto position while towing since it does check for the gas getting blown out more frequently. If I'm bored someday I'll call Dometic and try to verify.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by HeadWest

My dealer also told me to switch it to gas only, not auto when boondocking. He said that the auto mode does a regular check every few minutes from see if 110 is present and that checking cycle does use more power (from 12v). He also recommended using the auto position while towing since it does check for the gas getting blown out more frequently. If I'm bored someday I'll call Dometic and try to verify.

Hmmmmm……………

Never heard that one…… I CAN tell you with certainty that when on LP, the igniter probe (the one that replaced the thermocouple in older models) sends a signal to the control board indicating that there IS a flame. This is in millivolts and would have no impact on your battery drain.

If the board is set for LP operation and 'expects' to see the flame signal but doesn't (flame out condition) it will automatically try to re-ignite the flame 3 times before going into lock-out. Once in lock-out, you physically have to re-set the board by turning the unit off at the control board to begin the sequence again.

Whether on auto or LP operation, you STILL only get 3 tries for ignition before lock-out and the control board will not continually try to re-ignite the LP burner after lock-out. The 'AUTO' setting has no bearing on this built-in safety feature, and the board will NOT continue to attempt ignition after lock-out.

Unless your dealer has some new 'inside' information, I think he might need to attend a Dometic quick course in RV refrigeration to come up to speed on igniter board operation in RV refrigerators.

[baldwin6601]

Had the same problem a few years ago. Finally noticed that the dock light, that little light by the step, was on all day and all night....

[AnnArborBob]

Originally Posted by lewster

Hmmmmm……………
Unless your dealer has some new 'inside' information, I think he might need to attend a Dometic quick course in RV refrigeration to come up to speed on igniter board operation in RV refrigerators.

I suspect we have "outed" another RV dealer or salesperson with limited RV knowledge and a propensity to make things up on the fly. I know these are rare, but they do exist.

[rmkrum]

Rare as rocks, I would bet. It's the really good ones that are gems. (Rimshot!)


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[megster]

So I had my battery deep charged at the dealer over night a week or so ago. Had battery switched to off and was plugged in. Yesterday we began our road trip and drove about two hours with fridge running, then stopped for dinner and switched to propane mode for the evening. When we arrived at our first sleep stop we turned on battery for lights and water pump. We turned on the heat, which I thought was run totally via propane. The heat ran about ten minutes and then stopped. We have plenty of propane in our tank. The battery indicator says it's nearly uncharged already. What are we doing wrong?

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by megster

So I had my battery deep charged at the dealer over night a week or so ago. Had battery switched to off and was plugged in. Yesterday we began our road trip and drove about two hours with fridge running, then stopped for dinner and switched to propane mode for the evening. When we arrived at our first sleep stop we turned on battery for lights and water pump. We turned on the heat, which I thought was run totally via propane. The heat ran about ten minutes and then stopped. We have plenty of propane in our tank. The battery indicator says it's nearly uncharged already. What are we doing wrong?

Not sure what you mean by 'battery switched to off' or 'switched to propane mode'.

The Dometic fridge requires propane and 12v when you're traveling. By your door is a "use/store" switch. This must be in "use" so the fridge can get power. It must also be in "use" when you are connected to shore power so the batteries will get / stay charged.

The propane furnace also requires 12v power to run the furnace fan. If the battery is drained the fan won't run so the furnace shuts off as protection.

So if traveling and the fridge is on, use/store is set to use
If stopped for the night and you are on shore power, set use/store to use so the batteries will charge. If you are not on shore power, keep the switch on 'use' if you want to run the furnace but watch your battery level, don't go below half.

If storing the AS, set use/store to store after the batteries are fully charged and check their level periodically.

[megster]

My fridge does not appear to have an auto mode. It has a choice of gas, battery, or shore power. Currently it shows it is at max cold temp on propane yet the warning triangle has been blinking red even though I have propane in the tank. The battery I was referring to is the one out my the propane tanks. The on off switch is under my bed.

[xrvr]

If you drove all day with the fridge on battery, you probably killed it. There's a reason AS does not offer 12 volt only operation. It's a battery killer.

