House batteries are dead after covering RV for Winter- am I missing some way to prevent that?

[mgoodin08]

Hi first time covering this new to us 2005 Winnebago Itasca Sunrise 33V w/ Workhose chassis. We put the cover on for Winter a couple weeks ago and when I went to fire things up the house batteries were completely dead and the Onan generator would not start up. Engine battery was fine and that started right up. I let it run for a good 20 minutes and still no juice in the house batteries and gen would not start. WE do have solar panels on top but of course they're covered now so that's not a surprise. WE have 4 storage batteries for the house electric. Made darn sure to turn EVERYTHING off inside when the cover went on...

Is there a way to prevent that? Am I missing something in the Winter shut down process that prevents that?

Also, can I hook a battery jumper up to the red + terminal on the generator and jump start the generator? Clip black clip to the frame for ground?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[SpencerPJ]

I have a battery disconnect mounted on my battery to completely disconnect the ground. For me, seems the carbon monoxide sensor or the radio is my parasitic draw.
I'd think if you can, add jumper cables at the battery(s) would be a better option. As you asked, I'd say yes you can, make sure you connect correctly, goofy mistakes get expensive.

 

[mgoodin08]

I have a battery disconnect mounted on my battery to completely disconnect the ground. For me, seems the carbon monoxide sensor or the radio is my parasitic draw.
I'd think if you can, add jumper cables at the battery(s) would be a better option. As you asked, I'd say yes you can, make sure you connect correctly, goofy mistakes get expensive.

Hey thanks! I will check to see if there is a battery disconnect and if not I will research and get one in there. Thanks again- happy travels!

 

[Kirk]

the house batteries were completely dead and the Onan generator would not start up.

That is normal for the generator not to start as it gets the starting voltage from the house battery. They do that so that each engine has its own source. You should have a switch called Emergency Start or something similar that parallels the starting and coach batteries. That way you can use the coach battery to help start the chassis engine of the chassis battery to help start the generator. If you start the chassis engine and then hold that switch down for several minutes and with the switch held down try the generator starter and it may well start. Otherwise it will take several hours to charge the house batteries enough to start the generator. If you have shore power available, it will also charge the coach batteries after a time.

Is there a way to prevent that?

Yes. If you have a battery isolator switch that should do it but you can also just lift the negative cable from the battery post when storing.

Also, can I hook a battery jumper up to the red + terminal on the generator and jump start the generator?

Rather than doing that, just connect the jumpers to parallel with the coach batteries, as you would with a car battery to start it. Of course, the car should be running and you should give it a few minutes before cranking the generator.

 

[Kirk]

It isn't uncommon for the coach batteries to go dead in storage if not isolated as there are numerous things in your RV that use a small amount of power even when turned off. It is what we call phantom loads.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Take pictures before you do anything...

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

There are items that cannot be turned off and others that remain in low-power "stand-by" when turned off, e.g. a fridge or an inverter. Even if you have a house battery disconnect (I think you do), it may not disconnect everything, e.g. LP gas detector or entry step motor (exceptions are made for safety-related items). A way around that is to install a manual disconnect at the house battery ground post. That disconnects everything! I'd try the built-in disconnect first, though.

Running the engine will eventually charge the house batteries but 20 minutes is not enough to make much difference. Especially if the house batteries were in poor condition prior to the shutdown. If you don't run off battery alone very often, it's pretty easy to miss the signs of a badly degraded battery bank.

Get owner manuals, wiring diagrams, etc for your Sunrise on the Winnebago website at Winnebago Owner Resources| Legendary Customer Service