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Sprinter LP-gas Valve

Originally Published in MotorHome Magazine

We have a 2005 Leisure Travel Free Spirit on a Sprinter 2500 chassis. It has a single group 49 coach battery and because of inaccessibility to the LP-gas tank it has a 12-volt DC propane lock off valve on the tank with an on/off switch located in the utility hatch. Recently, the coach battery began discharging rapidly, sometimes overnight. I checked the 12-volt DC circuits and found no significant amp draw on any except for the circuit labeled “PS, OH light, 12v plug, TV booster and LP valve.” I also noticed that the portion of the circuit feeding the LP-gas valve had an amp draw of 0.61. When I completely disconnected the switch to the valve there was no discharge of the battery on that circuit and only minimal discharges on some of the other circuits.

I think the valve is the problem. Can this valve be replaced? Does the LP-gas have to be removed before changing it?

Harold Johnson l Arkadelphia, Ark.

A half-amp draw on the LP-gas valve is normal; actually, sometimes it’s more than that. This has been a common problem on some of these installations. I don’t think the LP-gas valve should be connected to the engine-starting battery; it should be on the coach battery. A solution is to turn the LP-gas valve off when not in use, make sure it is on the coach battery circuit, install a solar panel and you should never have a dead battery. Sometimes that is the only solution for these small battery drain problems.

Coach & Powertrain

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