BFT Chassis Battery Discharging

[John S.]

I have a 2006 BFT and took it in for a new chassis battery under warranty when it would not start the first time. I had a new battery put in March 21st, 2007. I used the BFT last weekend and put it in the garage on Monday and then a couple days later it was dead again. Nothing was on. I had checked the coach a day before but did not start it. I have taken it to a Ford authorixed repair place but the drian is nit acceptable, I have to figure if it is not Ford it will be something BF added. I will let you know what it is. I met another BFT owner this weekend in the Campground we are staying in in Getteysburg and he has the same problem. Does anyone else have this and if so what was done to fix it.

[Trisha]

Do you have one of those handheld CB's' ? If you don't turn them off, you can quickly drain the battery. Clocks? Radios? Anything you plug in? Leave on?

My coach can sit for 2 months and it still starts. No prob.

I don't seem to have a drain on either the chassis or coach batteries...they are holding a charge. I do need to get a plug in volt meter though.

Trish

[John S.]

No radio or anythign on other than what Ford has like the computers and stuff. It seems to be a .6 amp draw or so the other BFT owner told me and he is having the same problem.

[whemme]

John S,

A 0.6 amp draw on your chassis battery will discharge it completely in about 7 days. You need to locate the cause of this excessive drain on the battery while everything is supposedly shut off.

I have hear of a few cases where the Ford cab radio was rewired so the power to the radio stayed on even though the ignition switch was off. Check to see if you radio works with the ignition switch is off - if it does, then you will need to shut off the radio to keep it from drawing down the chassis battery when parked.

[John S.]

thanks. i will look at the radio. The factory said thei only thing they added to the chassie was the xseats and the mirror so I will have3 to look at those too. It does die in about 4 days so I need to find the drain.

[George Boley]

John,
Don't know what model you have but on our rear door models, the electric rear step is also operated by the chassis battery. I have a professional DC amp meter that will detect and measure any draw, if you are going to the NJ Rally I would be happy to check it. George B

PS Bill is correct on that radio analysis.

[jobrien]

As posted earlier, my chassis battery also goes dead. Both Born Free and Ford agree it is caused by Ford fuse #22, which is the Ford installed dash radio. Ford replaced my radio, but that did not fix the problem.

Right now, Ford has disconnected 4 wires from the back of the radio. The rear speakers, installed by Born Free do not work, and the engine has started faithfully for the past 6 weeks. It has sat for 3 weeks and started fine.

Ford says the disconnected wires are not used by Ford, and the schematic says they are just run to the cutaway chassis for the body builder to use. I asked for a copy of the schematic, and never heard back from Ford. I don't know if all 4 wires have to be disconnected to stop the draw or would 1 or 2 stop it. If it continues to work ok, I would like to reconnect those wires and disconnect the rear speakers where they plug into the radio wiring to determine if the speakers are causing the problem.

On other RV forums, owners of Fleetwood and Winnebago motorhomes have the same problem and Ford is blaming it on the body builders. Can every company be doing the same thing wrong? Unlikely.

George, I will be at the NJ rally and if you have the expertise and time to look at this, I would appreciate it.

John

[bcope01]

John,

Don't know what model you have but on our rear door models, the electric rear step is also operated by the chassis battery.

Yes, on my 2004 BFT, that rear step light was staying on at certain times (I can't remember exactly how the rear step switch was set) when I didn't want it on (it is hard to detect if the light is on of off during daylight). Since it draws from the chassis battery and I couldn't keep it off, my solution was to pull the bulb from the fixture. With the overhead light at the rear of the coach and the lighted entry handle, I didn't see any need for a light under the step. I'd check this step light as the source for draining your chassis battery.

Bill

[whemme]

Whether or not the 4 wires from the rear of the cab radio that are connected to the dual speakers or not in the Born Free part of the coach should have no effect on any power drain from your chassis battery. Only if +12 VDC power to the radio was still connected when the ignition switch is off and the radio remains turned on will the radio drain down your battery.

[George Boley]

Bill (Hemme)
Remember when I disconnected the chassis battery lead to the radio and picked up the 12 volts from my coach batteries? Well, it would draw down my chassis battery in no time at all. (I took the positive lead off the hot side of my coach disconnect switch). Apparently it created a feedback somewhere, but I never could figure it out. I changed it back the way it was and never had any touble since. I have however since bought a $3.00 item at Wal*Mart that goes on the battery post to easily disconnect the battery, and I use it. Mel, had a similar problem when he hooked his radio to his coach batteries.
Sure would be interested in the answer when someone finally figures this out. George B

[Dallas Baillio]

This may not mean a thing, but I've noticed on my 2001 RSB when the ignition is in the accessory position, the factory installed radio will display the time, even though the radio is off. Does this mean that the radio has a separate internal wiring (or chip) for the clock?

