Battery losing charge quickly
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Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15301
Printed Date: 08 Jun 2025 at 5:52am
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Topic: Battery losing charge quickly
Posted By: billyingolden
Subject: Battery losing charge quickly
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2022 at 3:52pm
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Hi everyone! My almost new Group 27 12V Interstate battery is losing charge really quickly despite not having anything turned on. I know it's normal for there to be some level of small parasitic load, but it's going from like 13V to 11.5V overnight without anything being turned on, which seems way too quick. I didn't know much about batteries when we originally got the r-pod, so it did once get discharged almost completely, which I know isn't good for the battery's longevity. But I assumed being less than 6 months old it would've bounced back ok. I'd really appreciate any thoughts you have, thank you!
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Replies:
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2022 at 8:33pm
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Are you the original owner of this battery? Does it have sufficient water in the cells, are the cells full to the 'filled' line? Has this battery been drawn down below 12.2v in the past? If so its longevity will be greatly reduced. Also, try putting on a trickle charge (2 amps) for 24-36 hours, let rest for 3 hours or so, voltage should read 12.72v or better. Let set for another 24 hours (not hooked up to anything) and take another reading, should read about the same as your previous reading from the day before. If it is significanly less, the battery has been hurt and will need to be replaced. ------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2022 at 10:01am
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Also, invest in a multimeter that includes a clamp-on DC ammeter. It's possible that you have a parasitic load that is depleting your battery. The propane detector has a small parasitic load, but is only in the few milliamp range. If your emergency disconnect has pulled on the electric brakes, that will draw several amps, and needs to be turned off. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 04 Jun 2022 at 7:38am
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Even new lead acid batteries won't survive more than a few complete discharges before they need replacement.
As for what might be causing a rapid discharge, +1 to glueguy on your breakaway brake pin. Has it accidentally been pulled? ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 04 Jun 2022 at 10:22pm
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That and trying to run the refrigerator on DC. That will kill a battery very quickly. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: john in idaho
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2022 at 7:52am
| One suggestion, alluded to above, would be to unhook the battery and let it sit for a few days then measure the voltage. Most auto parts stores will load test a battery but that may not be a valid test for a purely deep cycle battery and the folks who have already commented are more knowledgeable about that. |
Posted By: Geezerbill
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2022 at 6:04pm
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Off grid, I am a new member and recently new owner to a RP192. During initial drive my brakes did not work so after four miles I took it back to the dealership. In the trouble shooting process the tech repeatedly pulled the brake away pin to see if the brakes came on. My question is what negative effect does that have on the battery? After a 125 mile drive home the next week we went camping for a week. I had charged the batter in my garage for 48 hours and was aghast when it died after 3 1/2 days. We are very experienced at using very little electrical use when dry camping so I feel comfortable about our useage. This dealer was much less than desirable and I will list other topics related to them in the coming days. Your opinions along with others on the breakaway/battery drain will be most appreciated. Thank you, Bill
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Posted By: billyingolden
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2022 at 6:21pm
| Just coming back to this, I did indeed manage to kill the battery by discharging it too much initially. We got a new battery, and I now unhook the battery and have a small trickle charger that it's hooked up to periodically when the trailer is in our driveway. It does seem like a bananas amount of parasitic load, which I haven't been able to nail down, but the combo of unhooking the battery when not in use for more than a day + getting the Renogy solar suitcase has been the trick, and things have been smooth since. Thanks everyone for the thoughts and advice. |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2022 at 6:22pm
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If the tech was just testing the brakes for a few minutes total then there shouldn't be any lasting negative effects from pulling the breakaway pin. IIRC the brake magnets take around 10 amps each when engaged so that's 20 amps for two. If the tech energized them for say 10 minutes testing then that would draw about 20 x 10 / 60 = 3.3 amp hours, or only about 3% of a typical Rpod battery capacity. Not a big deal.
I wonder if you might have some other load on the battery that youre not aware of, or maybe using more power that you might have in the past? Two days capacity doesn't sound terrible, watching a little TV and running the fans or furnace I used to go through about 50-60 amp hours a day, or roughly 2 days for a single battery system. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2022 at 6:38pm
I recommend getting a clamp-on AC/DC voltmeter/ammeter. It will help you to isolate what is causing the draw and how much it is. Clamp it around one of the battery cables (I'm not sure if it matters if you use the positive or negative cable). Look at the reading. Pull fuses in the panel one by one to see what changes. If you have a high reading and pulling a fuse causes it to drop significantly, then investigate that to see why it is causing a high draw. Suspects are the refrigerator being operated on DC, the breakaway cable for the brakes being pulled (or defective), or heavy furnace use. Other things like your vent fan draw power, but not as much as the first three. Another thing might be if you are sitting with the tow vehicle connected, power might be feeding back to the tow vehicle from the trailer. If you have a weak battery in your tow vehicle, it may be taking power from the trailer battery. That should provide a starting point for figuring out why your battery is draining quickly. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: billyingolden
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2022 at 6:47pm
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Thanks! When the issue has occurred, everything has been off, no TV connected, etc. It's literally just sitting there. Fridge off, breakaway cable plugged in properly, and thermostat entirely off. Unfortunately we can't keep it plugged in because we don't have an exterior plug and don't want to put the cord under our garage door. But it has been trivial to just disconnect it when it's sitting at home for more than a day and hook it back up when we're ready to go out again, so I feel like we've solved the acute problem. I'll likely add a disconnect switch just to entirely remove that step and just make it the flip of the switch.
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Posted By: Geezerbill
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2022 at 7:44pm
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Thank you for your response! Actually, back in the day we dry camped with our 22’ Timberline trailer for ten days, using two group 24 Interstate batteries without going dead. We just don’t use anything other than water pump and one led light at a time. So it’s somewhat baffling. I will be going again in late August so I will see how that goes although it’s only for three days and I will have a second battery installed then. Hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday I will post two new issues with my R-pod and look forward to yours and others expert opinions. Thanks again. Bill
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Posted By: Pod People
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2022 at 9:22am
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One other parasitic draw that has not been mentioned is the television antenna power switch. Make sure that switch is turned off. travel safe and often Vann ------------- Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9"> 
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Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2022 at 9:28am
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How long was the trailer unplugged? As Vann wrote, the tv antenna switch, if left on, can be a power draw. It is best to disconnect (using a battery cut-off switch or removing the negative cable) if not connected to a source of power to maintain the battery/batteries. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2022 at 3:18pm
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If you arent getting your battery fully charged at home for long periods, it could be damaged now. What happens is the lead battery plates become covered with lead sulphate and can no longer pass current. You can go a few weeks like that but longer than that you should find a way to float charge the battery. If you don't want to run an extension cord out to the trailer for a couple of days once in awhile, or put in an outdoor receptacle, you can maintain battery charge with a small solar module if you have direct sun available. If not the you can remove the battery and put it in the garage on a charger.
------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |