Chinook RV

So, let’s make a list of things that are always “on” and drain our 12V system when we are not watching and propose solutions. What can be disconnected? This will also help keep our batteries charged by reducing drain.

I’ll start using Blue’s Carbon Monoxide detector topic: Disconnect the original one that is always on and replace it with a battery operated version.

I think we have an antenna booster that is powered I think? Is there a switch or button somewhere that turns this off?

I think someone (Blue) mentioned the Coach radio runs of the starting battery and draws small current to remember the pre-sets. Taking out the radio fuse in the back of the chassis will stop this.

What else?

I'll just mention that this only strictly applies to the original system (and not sure which years might be different). I don't have mine set up like this anymore, but what we're talking about is that Chinook made it so that certain items were still "live" even with the "Store" button in the Store position.

As mentioned above, the CO detector (which is well past end-of-life by now).

Also I believe the propane detector.

And the radio presets take some power from the Ford battery as wired. I don't know whether removing the radio fuse in the coach will stop that, since it's the "other" of the two power wires that a stereo has that is wired to the Ford battery

I'm guessing the fridge might skip the Store button too, because it always needs a little bit of DC to run (even when not strictly running on DC) and so maybe they left it live for that reason?

In later years, I think the electric step is live (not saying it takes power though but it's not cut off either). Also I wonder about the versions that have an electrical propane solenoid. My year has the manual hand wheel, but if the electrical solenoid is present, I wonder if that is left powered when the Store button is in Store position.

If I leave my rig for more than a month or so, I pull the negative battery cable on the Ford battery (it's fine for a month or so if parked - no particular parasitic draw there, but I did re-wire the Chinook radio). I have my coach house bank set up with an Off switch that actually turns everything off, so that just gets switched off.

Blue~Go wrote: March 8th, 2019, 6:48 pm If I leave my rig for more than a month or so, I pull the negative battery cable on the Ford battery (it's fine for a month or so if parked - no particular parasitic draw there, but I did re-wire the Chinook radio). I have my coach house bank set up with an Off switch that actually turns everything off, so that just gets switched off.

I use a heavy duty blade-style cut-off switch on the negative post of the Ford battery. Looking to do Blue's idea of a master switch for the coach house bank when I upgrade the solar. Unplugged everything on the Chinook house radio (never used it).

The only other parasitic drain is THE EX-WIFE!

ahahahhaaaaahhhhhhahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!

A switch on the Ford battery is a nice option. So far I have only left my Chinook idle long enough to pull the negative cable once, and I already have a lot going on there (two ford wires, an MRBF, and the cable to the combiner switch), but it IS nice and tidy to have a switch.

I'm used to boats where you have a switch that cuts off the house battery, and then sometimes a "hot" bus for things like bilge pumps and battery monitor that you don't want to turn off every time you leave for a couple weeks. If you really want those things off, then you can pull the fuses for one or more of them on the hot bus. I found the Chinook system annoying for a couple of reasons. One, that they don't tell you which things are left hot (hence this thread to guess), and two, they make the load wire and the charge wire the same, hence the clunky "BZZZZZT you have to turn the store switch on now to charge" (and then remember to turn it back off).

But then again having seen some other RV brand wiring jobs, they were much less organized than the Chinook (and no documentation).

If I have an ex-wife, I would never put keywords like "cut-off" and "heavy duty blade" in the same post about her

Seriously, I got curious, and see if parasitic drain applies to my rig. It is a 2000 model, and YMMV. I removed the 3A fuse from the CO and propane detector, and see no current passing thru when in Store. When I turn on the switch from the driver seat, they were drawing 20mA (CO) and 40mA (propane). So I know that they are not what is draining the battery. I will take a look at the radio and the audio items later.

For the battery cut off switch, just make sure you cut the ground and not the positive.

chin_k wrote: March 9th, 2019, 11:16 am If I have an ex-wife, I would never put keywords like "cut-off" and "heavy duty blade" in the same post about her

....She was such a sweet gal....

Mine was bloody awful.

I would like hear stories from you two around the Campfire

Mine is not perfect, but no one is. We just have our major milestone anniversary a few months ago.

I'm coming up on 25 years and couldn't be happier Now the last one? Um, yeah...