Battery draining

Doobs · July 2021

Ahhh, we’re in Yellowstone on a 6 day trip and the battery seems to be draining by the day for no good reason?

- were on our 2nd trip with our TAB 400S 2021.
- worked fine on our first trip
- even with shade, borrowed a friends large solar panel which we put into the side trailer input
- we have a 2 way fridge so we turned it to zero and basically off to ensure the fridge wasn’t grabbing energy ( thought it came from propane but with the 2 way I think we were wrong, but we turned it off 3 days ago and battery still draining)
- only thing barely being used is fan and lights rarely/ rare pump use

considering cracking open the bed and putting some jumpers on the battery with my friends solar?

not sure if we are missing something obvious or there is a battery problem. Not the sensor bc the solar panel read us at 12 V , now we’re at empty on the inside panel and the solar panel says we are at 11.1V

any suggestions are very appreciated. Thanks!
jeremy D

Doobs · July 2021

We have the battery ‘on’ the whole time. Read we should turn off to charge but that doesn’t seem to make sense?

Verna · July 2021

@Doobs, I think it is time for you to get a multimeter to check the batteries to see what your voltage really is. Make sure all of the wiring is connected securely.

I would like to think that nüCamp has continued installing the dual 6V Harris batteries under the bed. It really sounds like either the batteries, or one of them, have gone bad, or that your converter has gone bad, or wiring is loose. A ground wire could be loose also.

If you feel testing for this electrical gremlin is above your knowledge, then please go to a professional, and don’t feel bad about it.

Doobs · July 2021

Thx you! Just took off the panel over the bed and all I see there is the Aldo system and some piping? Do we think the batteries are in a different compartment over the bed?

Verna · July 2021

@Doobs, my 2019 T@B 400 had the batteries in the middle compartment under the bed. Look further for them.

Doobs · July 2021

Currently trying solar right to battery w mini jumpers. No fridge use . No heat use. Aldi off.Hmmmmm....found battery, thx Verna!

Doobs · July 2021

Amateur alert! There is a chance our Aldi console was ‘on’ this whole time and unknowingly the temp for day set at 65 and night at 62 and were kinda in the shade and it’s been in the 40s in the wee morning hours.....possible drain? But, owners manual says aldi works off propane and I switched it to propane under the ‘prio’ choice on the display....hmmmmm.

Fiddlinmike · July 2021

I’m no expert and I have a 320, not a 400. If this were my situation, the first thing I’d do is find the battery and check it with a voltmeter. If it really is that low (11 volts), I’d be looking for ways to charge it and hoping it didn’t go bad or have a loose cable somewhere.

I think your idea of a direct connection to the solar panels with clips on the battery terminals may be a good way to assure there’s no other connection issues preventing it from charging. In the meantime you need to find your drain, of course. The Alde doesn’t operate on DC (battery) power, though it requires a little bit while operating on gas - irrelevant here. If you have been running your fan/lights and so forth for several days, maybe you have just consumed more of the battery than you expected. Cutting off the fridge was smart, but I have been surprised at how much power other things will draw, particularly the fan (again, I have a 320).

This is a bummer. Hope you find something easy.

Doobs · July 2021

Thx Fiddlinmike!
we are currently able to charge via solar direct w jumpers and now into the side. I think you may have the answer. Good thing batteries seem chargeable. We’re at 2/3 full!!!!!
thx again! Will define get voltmeter for next trip.
best,
Jeremy

pthomas745 · July 2021

The Alde uses a very small amount of power. The problem with all battery issues comes down to: I don't have a good device to monitor my battery. Or, I'm trying to take a reading on a battery while I'm running a bunch of devices and my battery is really low!

Here is a general discussion on battery monitoring and how to decode what you might be seeing.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/13714/battery-problems

Doobs · July 2021

...thx. Just got back from day. Solar panel
plugged in all day. Went from 2/3 to 1/3. :(

nothing on.

pthomas745 · July 2021

Are you running that fridge at all? Off?

Sharon_is_SAM · July 2021

Is the inverter turned on? That may explain the mystery draw.

crampshaw · July 2021

Your picture of the solar panel shows it in mottled shade which kills the charging output from the solar. You need to have unobstructed sun to make ant headway on your charging.

Doobs · July 2021

Hi everyone,
thx for all the responses.

Inverter and fridge have been off.( fridge at zero, light still goes on but not cold or ‘on’ at all)
just got back from 12 hour drive. Battery at full. Turned the fan on to empty the trailer and within 30 min it’s at 2/3. Guessing it will be 1/3 before long.
the battery is chargeable, but just drains right after any charging source is removed.

Not sure what is going on.

Thanks again for al of your thoughts and comments, they are so very appreciative.
jeremy

Sharon_is_SAM · July 2021

The first sign of a dying battery is the inability to retain a charge. Call your dealer. I would plug in at home and charge it or use a separate charger and confirm the voltage after resting using a volt meter. Also, you can’t rely on the built in battery monitor - they will over estimate the charge.

pthomas745 · July 2021

The monitors in the trailer are the cause of so much battery confusion/costs/consternation.

Any of these items will do a better job, give an accurate reading of a rested battery..and most of all...stop all the WORRY.

An Autoranging multimeter. Or a meter of any sort like this. Owners here can give complete instructions in about...5 minutes.

https://www.amazon.com/Proster-PSTTL334-Multimeter-Temperature-Capacitance/dp/B0194VGLFS/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=autoranging+multimeter&qid=1599617962&sr=8-15

The batteries in the 400 are difficult to reach, but this monitor will attach to your battery in just a few minutes, and you can monitor your rested battery with bluetooth on your phone.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MT4583U/?coliid=I3UCKYO8N7RV8&colid=3DJSJON9VK2CS&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Trying to sort out your battery status by guessing and hoping is like driving a car without a working gas gauge.

Marceline · July 2021

Doobs said:

Hi everyone,
thx for all the responses.
Inverter and fridge have been off.( fridge at zero, light still goes on but not cold or ‘on’ at all)
just got back from 12 hour drive. Battery at full. Turned the fan on to empty the trailer and within 30 min it’s at 2/3. Guessing it will be 1/3 before long.
the battery is chargeable, but just drains right after any charging source is removed.
Not sure what is going on.
Thanks again for al of your thoughts and comments, they are so very appreciative.
jeremy

I suspect that you're not getting accurate state of charge (SoC) readings and have been fooled into believing that your battery is fully charged when it's not. To get an accurate reading you'll need to turn off everything that could be drawing power from the battery and everything that could be providing power and let it sit for awhile (at least 30mins). Then measure the voltage with a multimeter or some other device.

When you came home from your first trip, did you plug your trailer into a power source (at home or in storage) to recharge the battery (with the battery switch on)?

Battery draining

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