Battery System turns off overnight

Alan Chalfin · 06-03-2010, 11:09 AM

Just purchased 2006 Wildwood and new to RVing.

After running on generator power and then turned off, 12 volt system takes over just fine. Overnight the system seems to go into a mode that either supplies a very small amount of power (very dim lights) or no power at all. Battery is new and fully charged.

Anyone have a clue?

Thanks in advance.

A

NWJeeper · 06-03-2010, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Chalfin

Just purchased 2006 Wildwood and new to RVing.

After running on generator power and then turned off, 12 volt system takes over just fine. Overnight the system seems to go into a mode that either supplies a very small amount of power (very dim lights) or no power at all. Battery is new and fully charged.

Anyone have a clue?

Thanks in advance.

A

How long was the furnace running? If you are running the furnace and lights a lot one 12volt battery such as those supplied with most RVs will not last long.

On our first trip out with our rig we woke up the first morning to almost dead batteries (we had 2 of them). The furnace had been running to keep us warm all night and had used up a lot of power.

Since you are new to RVing now is the time to really become familiar with engergy conservation. Incandescent lighting, water pumps and furnaces draw huge amounts of power from the batteries. You cannot just turn things on like you are at home.

Since its a 2006 trailer I would also venture a guess that the battery may be close to the end of it's useful life. Check the fluid level in it and make sure that it is full. Re-fill with distilled water, nothing else.

Alan Chalfin · 06-03-2010, 11:22 AM

Furnace, AC, Microwave, Fridge, all lights, everything except alarms were off for the night. Woke up in the morning to nothing from 12 volt system. Turned gen back on/off and the 12 volt was back. Battery fully charged. I wonder if there is a sleep mode in the WFCO Ultra Distribution Panel....

NWJeeper · 06-03-2010, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Chalfin

Furnace, AC, Microwave, Fridge, all lights, everything except alarms were off for the night. Woke up in the morning to nothing from 12 volt system. Turned gen back on/off and the 12 volt was back. Battery fully charged. I wonder if there is a sleep mode in the WFCO Ultra Distribution Panel....

No there is no "sleep mode". The converter only supplies what is required by the system to run. There is not "modes" that the system changes to either. You simply have a battery that isn't getting a full charge, or is bad.

NWJeeper · 06-03-2010, 11:30 AM

I strongly suggest that since you are new to RVs that you go to the following page and read up a bit on how the 12 volt system works on them.

There is a lot of good information there that should answer a lot of your questions.

flyrotor · 06-03-2010, 05:54 PM

Get a volt meter and check your voltage at the batteries just as you turn off your generator and then when you notice the lights are becoming dim, I'll bet you'll see the batteries are not holding the charge, use NWJeepers advice, he seems to have a handle of all the battery issues.

Alan Chalfin · 06-03-2010, 06:18 PM

Thanks everyone for helping me with this. I will try the volt meter. The battery is new and I even tried another new battery. Same results for both.

I'm thinking this is something past the battery. When I switch to the second battery (fully charged) there is still nothing until after I turn on/off the gen.

The mystery continues.....

HookMeUp · 06-03-2010, 10:14 PM

By any chance do you have an inverter attached? If so try disconnecting it and see if the battery lasts longer.

**Herk7769** · 06-04-2010, 07:01 AM

After putting in the TM-2025RV battery monitoring system I started to program it. One of the numbers the unit needs to compute % from empty is the Amp Hours capacity of the battery. This is NOT the number on the side of the battery (like CCA - Cold Cranking Amps). I had to call Deka's Tech Support to get the number. For their Deka DC-24 battery (supplied with our 2010 Flagstaff 8526 that number is 75 Amp Hours.

This is a VERY low number for a Deep Discharge battery (which the DC-24 is).

I installed another DC-24 the second week after I picked it up since I planned to Dry Camp. If I had known how crappy the battery was I would not have gotten a second one, but replaced the new one!

Having said that, The TM-2050 has enlightened me as to the Amps that different stuff uses when on battery.

I was BLOWN AWAY by how much power the lights use! Each unit pulls 3 amps. If you are running the TV off an inverter after quiet hours the pull can be HUGE. The bigger the set (inch wise) the bigger the draw.

The fridge uses 12VDC when it runs on propane to power the computer board and cooling fan.

If the heater kicks on at night, the blower can quickly destroy what is left of your battery capacity.

Since the TM-2025 is a new mod, I have not written down all the individual "pulls" yet but I intend to post them when I do.

Hope this helps,

Alan Chalfin · 06-04-2010, 07:04 AM

Inverter was my first guess too. Cannot find one installed and also checked outlets when 12 volt was running. There was no 110 while on battery....

NWJeeper · 06-04-2010, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herk7769

Since the TM-2025 is a new mod, I have not written down all the individual "pulls" yet but I intend to post them when I do.

Hope this helps,

Herk, I went though and tested many items in our rig after installing our TM-2025 and posted them here. Do a search for TM2025 and you should find it. It would be nice if they would make things like that a sticky so that it is easier to find. And like you I was floored at the curent draw from the lights and other items.

TWO4THEROAD · 07-27-2010, 05:29 PM

I had somewhat the same problem last week while camping. I hooked up to shore power and all ran well, the microwave, ceiling fan etc. these run off of 110. The next morning I noticed that the frig was not cooling and the cabin lights were dim. in fact when I did put on one of the cabin lights, the carbon monoxide sensor started beeping saying I was low on power, even though I was still hooked up to shore power. I checked my batteries and they were way down. I had my battery charger with me, so I hooked that up and charged the batteries. The frig started to work again, using the "automatic" setting, which determines which mode to go into, either, elec or gas. Later that day, the problem arose again. For the rest of the trip, I kept plugging in to shore power and kept the battery charger running until they were fully charged. I called my dealer and they suggested to switch the frig to Gas and that it would run on propane and just use a minimum of battery power. This seemed to work. When I got home, I took it in for service and they found the converter had gone out. Once they replaced it, all was well again. Keep your fingers crossed that it keeps on working. I have the extended warrantee so I only had to put out a small deductible.

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