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Old 12-07-2022, 05:33 PM   #1
K2 Camper
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Montana 3761 FL Dead Battery

Do you know why the battery would be dead after a week of storage with everything turned off? We used our camper for over a week and had it plugged in the entire time and we had no trouble towing or parking it after winterizing it. It is parked in doors so the solar panels did not get any light. I turned off the battery switch and just a week later the rig was dead and we couldn’t open the slides or anything else.

Why? What am I missing?

This Montana is new to us and we used it three times before we parked it. I have no idea what we missed. Please send any suggestions.
 
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Old 12-07-2022, 05:45 PM   #2
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Very simple: The Battery Disconnect Switch DOES NOT shut everything down. Only way to totally disconnect is to remove the Negative battery cable.
Believe me, you are not the first to have this happen.
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Old 12-07-2022, 05:46 PM   #3
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Thanks I bought a blade disconnect. Should I put it in the positive or negative terminal?
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Old 12-07-2022, 05:48 PM   #4
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Best on the Negative terminal
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Old 12-07-2022, 05:49 PM   #5
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Thanks
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Old 12-07-2022, 06:19 PM   #6
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If you have ran the battery completely dead it’s probably ruined or at least severely damaged.
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Old 12-08-2022, 05:48 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mlh View Post
If you have ran the battery completely dead it’s probably ruined or at least severely damaged.
Lynwood
Since it was just for a week and probably the first time it has been deeply discharged, I doubt that it is ruined. Before buying a new battery, I'd put it on a charger and see how it responds.
Lynwood is correct in that persistent discharging a battery to a dead state will absolutely ruin a battery.
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Old 12-08-2022, 10:48 AM   #8
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I don't remember exact numbers, but FL batteries can be discharged something link 4-500 times. When you run them to 0, this knocks off a bunch down to like 300 times. Again numbers just guess/ball park.
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Old 12-08-2022, 11:16 AM   #9
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I had that happen to us when we initially got our RV. I charged the battery back up and it was fine. I am sure it took some life out of it. but it performed fine for the near term.
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Old 12-09-2022, 10:02 AM   #10
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For reference review the attached Interstate battery link;

https://www.intechtrailers.com/image...nce-Manual.pdf

Note the bottom left of page 4. As you can see one complete discharge (100%) reduces the number of charges you could get from a new battery by almost 90%. To me that is effectively "ruined". This happened to me with 2 new Interstate batteries when I left my trailer at the dealership for a couple of weeks; they pulled the breakaway pin and killed them both. I provided them a copy of this chart and demanded 2 new batteries and they complied.

Being aware of battery usage, state of charge and regular maintenance is very important in getting the best service from them.
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Old 12-10-2022, 03:16 PM   #11
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If you have a residential refrigerator may I suggest you put two batteries in your unit if you only have one. One is not near enough power to sustain a residential frig and even two can be iffy a times. Just remember you should not put a new battery in with one that has been used and especially if it has been nearly drained. You have to put in two NEW batteries. The old battery will bleed the new battery down to the old battery level and shorten the life of the new battery. As far as I'm concerned a dealer that puts in only one battery in a new Montana, no matter what the size, and especially with a residential frig is just ripping the buyer off because they do not understand the power usage of a residential frig and how long a single battery will last.
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Old 12-10-2022, 03:56 PM   #12
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Invest in a Victron BMV-712 battery monitor. You can check your State of Charge (SoC) from your phone.
As others have mentioned try not to go below 50% soc for longer battery life.
This chart is for Flooded Lead Acid (FLA) batteries.

Lithium batteries can go to 0% without damage, however for longer life it is recommended to not go below 10%.
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Old 12-11-2022, 04:50 PM   #13
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Somewhat related to the OP..........does the Solarflex system charge the batteries with the battery switch OFF (not plugged in the shore power) or does the battery switch have to be ON?
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Old 12-11-2022, 05:51 PM   #14
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Solar charges regardless.
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Old 12-11-2022, 07:29 PM   #15
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The kill switch doesn’t turn everything off disconnect the battery cable
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