Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

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Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

September 30, 2022, 05:50:38 pm

Hi all, ours is a 2014 Ford chassis. I've found that if I leave the coach tucked away for a few weeks the chassis battery will drain unless I maintain it on a trickle charger. The drain is slow enough that it's never been an issue when we're set up in camp for several days.

I have a Corvette of similar vintage and need to keep a trickle charger on it or it will also fade to black within a couple weeks. My guess is there's enough parasitic drain on the Lazy Daze coach battery that this would be considered normal. Do you agree? Is this typical for a 2014 vintage chassis?

I carry my trickle charger in case I park for more than a few days, and I have a lithium jump starter on board just in case.

Thanks!

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #1 – September 30, 2022, 06:11:55 pm

Unfortunately, the battery situation you described is not normal. If it’s the original 2014 battery, I’m guessing it’s failing. Also double check that the radio is not on standby or the marker lights are on.

If you pull the battery, most automotive stores will test it at no cost. They can perform a load test which tell you if the battery is weak or failing.

Hope this helps.

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #2 – September 30, 2022, 06:49:47 pm

Most LDs should have some draw, the propane sniffer detector, the dinosaur board in the refrigerator if left on propane mode and the frig is on which is the case in our 98~MB?

Karen~Liam
98 ~ MB
NinA

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #3 – September 30, 2022, 08:08:06 pm

Add a battery switch, and use it when storing for more than a few days.
Try to have the battery fully charged before using the switch.
As mentioned, if it is the original battery, it's time to consider a replacement especially if
you plan to use your LD during the upcoming colder weather.

Larry

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #4 – September 30, 2022, 09:14:07 pm

Hi Jay; If indeed that is an 8 year old battery, you got your money's worth out of it. Time for a new battery. The chasiss battery runs the engine computer and there is a standby current. Lead acid batteries have a built in self discharge rate that increases as they get older. I'd say your case is about normal.
The propane detector doesn't have an on/off switch, so you can't forget to turn it on. That and the dash radio (memory for stations, buttons) run off of the house (coach) batteries. Usually two 6 volt deep cycle batteries in series, and located somewhere else than under the hood.
If you have a R3000i solar controller and at least one solar panel, 85 watts usually, then the factory may have included a wire going to the chassis battery from the solar controller, that keeps it trickle charging all of the time. (when there is sunlight and the coach batteries are charged up.) RonB

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #5 – September 30, 2022, 09:37:13 pm

Thanks all. The battery is about 3 years old…a giant AGM from Batteries Plus. I had the same issue with the original battery.

The previous owner of our LD had a couple brake controllers installed (sometimes he pulled a trailer, sometimes he flat towed a car), as well as an engine & transmission monitor that I suspect may be drawing constantly (if a cab door is ever opened, they all illuminate for a moment or two…makes me a little suspicious). There is a second solar panel up on top…I don’t know if it provides any trickle charge to the chassis battery, but when I store my LD it’s in absolute darkness, sometimes for weeks at a time. I suppose I should use a volt meter to check for any indication of a charge while in sunlight, and any draw when it’s buttoned up. No time to do that now as we’re hitting the road on Sunday.

Bottom line is I think my battery is good and the issue is probably with some manner of parasitic draw. I’ll plan to thoroughly troubleshoot it after we get home in November. Lots of driving coming up, not a lot of down time so the battery should see plenty of active charging.

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #6 – October 01, 2022, 12:07:55 am

Piggybacking on this thread, I went to start the engine today and it weakly turned over., then started. This happened three times. My solar panel keeps the chassis battery charged up so this had never happened to me before. I suspect a bad battery as I think it’s original. Thoughts?

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #7 – October 01, 2022, 12:45:15 am

Gregg,

Prior to my solar upgrade, I had chassis battery discharge issues on my OEM battery. I had two original 100 watt panels and a system from LD that was supposed to maintain the chassis battery after the coach AGM’s were charged.

Long story short, I had thought the chassis battery was maintenance free…it was not. Turned out the cells were almost bone dry.

Perhaps your chassis battery is not maintenance free and needs topping off.

Kent

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #8 – October 01, 2022, 10:25:38 am

"the dash radio (memory for stations, buttons)..."

