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We have a magnum inverter, which I am suspecting may be the problem, as one day I came out to plug something in the outlet that was powered by the inverter and found it didnt work. I went to the inverter and notice the circuit breaker went off. Flipped it back on and the outlet worked.
Since then I have spoken with magnum and they basically said if the switch is off on the remote, the inverter is off, but because it allows AC power to transfer through, the light on the actual unit will stay on - They reassured me that the inverter was off in this transfer mode - but I still wonder about a short in the inverter line???
Thanks again for the problem solving. I am definitely not mechanically inclined, and plan on bringing the unit to the factory in spring at which point I will have them do all the checks with ammeter etc. as suggested.
I cannot believe they did not measure the current draw! Without that information the diagnosis is totally incomplete. Since they claim the specific gravity is good I highly suspect some sort of draw. If you have batteries in parallel you could have one of them drawing them all down.
If you have a refrigerator on DC it might draw quite a bit but someone else would have to give me the specs on that.
One of the best pieces of test equipment I have ever purchased in 30 years is a clamp on DC ammeter. I think it was around $50. No need to unhook the terminals or figure out how to hook the meter. No worries about popping fuses in the meter if hooked up wrong too. I use it all the time. We service police and fire radios so we are involved with batteries every day.
Please be extremely careful with the spark test some are suggesting. The gasses around a battery are hydrogen, same gas that was in the Hindenberg blimp. You should strive to NEVER have a spark near a battery if possible. They do explode. I have had them explode while jump starting and one while it was charging. If jump starting a vehicle try to make the last negative connection away from the battery post. Find a good frame or bumper connection. A spark there will only make you jump instead of a possible trip to the emergency room.
All good advice. I would be very careful about arcing at the battery to test for a draw. They can and will explode.
Honestly, it sounds to me like you have a smaller draw than a direct short. If it's a milliamp draw, you'll also need a low amps probe. The easiest thing you can do is get yourself a cheapo test light and put it in series between the battery and the cable. If it lights up, you have a draw. Then start disabling fuses and circuits one at a time until the light goes out.
BTW, it sounds as if your dealer is one step below crappy. Diagnostic time should be covered under warranty. Geez
Hard to (not) believe that the dealer charged you a large fee and found nothing wrong. Most do not have the time to allow a qualified tech spend days searching for a problem that he may or may not locate. Been working on all types of vehicles for 30 years and electrical problems are the most time consuming and sometimes the simplest methods to find them are over looked.
Here is where I would start.......
I. Fully charge the batteries separately (remove if necessary) and test with a hydrometer after 1 hour of slow charging. Load test each for their stated cold cranking amps and record. Wait 3 hours and load test again, record. Repeat as necessary to determine if the battery is getting weak or if there is a draw sucking them down.
One bad cell in a battery will draw down the entire battery, or even a whole bank of them if connected. Some battery problems take days before they become obvious as to their fault. Also not sure where you are located, but ambient temperatures and yes, wind chill affect battery life, and how quickly they discharge.
II. While you have them out (isolated from each other and the rig) use an analog volt meter and place the red (+) lead on the positive post of a battery and them slowly drag (touch) the battery case on top from one end to the other with the black test lead. Notice the voltage that is transmitted through the case and if necessary thoroughly clean the battery with baking soda and water to remove any traces of acid from the exterior of the battery. A small amount is common, but a large spike or difference in voltage between each battery usually warrants further testing.
III. after the batteries have been deemed ok, reconnect them but leave the negative terminal that completes the path to the frame off. Here is the simplest test for a draw that does not require any fancy test equipment and works every time. Connect a 12 volt test light between the negative terminal and the negative cable. Be sure the connections don't touch any grounds or you won't get the results you are looking for.
What you are going to do in the following steps is look for the circuit(s) that could be drawing your batteries down.
With all 12 volt electrical devices in their normal state (where you normally have them when the problem occurs) look at the test light and verify if the light bulb is illuminated or not. If it is on then there is a significant draw. ( now, some draws are necessary for vehicle computers and such, but normally are such a weak draw that they take months to drain a good battery) What you are looking for is a bright illumination of the test light. Note:: make sure the door is shut as the dome lights will also cause the light to go on.
Pull one fuse at a time and noting whether the test light is affected by removing the fuse. I would start with vehicle (chassis) lighting first. Also be advised that none of the 12 volt items will work, but the test light will come on when you active them.
From past experiences.... interior lighting, tail lights, headlamp switches, alternator's are the most common finds as a cause. Don't get discouraged with any garage or dealer for not finding this, these types of things are very common but take days sometimes to work through until you find them.
IV. When the test light goes out from removing a fuse determine what circuit is the cause and start looking for a light that normally did not work or acted strange a while back. Fix problem and verify that the draw is corrected.
A draw that lights the test light brightly will almost never blow a fuse, but will certainly drain the batteries and cause you much grief.
Also be aware that some items (lights) have timers that will keep the light on for the timed allowed and then shut off. They can also go bad and also if a circuit has one, make sure to wait to see if the light goes out.
**** When removing fuses, have a pad or a cardboard box labeled to match the fuse panel, as you will want to leave each fuse out until the problem has been located. You will need this simple guide to know which fuse goes where when finished.
V. Usually there is a few items that are not fused that could be the culprit, and wont be affected by removing the fuses. Headlamp switch is not fused, alternator is not fused and starter is not fused.
Also be cautious of "add ons" that may not have been fused through the chassis fuse box.
Good luck and happy hunting.
Dale
PM me if you need
* This post was
edited 12/15/07 09:45am by HpyKmpr1962 *
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I get from this post that he is talking about just the "House" battery system, not the "Chassis" battery system. If so that would take all of the chassis lights out of the problem, would it not? Just a thought.
Othertonka
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The OP said he had 2 12 volt batteries in parallel. That would be the chassis batteries. So I don't know why everyone keeps talking about the inverter, etc.
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