Battery Drain 2017 Melbourne

TWG · 12-14-2016, 11:12 AM

Ever since we got our unit, the chassis (and house, but that's another story) battery drains after 2-3 days of being parked. We have been vigilant to check EVERYTHING that could be accidentally left on. No glove compartment lights, no dome lights, radio is "off", supposedly. Yet the draining continues. Battery has been checked out to be ok. We suspect it's the Pioneer ACH-x2800bs radio, that came standard on the unit, but wired such that it can be on when the key is removed (since it is the heart of the entertainment system). Even though we use the "Power Off" function, we wonder if it is remaining in some sort of stand-by mode.

I know we could install a battery cut-off switch, but resetting the radio every week, which is how often we take it out, would be a pain, and IMO, shouldn't be necessary.

Have any other Class C owners had this issue and found it to be due to the radio or any other reason?

Thank you!

abarkl · 12-14-2016, 11:26 AM

All RVs have parasitic power draws to include such things as CO detectors, powered steps, radios, and other tech features.

If the RV will not be used or powered by shore or generator for an extended period then a full battery disconnect must be used to prevent these parasitic power draws.

We leave ours connected to shore power while in storage and have also installed a Trik-L-Start which allows the built in converter to charge the chassis battery while charging the coach battery.

TWG · 12-14-2016, 11:32 AM

Thank you for your response. I understand parasitic draws exist. However, I think 2-3 days of storage is a short time for the chassis battery to drain. A trickle charger also did not prevent it, thus my question, especially regarding the very short time it takes to drain.

abarkl · 12-14-2016, 11:43 AM

Pull the fuse for the radio and check the results. Many modern chassis' such as the Ford and their designed electronics circuits for ECM, TCM, and others may be the actual culprit(s).
Although the coach builder will often hot-wire many things to the chassis battery.

TWG · 12-14-2016, 11:45 AM

I forgot to mention that is a Mercedes Sprinter chassis, but could still do the same. I would pull the fuse IF I knew where to find it, but due to lack of documentation on which fuse is which, it would be a testing/guessing game. Would you have any idea on where to find that information?

abarkl · 12-14-2016, 11:56 AM

Without a diagram or by contacting Jayco customer service or Mercedes it would be a shot in dark.

Try these Mercedes Sprinter forums, a sister forum of JOF;
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f280/

che57vy · 12-14-2016, 12:10 PM

I do not know if this would help, one time I had a similar problem with a car. I removed positive lead from the battery hooked a test light between the positive post of battery and battery positive wire clamp and the if there is a load it will light.Then I pulled each fuse till the light went out.It happened to be a faulty trunk switch keeping the light on when trunk was closed. You may be able to try that pull each fuse removing one at a time when you get to one causing the drain the light will go out.

mike837go · 12-14-2016, 01:28 PM

X2 on CHEV57VY's idea.

If you have access to a VOM, use the 10A function to find the culprit. The normal parasitic load of around 100ma may light a 12V test lamp and keep you from finding the real problem.

che57vy · 12-14-2016, 02:33 PM

my idea was old school just a suggestion I am sure there might be better ideas out there.

TWG · 12-14-2016, 03:17 PM

Okay, so here's the latest, took the unit to Mercedes after the dealer said they had "repaired" the issue due to "poor battery terminal connections". Mercedes just called and said everything looks good EXCEPT that the battery in the chassis is an AFTERMARKET battery and NOT the Mercedes one that should be in there. So apparently the dealer changed the battery before it was sold to me so now my Mercedes battery warranty is in effect null and void! I will be lodging a formal complaint about this dealer, Richardson's RV in Menifee, by the way. This unit had to be jump started before test driving so they apparently had issues and changed the battery probably for the day I picked it up. Absolutely ridiculous to be caught between a dealer, Jayco, and Mercedes with NO HELP.

**norty1** · 12-14-2016, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelWriteGirl

Okay, so here's the latest, took the unit to Mercedes after the dealer said they had "repaired" the issue due to "poor battery terminal connections". Mercedes just called and said everything looks good EXCEPT that the battery in the chassis is an AFTERMARKET battery and NOT the Mercedes one that should be in there. So apparently the dealer changed the battery before it was sold to me so now my Mercedes battery warranty is in effect null and void! I will be lodging a formal complaint about this dealer, Richardson's RV in Menifee, by the way. This unit had to be jump started before test driving so they apparently had issues and changed the battery probably for the day I picked it up. Absolutely ridiculous to be caught between a dealer, Jayco, and Mercedes with NO HELP.

Has Jayco been involved in this?

**Mustang65** · 12-14-2016, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelWriteGirl

Okay, so here's the latest, Mercedes just called and said everything looks good EXCEPT that the battery in the chassis is an AFTERMARKET battery and NOT the Mercedes one that should be in there. So apparently the dealer changed the battery before it was sold to me so now my Mercedes battery warranty is in effect null and void!

So I wonder if you were to look under the hoods of the RV dealership employee's (techs) personal cars, would you locate the Mercedes batteries? The clue is that they did not properly tighten the battery cables after switching/replacing the battery(S).

I wonder how many others unknowingly had batteries switched? Or does the RV dealership get the RV's and do not put them on a charger and the batteries are totally dead and replace them with inexpensive replacements.

