DC Power issues

[Tlj882000]

Recently got back from camping and when storing the camper at home on DC power, we noticed that the Carbon Monoxide detector was blinking red on the propane and also the fridge showed an F then went to an A. While camping and plugged into shore 30amp power everything was fine. This just started on DC power. I do have a group24DC deep cycle battery for the camper. I did notice in the manual, it says to use a group 27DC deep cycle. Would this make a difference? Any help would be appreciated.

[RetiredOne]

Many questions...

How old is the battery, have you done a voltage test on it, have you done a load test on it?

If your battery has been completely discharged a few times, it's probably toast, and not holding a charge. A good battery should be around 12.6V when sitting at rest, not on the charger. If you're way below that, either it's a bad battery or bad charging system.

The size of the battery wouldn't matter in this case, it's all depended on what voltage/amperage it can deliver.

[mleger11]

Shut off your fridge by holding the on/off button. Display should go off.
If the CO/propane alarm is not beeping, its fine.
You should check the voltage of your battery either way.

[Tlj882000]

Mleger11we switched off the fridge. Then turned it back on you could here it click showed it was on ac/auto few second later F then A. I'm thinking maybe the battery. Gonna check the charge of it. When I hit the battery button on the panel I get 4 red lights saying its charged. But I'm gonna get my charger and check the volts. Thanks for your input.

[jimovernon]

In automatic mode the refrigerator should switch to AC when plugged in to shore power and then switch to propane when unplugged. Sometimes the fridge will not light right away if there is air in the lines (possibly from removing both tanks to refill). Try to purge as much air out by making sure water heater and stove both light, then try re-lighting the fridge a couple of times.

The battery should last about 3 years unless as RetiredOne said it has been fully discharged. But for storage I would only trust the battery to last a few days without recharging running the fridge on propane with the other current drains such as light/clock on stereo, LP gas detector, etc. I would suggest plugging in with an extension cord and adapter to your house to maintain battery and run the fridge on AC. A 15 or 20A circuit will be fine just do not run the air conditioner or microwave.

I have solar with a charge controller and battery meter and the Jayco battery gauge (4 red lights) are not too far off. The fact that your battery is indicating full charge makes me think your fridge is failing to light due to a gas issue.

[RedHorse1]

You said “storing it at home on DC power”. Sounds like you’ve drained the battery. There’s parasitic drain even with everything shut off (CO, Smoke detectors, radio light, digital thermostats...) it’ll drain a battery given time.