house batteries going dead after a couple of weeks

[campingPhil]

I have a Georgetown 36T and after a couple of weeks of sitting around, the house batteries are dead. When I open the door the stairs will not work. I have to charge the batteries by starting the engine and let it run.
When I am locking up I close the screen and the stairs retract. Then I reach in and shut the main switch off, then close the outside door. Is this happening to anyone else. The engine battery never goes dead.

[BillMFl]

There are numerous small drains on a battery even with the switch set to off. For long term storage disconnect the negative terminal. If you are parked near a power source just plug into a typical 110v outet using an adapter on your power cord.

[BigMac8253]

In your post you wrote

When I am locking up I close the screen and the stairs retract. Then I reach in and shut the main switch off, then close the outside door.

If you do that because, otherwise, with the power already switched off your steps stay extended after you exit and close up the coach, that means your steps are still powered when the battery disconnect is off. When you are fooling the step control by turning the battery disconnect off with the door closed, the steps are just sitting there powered and at the ready to extend to enable this "last man out" feature when you open the door to exit. What I ended up doing is having my service provider put a dedicated switch between the steps and the battery to shut the power off completely to the steps, so I no longer have a drain on the battery due to this "last man out" feature. I only use this switch when I put the MH into storage, otherwise it is always on for safety reasons when the MH is active. I haven't had any battery issues since.

[Big Vic]

The house batteries will slowly drain due to small but steady demands from things like radio memory, CO or propane detectors, TV antenna amplifiers, etc. Adding a battery disconnect switch or removing the battery cable is one way to prevent this drain, or you can trickle charge the battery with a small solar panel, or you can plug in your shore power cord and let your converter keep your batteries charged.

[daddio]

I had this happen to me, my disconnect switch was not working, had to replace the solenoid inside the control box, cheap part but high labor. Cost was 480.00. But now all works fine. My coach batteries will stay charged for Months. The stairs stay down on the georgetown. Make sure all your lights i n your compartments are off. Good luck

[Trempert]

Originally Posted by campingPhil

I have a Georgetown 36T and after a couple of weeks of sitting around, the house batteries are dead. When I open the door the stairs will not work. I have to charge the batteries by starting the engine and let it run.
When I am locking up I close the screen and the stairs retract. Then I reach in and shut the main switch off, then close the outside door. Is this happening to anyone else. The engine battery never goes dead.

I had the exact same issue. The batteries had an internal short. New batteries solved the problem and they hold a charge for 4+ weeks without a problem provided that I use the battery disconnect switch. I'd go get your batteries tested. They will read full voltage and seem fully charged, which I guess they are, but they will discharge in just a couple days on their own with nothing at all connected to them.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[bend302]

If you have access to 120 volt shore power I would use a battery tender. Mine will keep batteries fully charged for months. You do need to have batteries tested though.

Bill

[rvpezzano]

Did you look at the obvious things, like is there water in the batteries or maybe one or both have a bad cell. a battery hydrometer is a cheap investment and it gives a definitive condition of each battery. Also, how old are the batteries?

[Milehghcty]

If you have a LP sniffer/sensor, it may have a switch to turn it off. On my 2008 Georgetown, it is located on the floor near the heater and mine does have a separate switch. If I forget to shut it off, it does have a small draw on the batteries and can drain the over time (although I think it would take longer than a couple of weeks on my 1.5 year old batteries).

[Reb Kitt]

Get a solar battery tender from Northern Tool. If you have only one house battery a single solar 2.5 watt tender for $19.99. If you have two batteries then get a 7 watt charger for $44.99 from the same place. They will keep your batteries charged and prevent overcharging.

[PaulK]

Happened to me last year on my 2007 378. House and coach batteries decided to all go bad at the same time and would discharge within a week or two. Replaced them all and hasn't been an issue since.

[chrisbailey13]

Sounds Like you might need some new House Batteries. How old are the ones that are currently on the coach?