I am sure that Jayco could search the RV database for that dealership, pull the names and telephone numbers and have the owners check the type of battery that is in their RV. Naaaa, to much work for Jayco and it would give the dealership a bad name. Wait how about a penalty/fine from Jayco ?

Just a thought!

Don

campaholix · 12-14-2016, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelWriteGirl

Ever since we got our unit, the chassis (and house, but that's another story) battery drains after 2-3 days of being parked. We have been vigilant to check EVERYTHING that could be accidentally left on. No glove compartment lights, no dome lights, radio is "off", supposedly. Yet the draining continues. Battery has been checked out to be ok. We suspect it's the Pioneer ACH-x2800bs radio, that came standard on the unit, but wired such that it can be on when the key is removed (since it is the heart of the entertainment system). Even though we use the "Power Off" function, we wonder if it is remaining in some sort of stand-by mode.

I know we could install a battery cut-off switch, but resetting the radio every week, which is how often we take it out, would be a pain, and IMO, shouldn't be necessary.

Have any other Class C owners had this issue and found it to be due to the radio or any other reason?

Thank you!

Posted a question about this same issue on a 2016 Melbourne. So far I haven't been able to dig into the unit to try to resolve the issue so I just ran power out and put my battery charger on trickle charge until I can get the camper back to the dealer to have it dealt with.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

TWG · 12-14-2016, 06:06 PM

@Norty1:
Jayco has been informed of the ongoing issues around this unit since it's purchase and did agree to work with a different repair shop due to my issues with this dealer's repair work. However, I was told last that since it was the chassis battery that it needed to go to Mercedes for that issue. When I found out this news from Mercedes today, I called Jayco right away and he is to be contacting the dealer and Mercedes, I HOPE in order to get MB to put the correct battery back in. Of course, the dealer denies changing the battery and says Jayco must have opted to change it out and probably didn't inform Mercedes...so now it's a who did what and who says what game.

TWG · 12-14-2016, 06:08 PM

@Mustang65:
That was my thought exactly! Actually, since they had to jumpstart this unit when I test drove it, my suspicion is that the day I went to take her home, the unit wouldn't start and they probably changed the battery out in a panic. The dealer denies changing it and says they would never do the work to do that without Jayco paying them....interesting saga.

TWG · 12-14-2016, 06:12 PM

@Dnbgould:
I'm sorry you are having this issue too. Can I ask what radio you have? I strongly suspect it is either the model radio or some bad wiring. I say that because the radio had to be replaced the day I picked the unit up because the backup camera working (note: this was after a fuse had to be replaced for the camera). Then the radio was not functioning correctly for TV sound, so I had to take it back and they said it was wired wrong (I'm sure due to the fast switch they had to do on pickup day).

Anyway, this unit has the Pioneer AVH-x2800BS....

campaholix · 12-14-2016, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelWriteGirl

@Dnbgould:
I'm sorry you are having this issue too. Can I ask what radio you have? I strongly suspect it is either the model radio or some bad wiring. I say that because the radio had to be replaced the day I picked the unit up because the backup camera working (note: this was after a fuse had to be replaced for the camera). Then the radio was not functioning correctly for TV sound, so I had to take it back and they said it was wired wrong (I'm sure due to the fast switch they had to do on pickup day).

Anyway, this unit has the Pioneer AVH-x2800BS....

I don't know the radio model, but it's interesting to hear your camera wasn't working. The reason I'm taking mine back is due to the backup camera not working when I bought it and it's taken 3 months for Camping World to get the part from Jayco.

(Jayco was pulling some crap about not selling the part to CW because they weren't an authorized Jayco dealer.)

Anyway, I know the radio is a pain in the ass to operate and it took me forever to figure out how to make it stop playing music every time I shut the engine off. I'm not sure it ever really powers off, so that could certainly be the power drain issue. When the ice and snow melts I'll try to find the model number.

TWG · 12-15-2016, 10:27 AM

@Dnbgould:
Yes, I'm not sure it powers off completely either, but there is no power at our storage, so a trickle charger is not an option..we tried a solar one and it drained with that. Therefore, our only option is to cutoff the battery now and reset the dang radio every weekend...ridiculous. You would think they would test compatibility and issues before they choose to put a product in their units.

**Mustang65** · 12-15-2016, 11:15 AM

What is the mfr/model of the battery that is in there now?

Log on to the battery mfr website and see where they have the battery mfr date on the battery. Also copy table on how to decipher the date code. I would tell the dealer that you expect them to get the Mercedes battery and put it in the RV... and if they give you static, tell them that you will post some nasty reviews regarding their integrity and unwillingness to correct their problem.

Don

TWG · 12-15-2016, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mustang65

What is the mfr/model of the battery that is in there now?

Log on to the battery mfr website and see where they have the battery mfr date on the battery. Also copy table on how to decipher the date code. I would tell the dealer that you expect them to get the Mercedes battery and put it in the RV... and if they give you static, tell them that you will post some nasty reviews regarding their integrity and unwillingness to correct their problem.

Don

The unit is at Mercedes now...I called Jayco before letting it leave there and they are supposed to call the dealer and the Mercedes repair shop. My hope is that they tell Mercedes to put it back in. I have no idea what brand is in there, but the dealer sure didn't tell me it wasn't a Mercedes battery, they said Jayco must have changed brands and not told Mercedes. Good grief....

I'm just so glad that I took it to Mercedes to find this out now rather than 6 months from now when there would be no certainty on their end that I didn't switch it out!

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