Jerry - How did you do on this? My story was a bit longer (a lot longer) but in the end all is good - and think of the education I got.... If you are still having problems PM me and we can have a call. While an annoyance, better to get this all under your belt now so you can add it to the notches on the stick.
True on the parasitic loads. Part of the reason for a smart charger is to keep from 'boiling' the battery liquid/gel - most older chargers will just keep pushing power at the batteries and it can overheat them. In the end to get my batteries back up I had both a Noco 10 and another Noco 5 connected. The N-10 is now mounted with velcro in a cargo bay and the N-5 is under the back seat of the Jeep.... occasionally when we are parked somewhere for more than a week, the N-5 plugs into the Block heater plug and charges the chassis batteries... the little solar plate on the roof is cute, but not up to the job even in sunny So. Cal where she parks when we are home.
Thanks for your reply Steve. This has been a learning process for me ( new Class A owner); my previous " Coach" was a Class C, and much less complicated......
I purchased this 2022 New Aire ( put in service Feb. 2023) by the orginal owner, who drove in less than 3500 miles. I bought it in October 2023 and drove it 150 miles to my warehouse, where I plugged it into a 50 amp outlet. When I turned the motor off, I thought that I smelled something ( somewhat faint, but I am in an Industrial Park so I dismissed it) and turned my attention to the radio/ navigation panel that wouldn't turn off. I tried several times to turn it off at the switch with no success, and now I turn off the power switch at the door.
A few weeks later, I thought I would start it and let it run a little, but it had no power to either the House or Chassis battries ( even though it had been plugged into 50amp shore power). The generator wouldn't start so I jumped the motor with my pickup and it started right up. The only issue was that it downshifted very hard ( in the Engine Brake mode; not so in the normal shift mode). The Chassis battries seemed to charge up in a short amount of time; the House batteries still had no charge. * important to note that the Chassis battery switch was on and the house battery switch was off.
Over the next few days, I read everything that I could find and asked a lot of questions. I learned that the House battery switch must be in the On position to accept a charge. So as suggested here, I turned on the House battery switch and bought a Norco 10 charger ( it took 4-5 days to charge them). Now, they seem to stay charged when plugged into 50amp shore power, even with the radio panel stuck in the on position.
Now, the Chassis battries will discharge when the switch is left in the On position, after 3 days, even when plugged into the 50amp shore power plug ( not certain what happens if I turn the Chassis switch off).
I'm at a loss and I have made an appointment with the Newmar dealer in 3 weeks.
I believe that something is draining the Chassis batteries. I also believe that something is draining the House batteries at least when the switch is On. Possibly, something happened when I smelled the smoke??? What would cause it to downshift very hard when in the Engine Brake mode???
