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Old 12-08-2018, 12:14 PM   #1
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2018 Interstate Lounge Ext
MIAMI , Florida
Join Date: Sep 2018
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Electrical and Battery Haywire! Please help

Hi Airstream Community

We have a 2018 Airstream Interstate EXT with serious battery drain issues and need help on battery management

1. The unit has already been at Mercedes dealer for over 6 weeks, and they rewired the entire generator schematics and replaced all the batteries, since all batteries went bad

2. We brought it home, plugged it in to shore power, and then moved it without plugging it back in and both batteries (House and chassis) died in 2 days. The car will not start and there is zero power.

3. We had a tow truck come to jump start it, and it wouldn't start and then they sent a flat bed to tow it and damaged the unit (separate issue to deal with now)

4. We don't understand what is wrong with the electrical setup/batteries, and thus have a few questions we are hoping someone can help with

a. If the unit is not plugged in, but the battery switch (red switch on the door) is in the on-position how long should the unit last?
b. is it reasonable that after two days both the chassis battery and house battery would die to the point that the vehicle has zero power?
c. Would the house battery try to draw from house battery and effectively kill both?
d. does the car need to be on for the solar panels to charge the battery?


5. What is drawing so much drain on the batteries? What do we need to make sure we do everyday to prevent this from happening once its fixed?

6. Should we keep the unit plugged into shore power all the time?

Any and all advice is appreciated. We just want to use our vehicle and are beyond frustrated at this point.

Thank you
Sherri
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Old 12-08-2018, 02:00 PM   #2
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2018 27' Globetrotter
Apollo Beach , Florida
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The only way to diagnose your battery problem requires technical expertise and a DC Clamp Meter https://www.amazon.com/Multimeter-Au...DC+clamp+meter

You'd need to charge battery the battery first. Then remove the charger and take an Amp reading from each negative battery cable. I'd start with the RV in the state you left it in without turning anything on or off. If you see more than one Amp of draw, you need to figure out what is creating that draw. Is the Inverter on? Is the TV antenna booster on? Is the refrigerator on DC? Is there a light on somewhere in the RV? Keep trying to find something that is not turned off. Unplug everything possible in the RV. Keep looking until you find what is killing your batteries.
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Old 12-08-2018, 03:28 PM   #3
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2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle , Pennsylvania
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Hi

As noted above, there are ....errr .... hundreds of things that could be the issue. Tracking them down is very much a one at a time / check it off the list sort of thing.

The normal starting point is at the fuse / breaker panel. Shut everything off and check for drain from the batteries. If there is any, work that out first. Then go through each breaker circuit one at a time. Take care of whatever you find on each one.

Bob
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Old 12-08-2018, 03:29 PM   #4
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Niagara-on-the-Lake , ON Canada
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There should be a battery isolator to prevent the house battery draining the start battery.
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Old 12-08-2018, 04:48 PM   #5
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Dewey , Arizona
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Problem determination should begin at the Mercedes dealer who did the previous repair. Something is not right and they probably had a hand in making it that way. I would talk with the service manager and express your dissatisfaction.
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