Battery drained???

[Flygal]

Hummm, so my battery was dead (year old) and so I recharged it with my neighbors battery charger. Checked the water levels. Rehooked it up and viola had power. Fast forward 1 day and now its drained again. I don't recall leaving any lights on. So I will go about recharging the battery but I feel like I am missing something?? why would a battery drain IF no lights were on. Its cold here but not OMG cold, just chilly.

[Bud Kennedy]

You can't leave a battery for a year and expect it to be any good. It will self discharge with time and then if left uncharged will die a quiet death.

You must keep it charged and this should be done about every month.

If you remove it from the trailer and store it inside you can attend to it without freezing to death and the battery will be happier to be in a warm place.

An inexpensive battery trickle charger will do nicely but should not be left on the battery indefinately. You can purchase an inexpensive specific gravity tester at an autoparts store to measure the amount of charge. If I recall correctly, the meter should read 1200 for a fully charged battery.

Never leave a battery on a cement floor. The battery will run down quickly that way. Don't ask me why, I don't know.

[DanPatWork]

There is some very good info on batteries located HERE. One thing I would add up front is make sure that your battery isn't leaking, or has any "moisture" on the outside. This could complete the circuit between the positive and negative allowing a slow discharge.

It sounds to me like you might have something on that your not aware is draining the battery.An example of this, we left our camper alone for a few days last summer, and found the battery near dead. When we hooked up to shore power to recharge, we found that the furnace had been switched on by accident. The furnace fan would run at night and try to light but the propane was off. When the sun came up, the camper warmed up enough to not "trip" the thermostat.


A "parasitic draw" test should show if you have something draining the system.

With your battery charged, and the system disconnected from shore power, install a test light in line between the negative of the battery and your ground wire. If the test light lights, there is something on, or you have a short to ground.

[Ray N]

I bought a cheap battery disconnect at Walmart just to make sure I wasn't somehow draining my battery when I wasn't using it.

[DonDeutsch]

The first question to answer is if you have a "good" battery. Charge and take to a auto parts store and have it checked.