Short battery life in '15 Vengenge 29V

[cudabuck]

Good afternoon folks, hope everyone is well. Our new toyhauler (about our 5th one) has brought some frustrations. I put two brand new Optima batteries in it the day I bought it, always had great results with them. Within 10 hours when dry camping both are drained. I read the thread about the fridge having a 12v heater for condensation and rushed out to perform the mod on mine, but found out I have a Norcold N811V rather than the dometic they talked about. I have went through the wire schematic and found 12V heater, but would rather talk to someone that did the mod before I start cutting wires. Ours does light EVERY switch in the unit with a blue LED. I would like to disconnect that if possible! Also, dealer said inverter won't charge optimas right, but haven't had the problem in the past and also when I put them on there fully charged, I should have more than 10 hours. Thanks for any input folks!

[camaraderie]

I'm not a fan of Optimas..but you still should be getting decent output from them this young in their lives. Since they are AGM's you do not have the right settings for them on the factory charger but this is also minor and simply results in less life cycles...again not you current problem.
Specifying what size and type (color top) they are would help...but even if they are group 24's you still have 75 useful amp hours from them until they hit the 50% drained mark.
The real thing you don't know is WHAT is the rate of current drain when you are boondocking in your new coach. If you boondock a lot...I suggest the immediate addition of a Trimetric or Victron true battery monitor that will let you SEE the amp drain...then you can pull fuses or turn things on and off to see the individual items contributing to that drain. Roughly $160 bucks and easy to install... and quickly indispensable!
The alternative is to get a clamp amp meter (DC) and put it on your red battery wire when things are all turned off first...to see the parasitic or unknown drains... you may find something you were unaware of. Then run the things you use in a typical day, one thing at a time and see what they actually use. Then multiply the amps they use by the hours you use them for to get amp hours per day for each item. If they add up along with your parasitic loads to more than 75 amp hours a day... you need to go on an amp diet or buy more batteries.
What kind of inverter do you have (make/model)? Or is it a converter? Standby power on sine wave inverters can be a real drain sometimes..worth checking.

[cudabuck]

Thanks for the info, I am going to get that tool for sure. The unit has a WFCO Ultra III distribution center, WF-8900 series. Tracking the heated tank switch and circuit now. Also wanting to see if my Norcold fridge has the same condensation heater that the dometics do. Funny thing, I don't see a fuse for the tank heaters in the distribution center. Something has to be figured out, we can't even sleep all night without the beepers going off cause of low batts!

[RKR]

Originally Posted by cudabuck

Thanks for the info, I am going to get that tool for sure. The unit has a WFCO Ultra III distribution center, WF-8900 series. Tracking the heated tank switch and circuit now. Also wanting to see if my Norcold fridge has the same condensation heater that the dometics do. Funny thing, I don't see a fuse for the tank heaters in the distribution center. Something has to be figured out, we can't even sleep all night without the beepers going off cause of low batts!

My WFCO failed after less than a year and maybe 20 nights camping. I just limped through my last trip with a battery charger. I installed a Progressive Dynamics converter after reading unfavorable reviews on WFCO converters.
It would of been covered by warranty I'm sure but I didn't want to put another WFCO product back in. The PD's had very favorable reviews. Mine came with an external display that tells me what it's doing.


Sent from my high tech gadget

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by cudabuck

Thanks for the info, I am going to get that tool for sure. The unit has a WFCO Ultra III distribution center, WF-8900 series. Tracking the heated tank switch and circuit now. Also wanting to see if my Norcold fridge has the same condensation heater that the dometics do. Funny thing, I don't see a fuse for the tank heaters in the distribution center. Something has to be figured out, we can't even sleep all night without the beepers going off cause of low batts!

Well...you have a converter...not an inverter so no issues with drain there. That really will not be kind to your AGM batts over time... so if it tests bad ...you might want to consider replacing it with an AGM compatible model.
Can't speak to your norcold but you can probably access support materials on their site which will tell you about the design...or you can call their number.
Don't know your unit so can't help with where to look...but the problem has to be a big drain somewhere, or failed/undercharged batteries.
Remember...you don't know that your batteries are charged if you're plugged in. Plug in overnight to fully charge. Measure at the battery terminal while plugged in that you are getting at LEAST 13.2V....Then unplug AND REMOVE the negative wire from the batts for 24 hours...THEN check battery voltage at the terminals with a multimeter before putting the wire back on. You should read 12.6 or 12.7 volts at that time. Less than 12.4 indicates significant loss of capacity. 12.2 or less means you've got battery replacement problems.
Once you know the batteries and charger are both good...via multimeter...not coach voltmeter readouts.... then you can proceed to find out your parasitic amp loads and big load drains with a clamp meter as discussed earlier.
If you get a clamp meter...be sure to get one that does AMPS in both AC & DC...some AC/DC clamp meters only do AC amps. One like this is what you need...
http://www.amazon.com/Auto-ranging-D.../dp/B001VGND88

[cudabuck]

Thanks Cam, great insight and here is what I have done so far: All of my cars trucks etc. run optimas. The camper has a blue and a yellow top on it. I ONLY use the Optima charger conditioner, and last time I took it out I KNOW both were 100% with the optima charger. So, that being said, time for some sleuth work and research on the fridge to see if I can pinpoint some draws. I know it doesn't help that every switch in the unit is lit up every night. I wish I could shut that off! I will keep you all posted!

[camaraderie]

Ah...good ...that is helpful. Yellow are dual purpose start/cycle and the blues are more deep cycle. If you aren't using the coach charger on them they should be fine then.
Will wait for your further discoveries! Good luck!