2 new battery. Neither hold charge.

[KayMack721]

I will turn EVERYTHING off. Even fridge, gas and something is still drawing from battery but I can't figure out what it is. Drawing it fast till dead. (Hours). Only thing charging it all the way is shore power. Not TV. Not solar (maybe that's normal- I'm green.)

[Jon Vermilye]

If is is only a couple of hours, you might check that the breakaway switch is closed. The switch is on the tongue with a cord or wire that is clipped to the tow vehicle when hooked up.

[KayMack721]

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

If is is only a couple of hours, you might check that the breakaway switch is closed. The switch is on the tongue with a cord or wire that is clipped to the tow vehicle when hooked up.

Thank you. I've always thought it weird but my trailer doesn't have one of those. No such thing as a breakaway switch on my tongue. Or place for it on my TV.

[KayMack721]

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

If is is only a couple of hours, you might check that the breakaway switch is closed. The switch is on the tongue with a cord or wire that is clipped to the tow vehicle when hooked up.

Thank you. I've always thought it weird but my trailer doesn't have one of those. No such thing as a breakaway switch on my tongue. Or place for it on my TV.

[AlanKilian]

You have a Scamp 16' right? What year is it?

Is this the electrical system that Scamp installed at the factory?

What electrical devices do you have?

Draining two new batteries in two hours sounds like a LOT of electrical draw and you should be able to find it.

All I can think of right now is that the refrigerator is running on 12 Volts.
What kind of refrigerator do you have installed and do yo know how to make sure it's not running on 12 Volts?

Also, disconnect your batteries when they become low because if you drain them to zero volts, you will damage them irreparably.

[Jon in AZ]

Scamp does not offer dual batteries or solar, even as options, so those at least are owner modifications. Which leads me to wonder what other modifications have been made... Is there an inverter? What year is this Scamp?

Do we actually know the batteries are fully charged after plugging in to shore power? Have you checked the voltage? What type of batteries are they? Conventional, AGM, lithium...? 6V or 12V? If conventional, pop the caps and check the electrolyte level. Look full? Connections clean and tight?

As said, there really isn't much in a stock Scamp that would completely drain a dual battery system in good condition within a few hours, but in this case there seem to have been changes. Unless you know your way around RV 12V systems and are conversant with the use of a multi-tester, you may want to consider taking it to a professional.

I'm not so concerned about your tow vehicle not fully charging the batteries. Very few can. Limitations include alternator output, lots of electrical demands in newer vehicles, and small gauge wiring for the trailer charge line. One warning, though: towing with the fridge on 12V will typically end with warm food and a dead battery. Solar is also limited in what it can put back into a larger battery system unless you have multiple panels.

[KayMack721]

Originally Posted by AlanKilian

You have a Scamp 16' right? What year is it?

Is this the electrical system that Scamp installed at the factory?

What electrical devices do you have?

Draining two new batteries in two hours sounds like a LOT of electrical draw and you should be able to find it.

All I can think of right now is that the refrigerator is running on 12 Volts.
What kind of refrigerator do you have installed and do yo know how to make sure it's not running on 12 Volts?

Also, disconnect your batteries when they become low because if you drain them to zero volts, you will damage them irreparably.

I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I have a 2006 that runs on a single battery. I replaced it once and killed the battery unaware I was draining it. Bought a second one and paid attention. Have checked with meter and it's good. Checked one by one everything that runs on battery with the meter and it's good. However, or does not match the voltage meter that's inside the trailer, outside the "mother board" which reflects lower numbers immediately. As of tonight, im thinking my troubles start there. I've gone through all cabinets and checked everywhere I can. Things look good. Tomorrow I'll go under trailer to seek out a mystery ground wire. Thanks so much for such a thorough reply. PS the fridge runs on all 3.

[KayMack721]

Also it charges beautifully on shore power but with nothing running, it drains quickly. Even with fridge off.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by KayMack721

I will turn EVERYTHING off. Even fridge, gas and something is still drawing from battery but I can't figure out what it is. Drawing it fast till dead. (Hours). Only thing charging it all the way is shore power. Not TV. Not solar (maybe that's normal- I'm green.)

Are you sure the fridge is off? If it is on 12V it can drain a battery fast. Are you disconnecting the cord from the tow vehicle? It could draw down your battery but not that fast unless somehow the fridge is on 12V and it doesn't show on the panel. Do you have a water heater? Does it work? My sister's water heater drained their battery because the heating element had broken and was shorting out but still other things worked except the battery died fast. They drained the tank and bypassed it so it wouldn't fill with water. That prevented it from shorting out until they could get a new element. Even with the tank off it shorted out and drained the battery when water was in it. Electric can be very weird.

[LarryB.]

Originally Posted by KayMack721

Also it charges beautifully on shore power but with nothing running, it drains quickly. Even with fridge off.

I suspect an unknown device or a parasitic short in your DC wiring.

Try this: after removing all the DC fuses from your electrical panel, disconnect one side of the battery and connect an amp-meter in series. Then re-insert individually each of the fuses one at a time and observe the reading on the amp-meter; if everything is truly off each reading should be zero. That should identify the offending circuit.

[KayMack721]

Hi. Absolutely certain fridge is off. I don't have that disconnect cord (or whatever it's called from trailer to TV while in transit). I bought a battery meter last night. It by no means matched the amp meter in side. I tried reading battery with one thing on at a time and battery read great but Amp reader was crappy low numbers. There is some "disconnect" between those two. I will certainly try your fuse suggestion today. Thank you!

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by KayMack721

Hi. Absolutely certain fridge is off. I don't have that disconnect cord (or whatever it's called from trailer to TV while in transit). I bought a battery meter last night. It by no means matched the amp meter in side. I tried reading battery with one thing on at a time and battery read great but Amp reader was crappy low numbers. There is some "disconnect" between those two. I will certainly try your fuse suggestion today. Thank you!

Actually with your description of the rate of loss I think I would put a battery charger on it to keep it up and then I would grab one of those IR thermometers. Whereever the power is going it likely is generating a noticable amount of heat. Now you have to do this on a cloudy day, but they start checking the cabnets and everywhere else and see if you are getting a rise in temp.

If you digital board is giving wrong values, maybe it is bad and shorting inside.

[PatrickTXFL]

So here are things I suggest.
AiLi meter with shunt. This will give you a reading on amps in/out and current % of charge. Shunt installs on negative cable. Everyone needs this in my opinion as most little meter with light bars just don't give enough info.
They make a 30 amp 12v meter device that plugs in to power panel in place of the fuse. This will give you a reading of each circuit.

I would remove all fuses, and charge battery and remove negative allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Take volt reading at rest the reconnect and take reading. If you see a drop of more than 1/10 of a volt as you connect you have wire issue between battery and panel. Then with everything off start installing fuses one at a time and check for voltage drop, this will tell you what circuit has a large draw.

The 30 amp fuse meter makes this much easier to diagnose by yourself.

Best of luck

[computerspook]

A bad rectifier in your converter will also do this. When you check things with the IR thermometer that would be something to check. Now I don't know the 2002 version of the scamp. I would bet the converter is built into the AC/DC system that you say is giving you strange readings. A bad rectifier in the converter section of this system will give you those strange readings.

[johnlochbuie]

Propane detecter is always on .