Batteries Drain Instantly

[emmaabraham]

Hello,

I have a 2010 Micro Bluebird. I got brand new batteries for it, but they die way too quickly- within about a day or two. Any ideas why this could be? Is something possibly left on? I get them charged but they keep dying, last time they got charged they were drained all the way down to 6V. Thanks for the help in advance.

[rossvtaylor]

Hi Emma, does your bus have a battery disconnect switch? If so, it will look like a toggle or straight valve handle and it's usually located near the battery compartment. I've seen some where the handle is facing the ground, behind the side skirt of the bus, so you may need to crawl around beneath the bus to see if you have one.

If you have a disconnect switch, it's a good idea to turn that off until you can find the phantom load that's draining your batteries. In the long run, you'll need to find the thing that's "on" all the time. For that, you'll need a multimeter with a clamp-on DC amperage function. It might be best to find a friend with one and the skills to use it to measure power draw through different circuits.

[Danjo]

Here’s how to do a parasitic draw test

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by emmaabraham

Hello,

I have a 2010 Micro Bluebird. I got brand new batteries for it, but they die way too quickly- within about a day or two. Any ideas why this could be? Is something possibly left on? I get them charged but they keep dying, last time they got charged they were drained all the way down to 6V. Thanks for the help in advance.

If they were drained to 6 volts they are permanently and severely damaged. Figure out the problem and then have them load tested and replaced under the warranty (that you hopefully have).

[Danjo]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

If they were drained to 6 volts they are permanently and severely damaged. Figure out the problem and then have them load tested and replaced under the warranty (that you hopefully have).

Haha, yeah. If you have a warranty they’ll replace it. But don’t let on that you have an obvious problem.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by Danjo

Haha, yeah. If you have a warranty they’ll replace it. But don’t let on that you have an obvious problem.

Well I'd certainly tell them all about the obvious problem.....OBVIOUSLY the battery is defective!