parasitic drains info?

[Morich]

Running through the info available on the Winn website here:
https://winnebagoind.com/product-res...ct-information

I find there is a bunch of info and it takes me some time to get around to reading/ absorbing much of it, so I was not surprised to find a small section that was new to me.
We've often mentioned parasitic drain that run the batteries down when we store the unit but I found a few that I had not thought about or heard mentioned before.
This is found under the "Service tips "section way down at the bottom of the list on the home page:
https://winnebagoind.com/resources/s...%20Systems.pdf

Lots of little points to miss about drains, like the slideout controls?
Makes for an interesting but quick read on a cold useless day!

[Topsail]

Thanks for the read Morich.

[Wayne M]

With my 2008 Winni I had a problem with parasitic drain, even when plugged into 110v at the storage facility. Only a few days to a week the chassis battery would drain down to 11.8v. I would have to use the boost to start the engine. I was perplexed for a long time and finally called Winnebago.
One of the biggest parasitic drains is the step controller. It is constantly drawing current to maintain step position, in or out. After leaving the step controller in the off position, and this could mean leaving the step out, I never again had a low voltage reading when in storage.

[Morich]

I find the solution is often not that hard but thinking to look at some of the lesser known items can get us in trouble. I normally click off all the breakers that I don't need while stored. If something like a mouse is going to cause trouble while stored, I like it reduced as much as possible! But that gets me back around to knowing that things like the slideout may be pulling power. Never thought of that one, even after finding the engine control PCM does take power. Newer the unit, the more odd uses we may find for power.

[bkg]

Originally Posted by Morich

I find the solution is often not that hard but thinking to look at some of the lesser known items can get us in trouble. I normally click off all the breakers that I don't need while stored. If something like a mouse is going to cause trouble while stored, I like it reduced as much as possible! But that gets me back around to knowing that things like the slideout may be pulling power. Never thought of that one, even after finding the engine control PCM does take power. Newer the unit, the more odd uses we may find for power.

"Clicking off all the breakers", are you referring to the ones in the load center? I'm, sure you are aware that this does little to stop the parasitic drain; those parasitic drains are typically the 12 volt stuff - the stuff that's always on such as propane/smoke/CO detectors and various solenoids and BIM devices and a motorized RV is more complex than RV trailers since chassis battery is networked in there too (the PCM you mentioned as well as the ECM and radios).

Oftentimes the surest way to stop the parasitic drain is to pull the positive from all the batteries.
Or install the rotary disconnect switch as mentioned in service tip article.

A great article and a good reminder for some of us that OFF doesn't mean it is really OFF.

Bobby