BobGarrett Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 We have a Bailey Adamo which seems to be using current when nothing is on except the Seattle control unit itself. When powered on there is a draw of nearly 0.6A. I realise this is not a lot but if we are "wild" then it might be important. By removing the fuses one by one I found the major draw - around 0.5A is a fuse labelled Aux, Monitor, Aerial. Disconnecting the aerial reduces it by about 0.1A. So where is the other 0.4A going? Nothing is plugged into the 12v sockets nor USB connectors. The Bailey manual does not show anything connected other than the sockets - but then the supplied manual is not model specific. Anyone got any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeF Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 2 hours ago, BobGarrett said: fuse labelled Aux, Monitor, Aerial. Antenna amplifier power draw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGarrett Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 3 hours ago, MikeF said: Antenna amplifier power draw? That was the 0.1A referred to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandy Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 The Sargent control unit on my van shows the same. Knowing very little about these things, I've always assumed it to be a sort of standby draw by the unit and other appliances connected through it. Having read a couple of years back that these units are not accurate at the lower end of the range I checked with a multimeter and found that what was showing as 0.6 was, in fact, 0.2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 The BCA "Seattle" control-panel manual can be viewed here https://bcagroup.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Seattle-Manual.pdf The panel is feature-rich and a 0.5A 'drain' MAY be normal when the panel is fitted to Bailey Adamo models. (And - as aandy has mentioned - can the control-panel's reading be trusted?) Logically, as the 'drain' ceases when the Aux, Monitor, Aerial fuse is removed, the first step should be to establish exactly what circuits the fuse covers. "Aerial" seems obvious, but I'm unsure about "Monitor" unless it relates to a rear-view camera (that I think is standard on Adamos). I don't know when Bob's motorhome was built, but an October 2020 Bailey Motorhome Owners Manual for Adamo is here https://www.baileyofbristol.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020-Autograph-III-Alliance-Silver-Adamo-Owners-Manual-Nov-20.pdf There's a Bailey Motorhome Owners Facebook group that has a sizeable membership and appears to be quite active (14 new posts so far today) and - if the current drain is a known issue - that's where I'd expect guidance to be found. https://www.facebook.com/groups/baileymotorhomeownersgroup/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGarrett Posted February 11 Author Share Posted February 11 Thanks for all your inputs. To clarify a few points... My Adamo was made in 2021. All correct readings were made with a digital multimeter, though I did not give the extra decimal places. The manual referred to is the manual I have where the circuit schematics say they are for the Alliance despite the manual covering other vans too. The rear view screen is powered by the engine electrics as shown by the fact the screen turns off when the engine stops in its stop/start mode when stationary! I did search the Facebook group to no avail. I will have to try tracing the wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 As others have said, battery drain with nothing in use has long an issue. For us it was more of an issue when the van was not in use and on several vans I fitted a main battery isolator switch to stop the battery being drained flat and damaged. My experience is years out of date now and this may not be a good idea anymore with 'modern' electronics - but it may be worth exploring as a cheap and simple out of use cure. As far as having enough power for off grid use, and we never used sites or EHU, an extra leisure battery and solar panels worked well for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 Hi Pulling the fuses may not be the best method of finding the parasitic draw as some of the modules themselves may have, shall we say, not gone into sleep mode . As you found the draw on that circuit ( labelled Aux, Monitor, Aerial.), Maybe also some add on is connected to it. Happy hunting Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 A basic question is whether or not the BCA "Seattle" control-panel is involved with the current drain - ie. whether the drain only occurs when the panel is ON. Plainly, if the drain occurs with the control-panel ON, then it's a potential nuisance when the Adamo motorhome is being lived in, but less of a problem if the panel is switched OFF when the motorhome is out of use. But, if the drain is occurring with the panel OFF, this will be much more of an issue when the motorhome is out-of-use and not connected to a mains-power supply. (Historically, many Fiat Ducato-based motorhomes were recognised as having a high parasitic current drain of their starter battery, but I get the impression from Bob's posting that it's only his motorhome's leisure battery that's affected.