Chassis battery question

[KentSuz]

Our Navion 24D doesn’t seem to be able to start with out a boost from the coach battery. Only a year old, less than 10K miles. Any others with this issue? Do we already need a new battery??
Thanks for your thoughts on this.

[Winterbagoal]

If you bought it as dealer stock, off a lot, anything's possible. AGM batteries are typically more resistant to damage as a result of poor or non-existent care and feeding, but they can fail before their time, too.

If you ordered it from a dealer, and the battery is bad, I'd see about warranty coverage.

[Lv2Roam2]

Any battery or auto repair shop can do a 'load test' to check the battery's condition - but also ensure all the connections are tight.

If the battery tests 'bad' you should have some warranty coverage.

[Larry Gee]

When stored, do you disconnect the battery connection by the throttle pedal?

[KentSuz]

Yes, we do.

[Morich]

Miles on a battery in the RV is not what kills them but the setting and NOT being used. How is the water in the battery and how has it been treated? Some things that sound good are actually killers for batteries. Leaving them set may kill them but it is also very easy to kill them if we leave a charger running on them full time. A charger can boil a battery dry and kill one quickly, so the details are often very important.
Since I do want to get full value out of my batteries, I do a check at least monthly, when not using the unit. That check involves cleaning to remove any small drain from dirt and debris on the top, checking the water and doing a "topoff" charge of all the batteries.

[Larry Gee]

Originally Posted by KentSuz

Yes, we do.

I’m thinking you have a parasitic drain causing the problem. The direct answer to your question depends on what the state of your battery is and how many times you drained it dead.

Lv2roam2 Gave you good advice. Put a trickle charger on it and get the voltage up over 12.5. Use the one place battery levels display to see what your voltage is after unplugging the charger.

Then take it to an AutoZone or advanced auto parts or Napa and have them test it under load.

If your battery is shot then your going to need to replace it. If it’s salvageable, then, assuming it’s a wet battery, remove the cell covers, add enough distilled water to cover the plates and put it on a trickle charger again.

Now you have to find out what’s causing the parasitic draw. Do you have anything plugged into the 12 V outlet under the ashtray? That outlet is always on do you have anything plugged into the 12 V outlet under the ashtray? That outlet is always on.

Consider buying a trikl start tender. This Will charge your house batteries and then Excess capacity will be transferred to your start battery. If you have solar, great, if not, just plug trickle start into a 110 outlet.

[Mike Owens]

All I can say is Trik-L-Start. The chassis battery in my 2017 Navion 24J is a maintenance free and was dead when we purchased from the original owner. The Trik-L-Start maintains the chassi battery from the house. Problem solved it is a known issue that they die from the small load over time. That was the first mod I did along with the new chassis battery.