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Old 08-03-2020, 10:32 AM   #1
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Dead Batteries

My motorhome is a 2020 Berkshire 34QS.

I left the coach at the storage location for about 10 days. The coach was not plugged into any shore power. The Inverter was turned off. The Battery Disconnect Switch (Salesman Switch) inside the entry door was turned off. I did not turn off either of the battery disconnect switches inside the battery compartments (the chassis batteries or the house batteries). I am aware of these switches and would use them for extended storage periods. I went to the coach to check on a couple of things, and all of the batteries were dead. By all of the batteries, I mean the 2 chassis (or engine) batteries and the 4 house batteries. I could not even unlock the coach with the key fob. No lights, no nothing. I was able to jump start the coach engine and let it run for a while. After a few minutes, I also started the generator and ran it for a while to provide additional charging. I am aware that there can be parasitic loads that will discharge batteries. I have not yet tried to investigate.

My questions:

1. Is this operating as designed? By that I mean, should all of the batteries (chassis and House) have discharged after only 10 days?

2. If the answer to question 1 is no, it is not operating as designed, then what are the most likely culprits? What should I look for?

3. Will this have done any damage to any of the batteries? How can I know? What can I do to reduce likelihood of damage, beyond ensuring appropriate water levels in the batteries?

Thanks


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Old 08-03-2020, 05:10 PM   #2
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Make sure the solar panel is charging and we can check to see if the the battery disconnect needs to be changed.
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Old 08-03-2020, 05:12 PM   #3
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The solar display is under the bed next to breaker box
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Old 08-03-2020, 05:26 PM   #4
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No not all your batteries should be dead if you have everything off as you say.
I actually think you may missed something in your original comment which you don't know as of yet.

Next time do the same thing as well as do the battery disssconnect in the compartment. This way you are assured that parts/switches work.

Will it harm the batteries or reduce the longevity? I would say now if they are new and properly maintained.

So with all this we still don't know what you may have accidently left on cause like i said if you really did what you say you did and the equipment worked properly none of those batteries (coach and engine0 batteries should have been drained to zero.

Keep us posted on what you find out in the future.
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Old 08-04-2020, 10:18 AM   #5
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Your coach is operating as designed. If you do not shut off the disconnects in your exterior bays, a trickle charge is still being pulled from them so they will die.
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Old 08-04-2020, 02:59 PM   #6
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Thanks to all for your comments,

Maingler - I will check the solar panel when I have a chance either later today or tomorrow and report what I find.

Iggy - I am certain the switches were as I said. Specifically, the "salesman" switch was off, the inverter was off, and the battery disconnect switches in each of the battery compartments were on. I am under the impression that the "salesman" switch turns off all of the 12 volt devices in the coach except perhaps for the propane monitor/alarm. There could be other devices that are left on, but I don't know what they might be. I can imagine the engine and transmission control computers may draw a bit of current from the chassis batteries when the engine key is not on, but it should not be much.

L.A.G. - If it is operating as designed, I am a bit surprised the batteries would totally discharge in 10 days, particularly the chassis (engine) batteries.

Thanks,

Jwleslie
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Old 08-05-2020, 09:51 AM   #7
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I am not sure on the time frame, but I do know there are parasitic loads that will eventually drain the batteries.
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Old 08-05-2020, 10:15 AM   #8
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this topic seems to come up quite a bit. i have no knowledge of the georgetown.

as far as the house batteries go there is almost guaranteed to be several parasitic drains on the batteries even with the battery switch set to have the batteries disconnected. install a switch that removes all loads and connections from the batteries and you will be ok.

as far as the coach batteries go i have no knowledge. but i find it interesting that they install a battery disconnect switch for the coach batteries. why would they do this if there wasn't some type of parasitic drain on the house batteries? so i guess the solution is to ensure that the house battery disconnect switch has the batteries disconnected when in storage. there are probably also cross connections between the house and coach batteries. you want to ensure these are also disconnected.

as far as battery damage goes get them fully charged. the longer they are not fully charged the more they can be damaged.
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Old 08-05-2020, 10:41 AM   #9
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this topic seems to come up quite a bit. i have no knowledge of the georgetown.
That's probably OK being this is a Berkshire thread. Had to.
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Old 08-05-2020, 11:24 AM   #10
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You have parasitic drain somewhere. I would iinstall quick disconnects that attach to your batteries..
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Old 08-05-2020, 11:34 AM   #11
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Don't have your rig, but I can't imagine that having all batteries go dead in 10 days is normal.
If you'd left something major 'on' in the rig, maybe. If the batteries hadn't been maintained at the dealer, possible.
I'd call the dealer to see if they have any suggestions.
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Old 08-05-2020, 11:34 AM   #12
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For Maingler,
I have checked the solar charger control. It was turned off. I turned it on. The other switches are as first described. That is the house disconnect (salesman) switch is off and the battery disconnect switches in each of the battery compartments are on.


For the others who commented, I will try to reply when I can, but for now, I am off to play golf!


Thanks,


Jwleslie
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Old 08-05-2020, 12:37 PM   #13
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There is a mini breaker coming off the battery? On my 5th wheel I have a mini breaker off of the hot line of the battery. If this trips all the power from the battery turns off. If you plug in the RV to shore power the battery no longer need to power the 12 volt system and all seems fine. The mini breaker is about 1" x 1" with a tiny button on the side to reset it. I've had mine trip many times and on battery power and it seemed dead.
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Old 08-06-2020, 08:49 PM   #14
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We have a 2019 Berkshire 34QS and was having the same problem. Our batteries have died multiple times (yes I know this is really bad) until we figured out there was an issue. We had to keep it plugged in all the time. If it went more then 3 days without power, the batteries would be dead.

