Dead battery

rich11 · 07-01-2014, 05:54 AM

AFTER A WEEK ON THE ROAD I PARKED AND 4 DAYS LATER MY NEW DEEP CELL BATTERY WAS DEAD.THE ONLY THING I CAN FIND ON IS THE BACKGROUND LIGHT IN THE RADIO(FACTORY INSTALLED) SHOULDNT THIS LIGHT GO OUT WHEN I TURN UNIT OFF AND COULD THIS ONE LIGHT RUN BATTERY DOWN THIS QUICK?THERE IS ALSO A SWITCH MOUNTED RIGHT BEHIND THE BATTERY ON FRONT WALL WITH ON AND OFF POSTIONS,SHOULD THIS BE TURNED TO OFF BETWEEN TRIPS TO AVOID BATTERY FROM RUNNING DOWN? tHANKS AGAIN FOR THE 100TH TIME!!! RICH

jim44646 · 07-01-2014, 07:11 AM

There are other parasitic power draws ie. propane leak monitor, circuit boards. It's good to turn battery off when not in use.

mainah · 07-01-2014, 09:48 AM

I would think the light in the radio should go off maybe the radio it self is still on just that the sound is too low to hear. The parasitic draws should not discharge the battery in 4 days though wonder if your TV connection is not charging the battery as you drive?

henryj · 07-01-2014, 01:23 PM

I believe the TV antenna amp--the little push button on the wall plate--is a fairly heavy draw. Always best to use the battery kill switch--a nice upgrade Sunline put on the newer trailers--but you do lose the radio memory then.

My truck wasn't charging the battery while driving either and JohnB pointed me to the inline fuse in the electrical box on the trailer header. It's a pain to open if it has been stuck shut for years. There is a tiny Phillips screw in each dirt encrusted hole. Clean the holes with a small slotted screwdriver or stiff wire and some compressed air, if you have it. Then feel for the Phillips head to make sure you have the right size and really lean on it to break it loose without skipping in the head. Replace the screws with ss with a large head that stays on top of the box. The thread doesn't really matter as it's just going into plastic and will cut new ones.

I'd check the TV amp, the fuse and then start tracing the charging wire.

Henry

mainah · 07-01-2014, 04:02 PM

Got a volt meter? Plug in the camper to the TV and check the voltage at your battery on the camper it should be in the 13 volt range with the TV running. If not there is an issue some where either with the TV or the camper both are fused.

j52wf · 07-01-2014, 09:26 PM

Check the refridgerator. There is a small switch inside the door that activates gasket warmers for humidity (just like home refridgerators). If on, it will kill the battery in no time. Took me a year of constantly having to charge the battery before I found out about the switch. I also installed a kill switch on my aftermarket radio, just in case.