Batteries going dead

[Jeffro]

New owner of 2013 voltage 3200
Got fridge running on propane while traveling
First night batteries dead
Put new batteries in
Second night the new ones were dead
Is there something I need to turn off during the day that won’t shut the fridge?

[wildwest450]

Something isn't right. If you're traveling, the truck should be charging the batteries, there's no way new batteries should die in one day. Were they fully charged when installed?

[persistent]

Run the Refer on propane when you are camped without shore power. 12 volt heater in the refer is high draw. Battery bank probably does not have the capacity to run the refer that long.

How many amp hours in your battery bank? How much current does your refer draw?

Do you have an inverter to supply 115 volts from the battery? Is it on? Running the refer from an inverter would be too much for the battery bank.

There are lots of possibilities. Good troubleshooting is next.

Do you have a % of charge monitor? Can you get a voltage reading on the battery bank? (Get a digital multimeter at your local hardware store for about $10.)

Check voltage after driving for two hours without the refer running on 12 volts. It should be above 12.0 volts. After many hours of driving it should be above 12.4 volts. 13.6 volts should be 80% of full charge.

Static test the voltage. Disconnect 7 pin tow vehicle connector. With no 12 volt appliances or lights running for an hour and no charging, you can estimate % of charge from the voltage. See attached PDf file.

You need to fully charge the batteries for 14 to 18 hours for maximum life of the batteries. This also probably needs to be done when new batteries are installed. Usually that is done with shore power. You can substantially charge the batteries with a generator or from a properly wired tow vehicle (TV). 80% would be good for TV or Gen charging so you should have more than 12.4 volts static.

Are all switches set properly. There may be circuit breakers that are off. Lots of other switch possibilities.

Are you plugged in to shore power when camped at night? If so, refer on 115 volt AC is best. But it would also indicate the charger/converter may not be turned on. Converter/Charger should be capable of charging batteries as well as run refer.

[Jeffro]

Originally Posted by wildwest450

Something isn't right. If you're traveling, the truck should be charging the batteries, there's no way new batteries should die in one day. Were they fully charged when installed?

I thought truck should be charging batteries too. I didn’t bring volt meter so not 100% sure but the usually are real close to full charge when new.
I know when I hooked them up connecting ground last it sparked a little so there is a draw somewhere.
The ground wire eyelet broke off the wire grounding batteries to frame when I put them in and now batteries are holding. Think I just need to figure out what is on besides fridge that would drain them.
They are deep cycle 6 volt batteries wired for 12 volt
I will get to checking into it soon.
Thank you for response

[franktafl]

there is always going to be a drain on the batteries from something in the RV. You may check to see if your inverter is running something or if you have some 12v items ON.

[Jeffro]

Not sure on amp hours but they are good deep cycle interstate golf cart batteries 6 volt wired for 12 volts
Frig is running on propane
Not sure about a inverter would guess it has one but it’s new to us so will have to do some looking.
I know something is drawing power that is related to camper frame ground because I broke ground wire off frame when installing new batteries and there is some spark when I touch that wire to frame.
Now that the ground to frame wire is broke off the batteries are holding.
We have been moving my mom and haven’t had time to look into it much but will let you know what we find
Thank you for reply

[rich2481]

Side note,, Amazon Daily deals has multi meters for around 10 bucks, usually ever couple of days, I used to get the free ones from Harbor Freight but they are cheapos, the ones on Amazon seem to be decent enough, I throw one in every vehicle i have, then the only worry I have is the batteries being good in them when I need them.. doesnt help your problem.

[Jeffro]

Well made it back home with a whole list of repairs to do. I will get my volt meter and do some checking and let you all know what I find.
Thanks for the help