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Warranty just expired, new issue

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Dan54

Well-known member
Our 2024 Paradigm 340RL is indoor stored at a business that occupies buildings that were formerly an RV sales & service facility. This business still employs RV mechanics that work on the numerous stored units. When I dropped off our rv I asked them to put the batteries on a charger since they were showing low on the level up screen. This has been an issue since we bought the unit last year & I thought it was because the cutoff switches weren’t being turned off. The mechanic says the batteries (lead acid) are discharging even with the battery & solar disconnect switches being turned off. They propose another battery disconnect switch to “Completely turn off the batteries.” This doesn’t sound like a good plan to me yet I’m not sure what to do since my warranty has recently (January) expired & anyway I’m not sure I could get it into the dealer before our trip to Myrtle Beach in 3 weeks. This is complicated because the mechanic is giving his notes to another employee who sends me an email. It’s located too far away to just run over & discuss.
Could the issue be the solar controller pulling current from the batteries or as simple as a bad cutoff switch? Should I just have them charge the batteries & disconnect the cables until I can get it back into the dealership? I emailed back requesting clarification but haven’t heard back yet. Thanks
 
BryanValRox

BryanValRox

Well-known member
Dan54 said:
Our 2024 Paradigm 340RL is indoor stored at a business that occupies buildings that were formerly an RV sales & service facility. This business still employs RV mechanics that work on the numerous stored units. When I dropped off our rv I asked them to put the batteries on a charger since they were showing low on the level up screen. This has been an issue since we bought the unit last year & I thought it was because the cutoff switches weren’t being turned off. The mechanic says the batteries (lead acid) are discharging even with the battery & solar disconnect switches being turned off. They propose another battery disconnect switch to “Completely turn off the batteries.” This doesn’t sound like a good plan to me yet I’m not sure what to do since my warranty has recently (January) expired & anyway I’m not sure I could get it into the dealer before our trip to Myrtle Beach in 3 weeks. This is complicated because the mechanic is giving his notes to another employee who sends me an email. It’s located too far away to just run over & discuss.
Could the issue be the solar controller pulling current from the batteries or as simple as a bad cutoff switch? Should I just have them charge the batteries & disconnect the cables until I can get it back into the dealership? I emailed back requesting clarification but haven’t heard back yet. Thanks
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Dan, if you are stored indoors you are loosing the ability to keep your battery topped off via the solar panel on the roof.
Your options would be to plug into shore power and let the converter keep the battery topped off or use a external small trickle charger.
The battery disconnect is a bit mis leading as it doesn’t shut everything off and it is quite normal to have a small discharge rate on your battery when it is turned off. As possible example, think radio memory circuit, propane and or Co detector, and even your solar controller LCD display.
I can’t say for sure , but the propane/Co detector could be required by “RV Code” can’t recall the initials at present.
So, IMHO, I would advise against the second cut off and take a strategy that allows your battery to be topped off during storage.
We don’t have the luxury of indoor storage and I keep the solar disconnect on 24/7/365, and alway have a fully charged battery sitting in the driveway.
Small battery discharge is common, you just have to have a method to charge it back up.

It doesn’t feel like you have a failure to me.

Just my .02
 
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Dan54

Well-known member
Thanks for your response. I understand there is a constant draw from the batteries with the disconnect switches turned off turned off but what I am experiencing is at a much higher level than that. For example, when I had my trailer at General Rv for warranty work on March 6th it was plugged into shore power all day. When I was hooking up to leave the batteries were discharged enough that the front jacks quit working before I could get the trailer onto the truck. At my storage facility they put a full charge on the batteries & witnessed a faster than normal discharge as well
 
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Dan54

Well-known member
Jim,
the mechanic said that the solar charger pulls constant current from the batteries even with the battery & solar disconnect switches turned off & this is drawing enough to quickly discharge the batteries. Does that sound right? Why would the solar charger need to pull current from the batteries when the trailer is not in use? Also could this constant charge-discharge of the batteries down to a level where they won’t run the front jacks have damaged the batteries making the discharging happen more quickly? Trying to piece this together. Thanks
 
BryanValRox

BryanValRox

Well-known member
Dan54 said:
Thanks for your response. I understand there is a constant draw from the batteries with the disconnect switches turned off turned off but what I am experiencing is at a much higher level than that. For example, when I had my trailer at General Rv for warranty work on March 6th it was plugged into shore power all day. When I was hooking up to leave the batteries were discharged enough that the front jacks quit working before I could get the trailer onto the truck. At my storage facility they put a full charge on the batteries & witnessed a faster than normal discharge as well
Click to expand...
Dan, you stated above you were plugged in all day and experienced jack issues while hooking up.
Are you sure your charging circuit is working correctly from converter? Is it set to the correct battery type? Is it actually charging and at what rate.
Have you load tested your battery? Have you checked all of your connections? Battery Fluid level if FLA Type.
If you jacks stop working, are you sure the breaker just didn’t trip, making you think the battery is discharged.
Someone should be able to measure exactly what your storage discharge rate is with an amp meter. That is helpful to know if you continue to troubleshoot your issue.
Just giving you some things to think about.
 
Oregon_Camper

Oregon_Camper

Forum Admin
Staff member
Dan54 said:
How do you fit this in the battery box? It seems this would cause the cable to be misaligned.
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If you look at it on Amazon, you can see it can be mounted in many different ways. Yea, you might need a new cable, but I would think you could manipulate it to work with the cable you have. There are other type of these disconnect switches as well, so perhaps a different one would work for you.
 
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Dan54

Well-known member
Oregon_Camper said:
If you look at it on Amazon, you can see it can be mounted in many different ways. Yea, you might need a new cable, but I would think you could manipulate it to work with the cable you have. There are other type of these disconnect switches as well, so perhaps a different one would work for you.
Click to expand...
Ok, thanks
i still don’t understand why the factory cut off switch doesn’t cut off the battery? Whats the point?
 
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