Battery Goes dead over night

[jedsorka]

Hello i have a 2012 Road warrior and i have noticed that the batter wont last even one day after a full charge i have checked the common things like tv booster light being left on and break switch i am not sure what else it could be id there any ideas out there

 

[danemayer]

Hi jedsorka,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. There's lots of useful information here along with a great bunch of people who are ready to help out when you need it.

Is your battery running down in one day while not being used? Even if you'd left a 12v light on, I would expect a battery in good condition to last more than a day.

Might be time for a new battery or two, and a battery cutoff switch.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[TandT]

Both of my factory 12v batteries have a condition "eye", that under normal circumstances should be green.

Check to see if you have a green eye. If yours is dark, maybe the battery is just plain defective, or not charging for some reason. Trace

 

[rumaco]

You have a short to ground. Check all the wires that are grounds and make sure they are tight and clean.

 

[cookie]

I assume you are up in The Great White North, are you using you furnace now?
Furnace use in the cold weather will drain the battery fast.

Peace
Dave

 

[rumaco]

No one ever uses a funace on battery power! It will run about 15 minutes????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

[jedsorka]

I don't think its the battery considering that the unit it brand new but i suppose it could be defective thanks for the idea

 

[olcoon]

This last summer while we were volunteering for the Forest Service in Wyoming, we started getting temps in the 30's at night in mid August. Towards the end of Aug. & first of Sept. it routinely would get to freezing & a little below. We were hooked up to a generator 4 hrs in the am & 4 in the pm. With the furnace on overnight the battery would still have some "juice" left at 6 am when I'd start the generator. I was kind of concerned about that & installed a 2nd battery & didn't worry about it anymore & didn't have any problems.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Just because a battery is new does not mean its any good. Take the battery out, have it charged and have someone do a load test on it. Yes, make sure you check every light inside the coach and in all the storage compartments to make sure none are on. If you are using the heater, it will drain a battery over night.

 

[Jarhead]

Hi - welcome.
You didn't mention whether you were plugged into a 120vac power source. If you are plugged in there is an output from your converter that will trickle charge your battery (batteries).
If that's the case & you are plugged in, then you might want to check your converter circuit breaker/fuse (in the main fuse/circuit breaker panel) and/or the fuses on the converter itself. A heavy load on the battery (a short circuit) could cause the fuse on the converter to "pop" or burn out, thus disallowing the charge to the battery.

 

[jmgratz]

I once bought two new batteries that would not hold a charge. Both had a dead cell and were new. Just because it is new does not it is not defective.

 

[StarryNight]

Fully charge the battery first (hook it up to a battery charger over night after unhooking it from everything). Then use a "multimeter" to check the voltage of the battery...it should be between 13 & 14 volts if all cells are functioning. If it is, hook it back up to RV, unhook shore power, turn on most lights in rig and within a few minutes recheck voltage (while battery is hooked up and lights are still on). If voltage is around 9 or less then you have a weak cell. If it's still at 12 volts or higher then battery is fine.

 

[hoefler]

What are you running in the coach at night?? Furnace maybe? The furnace will suck your battery flat if it runs much at all.

 

[jedsorka]

yes i was using the furnace i didn't think it would kill the battery that fast as maybe a second battery is the answer thanks for all the ideas

 

[Lynn1130]

The furnace fan will kill it in a matter of hours if you are in cold temps and not hooked to shore power. 2 6 volt golf cart batteries works much better.

 

[TeJay]

Hi, You're getting a lot of info but unless you approach the problem with a plan you will be chasing your tail. Some info you got was good some other info was a bit misleading. First thing. If you are not plugged in and it's cold one 12-volt battery won't last the night. Two 6-volt Trojan batteries hooked in series will last twice as long. I believe it will run your furnace but you will need it charged by morning. Research that topic.

Now to determine if your battery is good do as post 24 suggested. Remove the battery from your unit and connect it to a known good charger. Charge it at a low amperage rate (2-19 amps) for 12-36 hours. The slower the charge rate the better. A fully charged battery will read 12.6 volts. A load test would be good now. You can take to any good battery place and they will perform the test. A load test drains a lot of current (80-100 amps) very quickly and at the end of the test you should still have over 9.6 volts of pressure available. If it fails then replace the battery. If it passes put the battery back in your camper and plug into 110-Volt house voltage. Now read the voltage coming from your converter at the battery. It should read 13.6-13.9 or so volts. It has to be at least 1-volt higher than a fully charged battery (12.6-volts) so it can push electrons back into the battery to charge it. If it's reading 12.6 -volts either the converter is bad or a fuse or CB from the converter to the battery is open. Go back to the converter and measure the voltage coming from the circuit board which should go to the battery.
This info should get you going. Trouble shooting electrical requires a systematic approach. You can't effectively skip steps or just start replacing parts. You can PM me and I can give you some further info or I'll give you my phone number and maybe I can walk you through some troubleshooting. It would be my pleasure.

TeJay

 

[jedsorka]

Thanks i will do that

 

[MTPockets]

No one ever uses a funace on battery power! It will run about 15 minutes????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

We travelled to Alaska in 2011 in our 27 ft. Class C. One house battery and dry camped many times. Uses a couple lights in evening to read and Ran furnace in 25 - 30 degree weather many nights on the single house battery..... Furnace clicked on and off all night when needed.... Cranked up the Generator after 7 A.M..... Never had a problem with thermostat set at 65 all night....

 

[brianharrison]

Hi and welcome! I am in Alberta as well. I'll PM (Private Message) you with my contact info and I can provide some trouble shooting assistance if needed.

take care
Brian

 

[jtwhites85]

I was going insane chasing my tail with batteries going dead and not being able to find the culprit. Bought the Augusta in March and by October had convinced myself that the dealer had installed “bad” or “old” batteries. Went out and bought 2 new ones and replaced them. By late December they too were dead. RV was on shore power for the whole time and everything in the coach worked perfectly whether 12V or 120V. I finally stopped to read virtually every post on this forum regarding convertors and electrical systems and went to the owner’s manual section. There I found the http://manuals.heartlandowners.org/?man=Electrical/DC_Buss_Bar/Heartland diagrams and pictures. That little reset button was elusive to say the least and on the bottom under the buss bar. When I finally found it turns out the fuse was bad and would not hold. I got a replacement and installed it and within 24 hours both batteries were fully charged and holding well.