While doing our own investigation, we found there was a 15 amp pull on both the chassis and coach batteries. This was happening even when we pulled the kill switch on both the battery banks in the cargo compartments and turned everything off in the RV just like you.

Took it to the dealer and they found that the electric lock on the pantry was the problem. It would not turn off and was a constant draw on the batteries. Also another Berkshire came in with exactly the same problem as we were finishing with the service tech.

Something is still allowing the batteries to drain with the both kill switches on. We think it is the battery charging switch that charges both batteries and is suppose to close when the battery is charged. If the circuit is still open it would allow the batteries to drains even though the kill switch was on. Haven't heard back from the dealer yet to know if this is the other problem.

Hope this helps
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Old 08-07-2020, 12:31 AM   #15
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On my 5th wheel I have a switch on my ground lead to the frame. It turns off all the power and after 4 months it still has a charge to put up the jacks.
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Old 08-07-2020, 12:40 AM   #16
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First time using a Forum, sorry to break in like this. I'm having a single battery issue. I've replaced the battery, but like a dummy did not a photo on how it was wired. I have three wires (Black, White, & Red). Thinking Black is negative and Red positive, not sure what to do with the white. This is affecting my LCI Level Controller. Currently I have Black to negative and Red to positive and the LCI controller does what it's suppose to do. When I place the White on the negative terminal the LCI controller does not work...a workaround. Do not wish to head out on the road with a workaround. Please advise this old man. Thanks
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Old 08-07-2020, 06:59 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rainlocker View Post
First time using a Forum, sorry to break in like this. I'm having a single battery issue. I've replaced the battery, but like a dummy did not a photo on how it was wired. I have three wires (Black, White, & Red). Thinking Black is negative and Red positive, not sure what to do with the white. This is affecting my LCI Level Controller. Currently I have Black to negative and Red to positive and the LCI controller does what it's suppose to do. When I place the White on the negative terminal the LCI controller does not work...a workaround. Do not wish to head out on the road with a workaround. Please advise this old man. Thanks

First question is do you have a Berkshire motorhome, as you are piggybacking a question in that subforum. I'm going to move your question to it's own thread so you can get better answers but need to know exactly what RV you have. Is it a motorhome, travel trailer, fifth wheel, etc?


Another thing is if you are just experimenting with battery wire placement, you may have blown the fuses to your RV's converter and will need to replace them. The converter has fuses to protect it from reverse polarity (which damage it). If you reverse your battery wires, then you reverse the polarity, thus blowing these fuses....so you may have some more problems.


This link will help with that:


https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ml#post2215949



Let me know what RV you have ASAP, please.
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Old 08-08-2020, 09:36 AM   #18
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Thanks to all for your comments,

I have been thinking about the comments and looking at other related postings and reviewing other documentation that I can find. Some thought:

- my coach may be operating as designed or it may not. I am leaning to the coach not operating as designed because I find it a little hard to believe that the batteries would deplete in 10 days, particularly the chassis or engine batteries.

- in my research, I have learned about the BIM (battery Isolation Manager), Battery Disconnects, "Aux Start" switch and a bit about how these work together. But I have yet to find documentation specific to my coach and how these operate. For example, I have read several postings regarding a periodic flashing light on "Aux Start" switch for other Berkshire coaches, which I think indicates some operation of the BIM during the battery charging process. I have not observed that happening on mine, I don't know if I should or not. I kind of suspect there may be a problem with the BIM, or Battery Disconnect or "Aux Start" or something else involved. It would be nice to have a troubleshooting procedure, but I have yet to find one.

- if the coach is operating as designed, one possibility is I have left something turned on that I am not aware of. I guess it would be at least 2 somethings - one or more on the engine side, and one or more on the house side. I don't know what those might be.

- I know that I can use the manual battery disconnect switches in each of the battery compartments, which I will do. This should prevent the batteries from totally discharging in such a short time frame.

If there is a problem with one or more of the devices involved, I would like to have it corrected particularly during the coach warranty period. Just not sure what to tell Forest River Berkshire or the dealer.

I appreciate the comments. I will continue trying to understand what is going on and will post any interesting things or any resolution.

Jwleslie
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Old 08-08-2020, 04:05 PM   #19
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I was having the same problem with my 2019 Berkshire 34QS. My batteries for the coach would go dead even though I shut off both battery banks in the compartment. I now store it plugged in.

I had my batteries tested and found out they were all bad. I contacted FR and my dealer and they agreed each to pay half for the 4 batteries. I have not had any problems since. We have boondocked to check them out and they seem to work fine. You may want to equalize your batteries and then test them to see if they are still okay.

I bought my rig last October as a new MH, but the 2020 were out, my best guess is that the dealer did not keep the batteries charged.
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Old 08-12-2020, 09:43 AM   #20
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I had a similar problem with my 2019 40D. The coach sat for a couple weeks with the battery disconnects turned off. The batteries were so dead that the on-board charger would not work to charge the house batteries. I had to use an external charger to charge the batteries first before the on-board charger would kick in.
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