[whemme]

I checked my 2002 BF 26' RSB today. With the ignition switch set to the reverse accessory (ACC) position, the cab radio when turned on would run as would be normal and intended. When the radio was shut off, the display in the radio then reverted to its digital clock mode. Actually the operation of the radio and clock is same whether the ignition switch is in the ON position or the ACC position, at least in my coach.

Is there any chance that those that are having this chassis battery drain problem are rotating the ignition switch back to the ACC position rather than the OFF position? Of course if you are removing the key from the ignition switch, that is only possible in the OFF position. So removing the key would prevent accidently leaving the ignition switch in the ACC position and causing the chassis battery to drain down over time because the radio switch may also have been left ON.

[Mike Jean Bandfield]

Bill (Hemme)
Remember when I disconnected the chassis battery lead to the radio and picked up the 12 volts from my coach batteries?
<Snip>
Sure would be interested in the answer when someone finally figures this out. George B

George, You mention only one radio power lead. The radio/clock usually has TWO power leads - one switched (ignition "ON" or "ACC") and one not switched. The unswitched power lead maintains the clock's time and your station presets. The switched power lead is designed to power the clock display and allow the stereo to work when turned on. The switched lead if left hot will run down your battery in a few days. The unswitched lead will eventually run down the battery but it will take months. Because your coach does not operate like a car's ignition the standard auto radio is not the ideal configuration for an RV. A switch like George's can be used in various configurations to get around the problem but there's no "right" way and each configuration will require some compromise.

Another factor that should be checked is the operations of the courtesy timer. You'll notice that on some electrical systems the accessories will stay on for about 10 minutes after the key is turned off and removed. During this time the interior lights will work and some displays will be lit (eg. the clock). If this timer becomes defective or was wird improperly, it may not turn off after 10 minutes.

I would first suspect the stereo's two hot leads were both connected to the unswitched power source. To check for proper operation make sure your clock display turns off 10-15 minutes after removing your key.

Mike

[whemme]

Another possible cause of unexplained drain down of your chassis battery could be the following safety recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the Ford E450 Model years 1996 thru 2002. I will attempt to explain why this potential fault could drain your chassis battery even when the ignition switch is OFF.

Ford ran an unfused +12 VDC power line to a cruise control interrupt switch located on the brake master cylinder. The purpose of this switch is that when you step on your brakes, the brake fluid pressure in the cylinder would increase enough to activate this switch which in turn causes the output of this switch to disconnect your cruise control if engaged.

The problem that occurs in a very small percentage of the vehicles is that over time, the seal in the switch that separates the +12 VDC electrical contacts side from the brake fluid pressure side of the switch may develop a leak. This would cause the +12 VDC voltage to start passing current thru the brake fluid to ground causing the fluid to heatup. If this electic current gets high enough, the brake fluid could heatup enough to start a fire under the hood destroying your coach along with the building it was being stored in (maybe attached to your home)!!! The reason this current could increase to this high level is because Ford never fused this circuit, so the +12 VDC current available to heat the brake fluid was basically unlimited.

What this recall does is that your Ford dealer will, at no charge, install a fuseable link in series with the +12 VDC line going to that switch which will blow open before the current increases enough to cause a fire. However, until that happens, this current drain from your chassis battery could explain in some cases the puzzling discharging of that battery in just a few days time. The point is that this current drain can occur with or without the safety recall complied with!

My belief is that once the seal starts to leak, the current drain starts out low and over time increases gradually until either it heats the brake fluid enough to start a fire or blows the fuseable link if the coach has had the safety recall complied with.

The recall copied below lists only the E450 - however, I am quite sure the same problem exists in the E350, maybe under a different recall number. To prevent an underhood fire from destroying your BF coach, I would recommend contacting your Ford dealer. The recall is free and took less then 20 minutes to accomplish on my E450.

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Make / Models :              Model/Build Years:
FORD / E450                  1996-2002
FORD / ECONOLINE        1994-1996
FORD / EXCURSION        2000-2002
FORD / EXPLORER          1998
FORD / F250                  1994-2002
FORD / F350                  1994-2002
FORD / F450                  1994-2002
FORD / F550                  1994-2002
FORD / MOUNTAINEER   1998

Recall Number: 06V286000

Summary:
ON CERTAIN TRUCKS EQUIPPED WITH SPEED CONTROL, GASOLINE OR NATURAL GAS ENGINES, THE SPEED CONTROL DEACTIVATION SWITCH MAY OVERHEAT.
Consequence:
OVERHEATING COULD RESULT IN SMOKE OR BURN AND AN UNDERHOOD FIRE.
Remedy:
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A FUSED WIRING HARNESS INTO THE SPEED CONTROL SYSTEM FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 7, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-866-436-7332. (NOTE: ALSO SEE RECALLS 05V017 AND 05V388)
Notes:
FORD RECALL NO. 05S28. CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.[/b]

[John S.]

Well, I searched this out for the last week and can not find the draw. It did not happen and was not drawing after I moved the coach closer to the end of tthe garage. I took it to a Ford repair place and they coulnd not find it either. I will have to look again tomorrow after I let it sit all night.

John