Aftermarket Inverter Draining 12V Battery While Off?

it sounds like you need to test the draw on the 12v withe the inverter connected vs disconnected.
could be defective

 

I had an inverter once that could be turned ON or OFF, and it was designed so when ON it would display volts and amps on its LED display, and when OFF it would chase the LED segments around in a circle. I had to put a relay in front of it.

The inverter I have now, I researched much more carefully to make sure the ding-binged thing is OFF when it's off.

 

You have it connected right to the battery. So it's always on, drawing power.
You should connect it to so it only gets power when the car is in the "ready" mode.

 

See post #4...

 

Or use an inverter that has its own on/off control and truly turns off when it's off. Comparison shopping plays a role: there are some inverters that really turn off when they're off, and there are some that do dumb things using power when they're "off".

The inverter I'm using now has an RJ-11 (modular-telephone style) jack on its front panel, meant for a remote status LED and on/off button, which can be made to depend on whether the car is READY. I took advantage of that feature. That way, the inverter's main thick power cables can just be left directly connected all the time; trying to interrupt those with a bulky high-current relay would be more hassle and expense.

 

That's an excellent solution for when you've already purchased an inverter that isn't really off when it's off.

I did that once, but I made sure the next inverter I bought was one that's really off when it's off, and that makes for a simpler and less-expensive installation overall.

 

A 60A relay would've been cheaper, trigger voltage that closes the circuit when car is powered-on or a manual RV battery switch. That's a little more work and doesn't automatically power-up. Either way, you'll get circuit isolation, so it can't kill your battery while your away.

 

No offense; Not nitpicking your solution; just the first time I saw this thread; since it bubbled up on recent post. It seemed obvious to me that you had a bad inverter power switch that wasn't fully disconnecting/shutting-off. So if you didn't want to replace the inverter, you needed to come up with a way to isolate the circuit, so you don't have to jump start and eventually kill your battery from continuous full discharges.

For kicks & giggles; did you use a carbon pile load tester; to see if your battery is still good after all those drains?

 

Some inverters are just like that: I described one upthread in post #3. Some product designers get it in their heads they want their product to do something cool when it's "off", even if it's something as useless and goofy as chasing the LED segments in a circle around the volts/amps display.

Other inverters are really off when they're off, and it's better to have that kind. It's worth comparison-shopping for. (Or, if you couldn't tell from the published description before buying, it's worth sending one back within the return period, and getting a different model that's off when it's off.)

What may seem like nit-picking the OP's solution is really more like this: PriusChat threads are not private conversations. They're still here after the OP's issue is resolved, and other people are going to see them later.

If somebody finds this thread later, and they haven't bought an inverter yet, it is good for them to know that they will have the cheapest, simplest, least-to-go-wrong solution if they just make sure to buy one that's off when it's off.



(I think I finally did get rid of that old goofy inverter. Took it to an e-recycling day. Had it for years on a shelf in the basement 'cause I couldn't think of anyone I disliked enough to give it to.)