RV Battery Drain. RV Battery Drain Tip

RV Battery Drain. RV Battery Drain Tip

There are several things in an RV that will continue to slowly drain the coach battery even when you think everything is turned off. One of the leading culprits for battery drain is the LP gas leak detector. On a lot of RVs this is designed to operate all of the time.

There are other items that we overlook sometimes like the power booster on the TV antenna, or a clock that operates off of 12 Volts. If your RV is not equipped with a battery disconnect switch you can purchase a device that installs right on the battery post. When you're not using the RV you simply lift a lever up and it disconnects all 12 Volt power going to the RV.
This tip contributed by Mark Polk at RV Education 101

RV Battery Drain Question:
When I plug in to ac power everything works fine, but when i try to use the Dc power I get nothing. The problem seems to be in the battery disconnect. The battery disconnect does not switch on. I had a weak main battery, and assumed that was the problem. I purchased a $150 battery and still have no DC power. I didn't think much about the switch itself, but now after putting a new battery in I am thinking that it must be the switch itself? As far as I know the house battery is fine ( less then a year old ). Even if it wasn't fine I should still be able to use the DC power and I cannot. What do you think?

RV Battery Drain Answer:
There are a lot of possible scenarios here. When you are plugged in, the Converter is supplying the 12 volt power. I would check the water in the batteries. Even if they are only a year old they may be junk. If you don't ck the water in the cells, they may be dry and ruined. You should check the water in your batteries ever 3 months and use only distilled water to fill them. Ck the voltage on the batteries when unplugged. Then ck it again with it plugged in. If volts increase when plugged in then the batteries are getting charged. You can now look for the disconnect. ck volts at the post, If one side is powered and the other is not, then try jumping the powered side of the disconnect to the trigger wire. If it kicks on then you have a bad switch. If doesn't, then the disconnect is bad.