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Old 12-21-2017, 02:05 AM   #1
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THOR #10225
Starter Battery Dead

Twice now, after the motor home sat for several days (less than a week), the starter battery has gone dead. I used the emergency start switch to start and it worked like a champ. Has anyone had this issue? It's a 2018 and we're the first owners. I can't think of anything that would be draining the battery.

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Old 12-21-2017, 02:49 AM   #2
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THOR #2829
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Originally Posted by Emmett View Post
Twice now, after the motor home sat for several days (less than a week), the starter battery has gone dead. I used the emergency start switch to start and it worked like a champ. Has anyone had this issue? It's a 2018 and we're the first owners. I can't think of anything that would be draining the battery.
Assuming not the obvious - exterior lights, etc... typically dash outlets are on the chassis battery... As we've seen things do vary between rigs, and somethings not wired as expected. May take some hunting and work with a ammeter to see what the draw is - and pull fuses until it drops. That will help isolate.

You do want to either find the draw soon - or install a disconnect on the chassis battery - as it is not a deep cycle battery.. It won't take too many of those before you will be replacing it. (Even deep cycles don't like 'dead'... but...)
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Old 12-22-2017, 01:46 AM   #3
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THOR #10301
My 2017 Venetian will drain the chassis battery in 2 days. No draw can be found.
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Old 12-22-2017, 02:10 AM   #4
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I have not had this problem with my Venetian but I did on previous MH. The draw was coming from the entry stairs for some reason. Are your stairs out when this happens? Also, you may want to make sure your radio is off by popping it off the cradle.
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Old 12-22-2017, 02:50 AM   #5
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I have not had this problem with my Venetian but I did on previous MH. The draw was coming from the entry stairs for some reason. Are your stairs out when this happens? Also, you may want to make sure your radio is off by popping it off the cradle.
The stairs are inside the door on our Class C. The light is powered by the house battery. The radio is also powered by the house battery. I can't imagine what would be causing it to run down.

For those of you with the same problem... Did you take it back to the dealer to fix? Do you just use the emergency switch and ignore the problem?

Pete
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Old 12-22-2017, 02:48 PM   #6
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Get it back to the dealer. There's no reason you should put up with a brand new coach that runs the battery dead.
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Old 12-22-2017, 03:58 PM   #7
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My 2017 Venetian will drain the chassis battery in 2 days. No draw can be found.
There is either a draw or a battery with very high self discharge. A decent repair place will find one of the two...
Chasing down the draw can be a challenge, but determining there IS a draw isn't difficult.

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Originally Posted by Emmett View Post
...
For those of you with the same problem... Did you take it back to the dealer to fix? Do you just use the emergency switch and ignore the problem?

Pete
The battery won't survive many of those deep discharges. They aren't designed for that.
Need to either find the issue, or install a disconnect at the battery.

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Get it back to the dealer. There's no reason you should put up with a brand new coach that runs the battery dead.
Agree... Hopefully they won't keep it too long.

Thinking a battery load test belongs on the PDI list... Just not a tool I expect a lot of us have. I run up to local auto store when I need one tested... May not work well during PDI.
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Old 12-22-2017, 04:15 PM   #8
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Thinking a battery load test belongs on the PDI list... Just not a tool I expect a lot of us have. I run up to local auto store when I need one tested... May not work well during PDI.
You can pick up a 100 Amp battery load tester on Amazon for $20. Small investment to take to a PDI
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Old 12-22-2017, 04:35 PM   #9
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I had the same problem 1st week I had Vegas home.

Turned out that I used store switch and it would not keep chassis battery topped off. I have since learned to never use store switch. If RV sits and is not connected, I pull chassis battery terminal and eliminate issue. My RV sits next to pool and is usually plugged into at least a 20 amp circuit. I keep a digital display to keep an eye on voltage.

My power draws were Axxera front stereo/DVD that grandchildren were using. Is off chassis battery. I did not know that and have since learned.
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