Battery drain, where to start?

[Abish0220]

I just picked up a 2020 jayflight 28bhs and there is a major drain in the battery, it went from 11.6 to 5.8 in 24 hours. I have since trickle charged it and disconnected the battery to preserve its life. I am just wondering where to start looking for the culprit, lights and obvious stuff was checked and rechecked, I am at a loss.

[jimp]

Get the battery charged up to 12.7v or better, let it sit for 12-24hrs, then check the voltage. Should be 12.7v or better. Might be a bad battery, check the mfg date code, usually a sticker or embossed in the plastic case.

The CO2 and smoke alarms, etc., are usually the main culpruits for battery drain, the TV, a radio that runs off 12v, the clock on the radio, etc.

Does you TT have a battery disconnect switch, use it or install one.

[oldmanAZ]

As jimp said, there are devices that drain batteries and the dealers don't disconnect batteries for units on the lot.

I'd tell your dealer that the battery they provided is bad (dealers supply the batteries, not Jayco) and needs to be replaced. Who knows, maybe YOU ended up with a bad battery that someone else had replaced.

[WeRJuliian]

X2 on getting the battery checked first.

Assuming that it's ok, see if you can borrow a test meter that will measure current. Connect the ground post of the battery normally, but insert the meter between the positive post and the wire that would normally connect to it. (Does that make sense? If you're not comfortable doing this, any auto electrician can help)

Take out the fuses, open the breakers, etc and see how much current is being pulled from the battery . There should be virtually no current drawn (if there is, the problem may be in the converter/power distribution centre)

Now, reset each breaker and replace each fuse, one at at time, and check the current drawn. When you see a sudden sharp increase in current, that will tell you which circuit is causing the drain.

Now you can apply the same process of elimination to the devices on that circuit, switching off / disconnecting them until you find the fault

[RetiredOne]

If that battery went down to 5.8 volts, it's toast. Don't even spend anymore time trying to bring it back. To quote a phrase, "It's dead Jim".

The voltage will drop off quickly like you're experiencing with a bad battery. It won't hold any charge.

If I had to bet, I'd guess the dealer let that battery run down when sitting on their yard. This is a known, regular issue with dealers.

I would request a new battery under warranty from the dealer.

[Abish0220]

Thanks for all the replies, the stealer I mean dealer tells me.deep cycle batteries are ment to go that low, the TV booster antenna was left on, didn't even know what that was. I am going to install a kill switch. If I bring them.the battery then will give me a new one if it tests bad, I am bringing it to napa first as it is closer to me.

[RetiredOne]

If I bring them.the battery then will give me a new one if it tests bad, I am bringing it to napa first as it is closer to me.

That's a great idea, take to Napa and have them do a load test on it. That will tell you it's status, then you can notify the dealer for a possible replacement.

Normally, a deep cycle battery should be drained only to 50% of capacity. That is usually around 12.1 volts. At around 11.0 volts, that's zero capacity. So at 5.8 volts... well....

[Jagiven]

Certainly sounds like a bad battery.

One question, by chance is the emergence brake cable been activated? If so, the solenoids at each brake are fully engaged, and is draining your battery.

[Abish0220]

Yesterday the dealer told me about the TV antenna booster and it was on but I am not believing it would kill it in one day. The brake cable is a good idea but no I checked that, I own many trailers but this is my first new tt, are other one never moved, had it as a seasonal with a permanent battery tender instead of an inverter.

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by Abish0220

Yesterday the dealer told me about the TV antenna booster and it was on but I am not believing it would kill it in one day. The brake cable is a good idea but no I checked that, I own many trailers but this is my first new tt, are other one never moved, had it as a seasonal with a permanent battery tender instead of an inverter.

With the CO/LP sensor, radio, Tv amp, fridge circuit board, hot water heater ckt board, it will take about 5-10 days to drain your battery without shore-power.

Don
My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[Siamese]

Originally Posted by Abish0220

Thanks for all the replies, the stealer I mean dealer tells me.deep cycle batteries are ment to go that low, the TV booster antenna was left on, didn't even know what that was. I am going to install a kill switch. If I bring them.the battery then will give me a new one if it tests bad, I am bringing it to napa first as it is closer to me.

"Stealer"....I like that. Not only is a deep cycle not intended to cycled down to 5.8 volts, the "deep cycle" battery that was provided with your trailer is most likely just a starting battery re-labeled as deep cycle. My online battery expert (for sailboats) has cut open many batteries and confirmed this. There is no standard for what deep cycle means, so it's perfectly legal for a maker to label a battery any way they want. And, they do.

If you want deep cycle, put in a pair of golf car 6v batteries wired in series for 12v. If you have a fleet of golf cars at your golf course, you keep records of how many discharges a battery has had, and can easily tell which are best. So, as a maker of golf car batteries, you can't fool those guys. Cutting one open proves it, as the plates are much more robust.

Ditto on putting a good charge on your battery and taking it in for load testing. But, I wouldn't be optimistic.

[Abish0220]

Thanks don, dealers suck!!

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by Abish0220

Thanks for all the replies, the stealer I mean dealer tells me.deep cycle batteries are ment to go that low.....

For future reference, a DEAD 12 volt battery is 10.5VDC.

For a quick and easy test:
- disconnect the shore power cord
- turn off you interior lights... fans
- take your multimeter, set it to reading AMPS (providing it has one)
- pull the main 30 amp blade fuse by the battery,
- put the multimeter leads into the fuse holder. You will be reading the AMP's that the TT is pulling from your battery.

As mentioned it should be a little below 1 amp. Let us know what it reads.

Don
My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[Abish0220]

Thanks I will try this asap

[RAurand]

Carbon monoxide and propane detector is a huge drain on batteries. I wired an on/off switch into my detector. When wecare not camping, it is turned off. When camping, it is on.

I agree with the above, you have a bad battery. Get the dealer to replace it.

[Johnynorthland]

Sounds like a new, bad battery very common, have it fully charged and Load tested before you go any further.