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 (edited) 3 hours ago, Derek Uzzell said: Historically, many Fiat Ducato-based motorhomes were recognised as having a high parasitic current drain of their starter battery, but I get the impression from Bob's posting that it's only his motorhome's leisure battery that's affected. The general advice back then was to replace or supplement the engine battery earth strap which was a known failing of the breed and to at least run the engine once a month when not in use or preferably take it for a short drive to recharge and keep it mechanically free running. A good size solar panel or a ctek or similar battery maintaining charger if there is access to mains power would also keep the battery topped up but I was always a believer in giving it a run once a month on the basis that being designed as a working van it needed to be used. Edited February 12 by Tracker adding info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Hi Tracker It still may be good advice to day Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 19 minutes ago, onecal said: Hi Tracker It still may be good advice to day Regards Cheers! We must have been doing something right as never once in 50 years of UK and EU touring did we ever break down or encounter a problem that we could not overcome. Check lists, common sense and mechanical sympathy (as my Dad (ex RAF) called it!) worked for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Hi Back then , things could be fixed or be fixable Sadly now it's mostly throw away as cheaper just to replace with a new one The art of repairing a faulty parts is sadly been lost little by little Getting back to the OP question Modern electronic modules need time to go into sleep mode , pulling the fuses will keep waking them up, voltage drop method is better But as you think you may have narrowed it down to your circuit ( labelled Aux, Monitor, Aerial.) you need to check it for faults and see if any extra connections have been added to that circuit that may also be causing issues . Happy hunting Regards 18 hours ago, BobGarrett said: Thanks for all your inputs. To clarify a few points... My Adamo was made in 2021. All correct readings were made with a digital multimeter, though I did not give the extra decimal places. The manual referred to is the manual I have where the circuit schematics say they are for the Alliance despite the manual covering other vans too. The rear view screen is powered by the engine electrics as shown by the fact the screen turns off when the engine stops in its stop/start mode when stationary! I did search the Facebook group to no avail. I will have to try tracing the wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 2 hours ago, Tracker said: The general advice back then was to replace or supplement the engine battery earth strap which was a known failing of the breed and to at least run the engine once a month when not in use or preferably take it for a short drive to recharge and keep it mechanically free running. Although I mentioned in passing the Fiat Ducato's historical reputation for parasitic current drain, it's perhaps worth highlighting that Bailey Adamo motorhomes are built on a Ford Transit chassis. The Bailey Manual for Alliance and Adamo motorhomes states that there are fourteen 12V fuses and these are listed on a wiring schematic for ALLIANCE models. The snag is that there is no fuse in that list marked "Aux, Monitor, Aerial". Bob hasn't said if he has consulted Bailey about this drain issue, or checked if Bailey can supply a schematic for Adamo models that would show the "Aux, Monitor, Aerial" fuse and, hopefully, explain what its purpose is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 (edited) Hi Yes that would be interesting as is it an add on circuit? I think some of the old circuits had a 5A fuse for the Aerial and a separate fuse of 10A for the Aux . This may have been updated I think the fuse panel has 15 fuses present, two fuses are 10A each for lights Regards Edited February 12 by onecal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGarrett Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 On 12/02/2024 at 13:37, Derek Uzzell said: Although I mentioned in passing the Fiat Ducato's historical reputation for parasitic current drain, it's perhaps worth highlighting that Bailey Adamo motorhomes are built on a Ford Transit chassis. The Bailey Manual for Alliance and Adamo motorhomes states that there are fourteen 12V fuses and these are listed on a wiring schematic for ALLIANCE models. The snag is that there is no fuse in that list marked "Aux, Monitor, Aerial". Bob hasn't said if he has consulted Bailey about this drain issue, or checked if Bailey can supply a schematic for Adamo models that would show the "Aux, Monitor, Aerial" fuse and, hopefully, explain what its purpose is. Page 14 of the Service part of the Bailey Adamo manual which is the circuit schematics shows a fuse named as Aux. On the actual unit it is labelled as I described. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) Hi Is it rated at 10A ? Have a look at page 12 bottom right (PDU-Relays) 15 fuses. Regards Edited March 12 by onecal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylors2 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Interestingly I have a power leak too on my Bailey Adamo 2024 picked up last week. The vehicle battery is being drained overnight and it will not charge unless 1 the engine is running 2 we are electric hookup and the master electric power is on i find it strange I have to have master power on for the charger to charge the vehicle…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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