12 volt drain and co-ax outlet

[Montana_2670]

We have had our Mountaineer 328 since October and managed to use it for a week before winterizing it. Several weeks after winterizing, I checked the unit and found the battery was low. On checking all 12 volt items the only thing I could find was the antenna booster was on. I turned the booster off and charged the battery but several weeks later checked it to find it was again at 1/3 charge. I have recharged the battery but left it unhooked until we are ready to head south later this month. I had a similar problem with a former trailer(98 Golden Falcon) which I never did resolve. Any suggestions?

The second question is one I asked the service area at the dealership but the reply didn't sound right. Beside the antenna booster is another receptacle with two co-axial outlets which are joined by a short wire loop. What exactly are they for? (the service guy said to hook up the VCR but why two outlets and which would be used?)

[kdeiss]

E-Gr Hauler
Their are 3 culprits One is the Antenna booster the second is the switch on the Frig when you open the freezer door on top make sure that it is off. That is to be used in humid conditions to keep the Ref door from sweating. The third is the propane sniffer you can turn that off by pulling a DC fuse. I think it is the last or next to last to the right when looking at the fuse panel when you pull the correct one the light will go out. If you need to check get a DC AMP meter pull each DC fuse and put probes on teminal to see if you get AMP Draw. Hope that helps

[sreigle]

I don't know what the coax outlets are for but on the battery ---

You should have a propane detector near the floor, possibly in the kitchen area. It will eat your battery over a period of time. Also, if your fridge door is open and you haven't removed the bulb, that is probably on, too. If you can't hook the rig to shore power then I'd recommend disconnecting from the battery. Just a suggestion.

[Bill Hill]

We had problems on our TT with the batteries going down due to the things you mentioned. I had a battery disconnect put in so that when we park it, I can shut off all the power. That solved the problem. I'm having one put in on the Monty as soon as we take it in after our shakedown run.

[Dave e Victoria]

I agree, the battery disconnect is a good way to go. If you are looking for one, I recommend West Marine. They have a variety for boats that work well in RV's.

Having said that, I want to remind us all of Dave Anderson's warning about making sure the battery is connected before connecting "shore" power. The converters (the little black box that converts 120 volts ac to 12volts dc to run the lights and charge the battery.) depend on the battery to hold the battery buss voltage down. If the battery is not there, you can damage eectronic deviceds hooked to the battery Buss if you connect the 120 without the battery connected.

I think I solved the problem with a tag in the 120 receptcal to remind me to connect the battery first.

[Montana_1683]

E-gr Hauler,
Do you have any 12v night lights plugged in? Even though they don't work off 12V, I found that they will draw elec. from the battery. Make sure that any house current items that may be plugged into outlets are removed. This might be the cause of your problem. Doesn't make sense, but I know that by remove the night light we had in our Prowler TT's bathroom was the root of our problem.
Gary

[Ishler]

If you have the rechargable flashlight don't forget about it, it draws power maintaining the battery.

[trukdoc]

That short loop is for Satelite. To use Satelite take the loop out and put in the reciever.
On my Mountaineer the bottom connector goes to the outside connection for your dish. The top connector goes out from the reciever to the coach.
If useing Cable TV put the loop back in.

[sreigle]

Kdeiss, looks like you and I were composing similar answers at the same time. Sorry.

[Montana_2670]

Thanks for all the assistance on my requests. I'm afraid I will have to apologize to Gail because she asked about the rechargeable flashlight and in my great wisdom I said it was on the 120 volt side and didn't affect the battery. It seems there is a correlation between the two.
It's good to know that the co-ax is for the satellite so I won't be required to thow a hissy fit when trying to hook it up!
I'm having problems accessing all forum sites and was only able to reconnect with this because Glenn and Lorraine had a link on another request I made this morning. It seems I'm only partially logged in as I can't access sites beyond what seem to be set up by the webmaster. I see now that the little truck'n trailer icon beside the log in says "out" but when I logged in on my own it didn't change from "in".
Thanks again for all the assistance - what a treat to participate with such a cooperative group.
Ted.

[sreigle]

E-Gr Hauler, I'm a little confused (happens frequently) and am not sure if you are getting logged in ok or not. If not, email me (click the envelope icon above) and I'll send you the info I saved from some other posts that helped others. Or post back here and I'll email it to you.