That brings up a question I've had for a long time, which is: Why do dashboard radios still need power for memory? Non-volatile RAM, which retains its memory without using any power, has been widely available for decades. Every phone, MP3 player, handheld video game, USB thumb drive, and the majority of laptop computers use it. How many bytes does it take to store a dozen or two station settings? Even twenty years ago when NVRAM was sold by the kilobyte instead of by the gigabyte, it's hard to imagine that a measly 1K wouldn't have been more than enough. So why, in 2022, are we still dealing with parasitic drain from dashboard stereos? Grrr...

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #9 – October 01, 2022, 11:10:57 am

Quote from: AlwaysWantedA55 - September 30, 2022, 09:37:13 pm

Thanks all. The battery is about 3 years old…a giant AGM from Batteries Plus. I had the same issue with the original battery.

Earlier this year, we had trouble with our 2 year old battery in our LD. I was sure the battery was okay and struggled with understanding the problem. I decided to have the battery tested where I bought it and sure enough one (1) cell was bad.

Just something to consider.

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #10 – October 01, 2022, 12:35:05 pm

Hi Jay; Those things that light up when the door is opened are constantly connected to the battery. And a brake controller should be. You don't want to lose braking control on a trailer or a toad either if you accidentally turned off a key! That the same thing happened to your previous battery, well it isn't the battery's fault. So you need to find out how much parasitic draw you have. It might be considerable. For storage without solar, or trickle charger, a battery shut off switch will preserve charge in the chassis battery for a few weeks.
Hi Andy; "Why do dashboard radios still need power for memory? " I thought by now that car radios would have NVRAM. I still have my original 1999 Alpine radio, but it is wired to the chassis battery for the 'keep alive', and the house batteries run it. It's ok unless I have both batteries off for an extended time.
Hi Greg; A 2017 chassis battery is maybe 6 years old now. They get exposed to a lot of heat, and cold where you are. Banged around while driving and on cold mornings the oil is a bit thick. Batteries generate electricity by a chemical reaction, they don't store electrons 'ready to go', so cold weather impacts the ability to provide the hundreds of Amps needed by the starter motor. RonB

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #11 – October 01, 2022, 12:58:26 pm

My 2013 IB has a similar problem, but inconsistently. Sometimes it goes for weeks without a problem, other times it fades in 2-3 weeks (I suspect I forget turning something off). It's in the shop with Quality Solar out of Grass Valley for Lithium upgrade this month. He will also be intalling an AMP-L charger to take care of this, as well as a Cat-Strap.

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #12 – October 01, 2022, 01:07:43 pm

A friend of mine has the very problem in his Ford pickup, the battery will go down in about 3 weeks. He is still chasing the problem. A couple years ago our coach started fine in February and was stone cold dead in March and this was in a heated shop. Battery's just go bad too.

Jon

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #13 – October 01, 2022, 03:13:11 pm

Learning how to use an amp meter can be very helpful in tracking down hidden parasitic drains on the starting battery.

I don't like to use a battery switch for the starting battery when parked because it resets the ECM. Modern vehicles have multiple computers, many of which use small amounts of power when the vehicle is off. Since our 3000i solar charger keeps the battery charged, it isn't a problem. Our rig is stored outside with plenty of solar.
A coach battery switch doesn't cause problems when used and should be standard equipment.

My older Jeeps have Ultra-Gauge monitors that will drain the battery in just a week or two if not disconnected. ScanGauges do not appear to have the same problem.

Larry

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #14 – October 01, 2022, 04:09:45 pm

"My older Jeeps have Ultra-Gauge monitors that will drain the battery in just a week or two if not disconnected."

I can vouch for that and have tagged the power plug with a warning label.

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #15 – October 01, 2022, 04:21:53 pm

Quote from: Andy Baird - October 01, 2022, 10:25:38 am

why, in 2022, are we still dealing with parasitic drain from dashboard stereos?

My Sony has an infrared remote control. I guess the infrared receiver needs some electricity.

Re: Chassis Battery Drain...typical?

Reply #16 – October 02, 2022, 09:59:43 pm

"I guess the infrared receiver needs some electricity."

Good point, Howard. If the receiver were completely unpowered, it would be impossible to turn it on wirelessly from the remote.

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