[paiceman]

Originally Posted by megster

So I had my battery deep charged at the dealer over night a week or so ago. Had battery switched to off and was plugged in. Yesterday we began our road trip and drove about two hours with fridge running, then stopped for dinner and switched to propane mode for the evening. When we arrived at our first sleep stop we turned on battery for lights and water pump. We turned on the heat, which I thought was run totally via propane. The heat ran about ten minutes and then stopped. We have plenty of propane in our tank. The battery indicator says it's nearly uncharged already. What are we doing wrong?

Batteries have draw with at minimum the CO2 monitor plus possibly something else on. If you are running all day and want the tow vehicle to charge the batteries the battery disconnect switch in the trailer must be on. The only charge put to the batteries with the battery disconnect in the off position is from the solar systems installed by the factory and or aftermarket if the aftermarket installers do it that way.

[dkottum]

I thought the tow vehicle will charge the batteries no matter the position of the Battery Disconnect? It would only isolate the batteries from the Airstream's converter/charger in STORE position.

But then we always have the Battery Disconnect USE when traveling so the fridge can run on propane.

[idroba]

Originally Posted by dkottum

I thought the tow vehicle will charge the batteries no matter the position of the Battery Disconnect? It would only isolate the batteries from the Airstream's converter/charger in STORE position.

But then we always have the Battery Disconnect USE when traveling so the fridge can run on propane.

I just looked at the wiring diagrams for the 2013/14 models. They show the battery isolation relay is not in the path of the tow vehicle charge system so you are correct that the TV charges the batteries no matter which position the USE/STORE switch is in.

[PKI]

Originally Posted by richw46

-- snip --

If stopped for the night and you are on shore power, set use/store to use so the batteries will charge. If you are not on shore power, keep the switch on 'use' if you want to run the furnace but watch your battery level, don't go below half.

If storing the AS, set use/store to store after the batteries are fully charged and check their level periodically.

Dealer told us in a seminar that the use/store switch should go to store after a couple of hours so after the batteries were recharged, they would not continue to be fried by the charger. Of course this info was not in the orientation walk through discussion. The other interesting information is that the water does not seem to boil away. We have added water when we got the trailer (warning sign?) and small amounts twice since. Is loss of water not a prime indicator of overcharging? Or rather, can you be overcharging without observable loss of water? Pat

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by PKI

Dealer told us in a seminar that the use/store switch should go to store after a couple of hours so after the batteries were recharged, they would not continue to be fried by the charger. Of course this info was not in the orientation walk through discussion. The other interesting information is that the water does not seem to boil away. We have added water when we got the trailer (warning sign?) and small amounts twice since. Is loss of water not a prime indicator of overcharging? Or rather, can you be overcharging without observable loss of water? Pat

Loss of water means it's either overcharging or you have a dead cell in the battery and the charger is trying to get the battery to a charged state. It overcharges the other cells trying to get the dead cell charged.

If you're adding water then you should get a battery hydrometer. Go to your local parts store, Wal-Mart, etc. and look for one, they are usually cheap. Even a good one is not terribly expensive. Check the charge in each cell, they should all be about the same level but I'm betting one will show much lower than the others. If so, you need to replace the batteries.

If they are the same level then the converter is overcharging. You should replace the one that came with the AS with a multi-stage charger, like a Progressive Dynamics. If you're somewhat handy this is not a tough DIY project, just follow the instructions, starting with disconnecting the batteries and AC power.

[switz]

When I did the Progressive Dynamics replacement on our 2013 25FB International Serenity, I had to get creative to get nearly another two inches of wire pulled into the new box as one wire went to a post farther from the securing wire grommet at the edge of the new box.

We call this stretching the wire.

[lewster]

There is a sufficient amount of the 6AWG cable that powers the fuse block, but it's behind the breaker box.

Remove the breaker panel from the wall, loosen the strain relief tax the back and pull your wire thru (should be red and white).

Re-tighten the strain relief, replace the breaker box and continue your conversion.

Airstream does provide sufficient slack for an appropriate 'service loop' in the space behind the breaker/converter area.




Lew Farber
RVIA/RVDA Nationally Certified Master Tech
ABYC Certified Master Marine Electrician
Master Tech Energy Systems, Inc.
AM Solar Certified Installation Center*AMS Lithium Batteries
Lifeline AGM Batteries**Magnum Inverters
541-490-6357

[caseywsj]

I don't understand this. If I'm camping with shore power, plugged in for 5 days & have battery in the "USE" position isn't this the same thing? I wouldn't expect to fry the batteries. Is the charger in the new AS really this lame? I need to go read the manual.