Dead batteries in 48 hours. something I overlooked.

[TomS]

Parked our 94 34' Excella Sunday, dead as a door nail Tues night. Thought we had everything turned off. Lp was off, furnace, wh off, lights off...what did I forget that can drain the batteries that fast?

[TomS]

Forgot to mention that I am total newbie, and this is the first time we have shut down and parked after a couple days plugged in.

[Shacksman]

Originally Posted by TomS

Parked our 94 34' Excella Sunday, dead as a door nail Tues night. Thought we had everything turned off. Lp was off, furnace, wh off, lights off...what did I forget that can drain the batteries that fast?

It's easy to miss lights turned on in the outside accessed compartments.

[Jammer]

Things to check:

1) Are you being sure the batteries are fully charged?
2) Are the batteries in good condition?
3) Do you have a propane detector?
4) Did you leave a light on in one of the baggage compartments?

Propane detectors typically draw 0.1 - 0.2 amps which is enough to contribute to battery loss but by itself shouldn't cause a problem after two days.

[Foiled Again]

How old are the batteries? Your profile doesn't say what year or model your Airstream is so I'm guessing. If you just bought a new or nearly new Airstream... If it was sitting on the dealer lot for a year NOT being properly charged or cared for... You could have dying batteries.

First thing, Check the water level - if low but not sulfated use only distilled water to fill up.

Good luck. Paula

[87MH]

Originally Posted by TomS

Parked our 94 34' Excella Sunday, dead as a door nail Tues night. Thought we had everything turned off. Lp was off, furnace, wh off, lights off...what did I forget that can drain the batteries that fast?

What about the Water Heater and the Fridge?


Those items have spark ignition that will eat batteries trying to light the turned off LPG.

[TomS]

Thanks, all! 94 model, fridge and wh off. I will definitely check the external lights.

Will also kill the master switch next time !

[TomS]

Hmm...

As soon as I plugged in the truck, the battery monitor showed full charge, and everything lit up normally. Did not find anything turned on.

I'm suspecting batteries at this point. We will see if there is anything left after 2 days with master switch off.

Thanks for all the help!

[richinny]

wheu you plug into shore power, the meter is reading the charging voltage.

[Al and Missy]

What Ricky said, but plugging in the truck. If the truck was not running, the trailer batteries should drag the truck voltage down to less than full charge indication. If the truck was running, then the panel was reading charging voltage. The panel reads the battery voltage and is only meaningful after the batteries have "rested" a while after being charged, typically 15-30 minutes.

Al

[idroba]

Originally Posted by TomS

Hmm...

As soon as I plugged in the truck, the battery monitor showed full charge, and everything lit up normally. Did not find anything turned on.

I'm suspecting batteries at this point. We will see if there is anything left after 2 days with master switch off.

Thanks for all the help!

Batteries are suspect but since it happened unexpectedly and when you plugged into the truck suddenly things started to work, have you checked the terminals on the batteries? They can look tight and not be due to corrosion. Clean them first, then see what happens. Also, some Airstreams have fuses in the battery wire circuits, mostly those in the '70's. Have you checked for a blown or corroded terminal on those fuses if you have them. They will be large glass 50 amp fuses, and may be in the positive or negative leads, or both.

Check the voltage at the batteries. Are they really dead? If not, you may have some other issue.

[TomS]

Thanks, all! Learning fast...

I think I will pull the batteries, check/fill them, and charge them at home (I don't have 110 vac at the storage site). Then check state of charge w/ voltmeter and monitor charge retention.

I there an easy way to tell if my 94 Excella has the "old" Univolt, or one of the newer models with multiple charge levels? I'm assuming that the converter is up front under the couch somewhere, but I have not actually clapped eyes on it...

Will also check/clean battery terminals, per suggestion above...

Thanks...

[TomS]

Batteries held charge after 2 days with master switch off, so I must have left something on...batteries were new, and all connections new and shiny!

Dealer must have put them in just before delivery. Yay, Woodland in Grand Rapids!