Batteries dying

[Jodilee68]

My 2004 R-Vision Trail lite Rv batteries keep going dead. The house battery dies then the truck battery dies after. I've had it in 3 times to be fixed and no one can figure it out. We've changed the battery and even a fuse and recently changed the actuator which was making a clicking sound after we shut off the camper. And even after changing it, it still clicks, although not as much. Soon after shutting it down, it dies within 1-2 weeks. Anybody ever have this issue and can give me some advice. Really sucks paying for something I can't use. Thanks!

[g1g]

Is it just sitting fro the 1-2 weeks. On mine the co alarm is always on and would drain the house battery like that. The chassie battery stayed up though. I put on a cut off switch and it was fine I also found that if I put on a trickle charger when it is sitting it keeps them charged 100% this will keep them from sulfating.

[Jodilee68]

Yes it's just sitting there. Nothing is on and I put the battery switch in storage. I am new to this so I thought that if it was in storage, it automatically shut off the battery?

[mkguitar]

most RV's have a switch on the battery to disconnect the battery to keep it from draining.
This switch is on the negative or ground somewhere and often has a large red plastic key.


a battery which has been fully discharged may loose some of it's capacity to charge. the RV "deep cycle" batteries resist this better than a "car battery"


a battery which has dirt on the casing can discharge- electrons can move across the poles through the dirt or damp. keep batteries clean.


sometime when a battery runs down on you, circuit breakers or fuses on the 12 volt circuits may trip inside the RV ( check these if some things don't work after recharging battery


keep topped up ( to indicator) with distilled water unless they are a sealed type battery


trickle chargers can help- I use them on my house battery and on my van battery when in storage, they are on a timer, about an hour each night

[Trav59KL]

I'd buy a low amperage smart "trickle charger" to maintain the charge. And when it is fully charged, check the voltage. I should be 12.8 v for a battery in excellent condition. It should be 12.6 volts or higher. If lower, it probably has suffered some degradation due to sulfation when it was deeply discharged. Some of the new smart chargers has a cycle that attempts to diminish that condition, although I'm not sure how successful they are. Lead acid batteries are damaged by full discharge, although the designated deep discharge batteries less so.

In checking the voltage, keep in mind that the charger can put a surface charge on the plates, much like a capacitor, and the true voltage will not show until the charger has been off for a while.

[Davydd]

Letchworth State Park in upstate New York will be forever dear to my heart. That's where I had a stroke resulting in temporary non-responsive aphasia on the hiking trail and a 58 mile ambulance trip to Buffalo General Hospital in the rain and dark on a winding road with my wife trailing close behind in our Class B speeding along with the ambulance speeding with red lights and siren's blaring. I was conscious and aware and could see her out the back window the whole way.

[g1g]

I made a mistake on my original post I said trickle charger I ment to say Float charger. That is what I keep on 24/7 for both house and vehicle batteries. I also keep in on my lawnmower. In fact one time my mower battery was two years old and died. I put the BatteryMinder floar ch

[Jim Agile]

It is important to keep a float charger on the batteries, especially in cold weather. I let my batteries get low on charge during a cold snap and they froze up and were destroyed. A fully charged battery can endure much lower temperatures than a discharged battery.