Something else I have learned from here

[tyler811]

From this thread http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ng-177049.html I have learned why my furnace will not light. I am posting here as to not hijack that thread.

We have a FR Salem Light 201BHX. On the two trips we have taking where we need the furnace, Lookout Mt. Georgia and Red River New Mexico the furnace would not work the first night. On subsequent nights it would.

So I would assume that this is why...the battery is dead and even a 12 hour drive will not charge the battery enough. Plugging into shore power continues to charge the battery until the furnace will ignite.

The draw on the battery is the back up camera that FR wired into, I believe, the parking lights.

The camera runs even when disconnected from the TV the wire it is connected is always hot. When I remove a certain 15 amp fuse the power shuts to the camera shuts off.



Would all this be correct?

[Bama Rambler]

If all that's running in the RV while towing are the parasitic loads, the TV should keep the battery charged. Have you checked at the 7-way connector to make sure that your truck is supplying power to it when it's running?

Those cameras don't draw much current so the battery should last a few days even with it on.

[rockfordroo]

If the camera is wired into the parking lights, it will not discharge the battery. However, you have other drains, such as your CO/LP gas monitor and possibly others. If you don't have a battery disconnect switch, you should add one. If you do, you should turn if off and then see if any loads are still powered up. Some people report their CO/LP gas monitors are still powered even with the battery disconnect switch off, others report it's not still powered. Some things with their own switches, like tongue jacks and slides may still be powered, but their switches keeps them from drawing down the battery.

If you have drained your battery this far twice, your battery is probably not going to last much longer. These batteries they give us shouldn't be drawn below 50%.

It's also possible that your battery is already toast. Once you're on shore power, the battery is simply another load; the converter is actually running your furnace and other 12VDC loads. Only way to know is to load-test the battery.

Here's a pic of a common battery disconnect switch. Many are located near the battery under the LP gas tanks.



Here's another common one:

[nayther]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

If all that's running in the RV while towing are the parasitic loads, the TV should keep the battery charged. Have you checked at the 7-way connector to make sure that your truck is supplying power to it when it's running?

Those cameras don't draw much current so the battery should last a few days even with it on.

Check your 7 pin with a volt meter. You should have 12v or more to the proper contacts with motor on or off (when boondocking ALWAYS unplug the TV or you run the chance of draining the TV battery too). When you start the truck you should see a jump in voltage, confirming you are getting correct power to charge you trailer battery.

[Bama Rambler]

Tyler doesn't say which truck he has, but some trucks only supply power to the 7-way connector when the key is on. My GMC supplies it all the time, but the Dodge I had didn't.

[TheWolfPaq82]

If I recall correctly....yeah it's a long shot....but when I was winterizing last winter...(not fall 2018, but 2017) it was cold out and I was running the furnace in the TT but had already removed the battery and it was in my garage under my workbench. Furnace ran fine.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by tyler811

We have a FR Salem Light 201BHX. On the two trips we have taking where we need the furnace, Lookout Mt. Georgia and Red River New Mexico the furnace would not work the first night. On subsequent nights it would.

Would all this be correct?

Not quite sure I understand. Most furnaces will work when plugged into shore power, but yours appears to only light on battery power? That would be most upsetting and you may have to travel with a spare battery.

Are you certain that that is the only problem? Do you light the stove to clear any air bubbles out of the line?

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by tyler811

From this thread http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ng-177049.html I have learned why my furnace will not light. I am posting here as to not hijack that thread.

We have a FR Salem Light 201BHX. On the two trips we have taking where we need the furnace, Lookout Mt. Georgia and Red River New Mexico the furnace would not work the first night. On subsequent nights it would.

So I would assume that this is why...the battery is dead and even a 12 hour drive will not charge the battery enough. Plugging into shore power continues to charge the battery until the furnace will ignite.

The draw on the battery is the back up camera that FR wired into, I believe, the parking lights.

The camera runs even when disconnected from the TV the wire it is connected is always hot. When I remove a certain 15 amp fuse the power shuts to the camera shuts off.



Would all this be correct?

Are you saying the parking lights are on when your disconnected from the tv?

If so then there is either a short or your parking lights are not wired correctly.

[tyler811]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

Tyler doesn't say which truck he has, but some trucks only supply power to the 7-way connector when the key is on. My GMC supplies it all the time, but the Dodge I had didn't.

2014 Ram tradesman eco diesel

[tyler811]

Just went out to test it and it does spark but does not light on the battery. By spark, I can hear the furnace click.



Thanks for the help

[tyler811]

Originally Posted by Scrapper

Are you saying the parking lights are on when your disconnected from the tv?

If so then there is either a short or your parking lights are not wired correctly.

No they are not on but I thought I read somewhere that they were to provide power to camera all time.

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by tyler811

No they are not on but I thought I read somewhere that they were to provide power to camera all time.

So as others have said the camera should only be on as long as the TV is hooked up and the lights are turned on.


The furnace control board and fan operates on 12vdc only, when you are plugged in to shore power(120vac) it supplements the 12vdc from your battery while also keeping the battery charged. First thing you need to find out is if you have a bad battery. If the battery is good and holds a charge, you then need to find out if the converter is supplying voltage to the battery. If not, you could have the disconnect turned off, blown reverse polarity fuses, a tripped 12vdc circuit breaker (located on the trailer frame near the battery), bad ground connection at the furnace or a bad control board on the furnace.

[bamawig]

Do you have a multi meter? If so, check the voltage at the battery terminals with the TV unplugged from shore power and the trailer and no major loads running in the trailer. Battery voltage should be in the 12.5 volt range. Plug in the TV and start the engine and recheck the battery voltage. Should be 14+ volts if TV is charging the trailer battery.

[kayo]

Per the instruction manual of my 2013 Silverado 3500 drw, I had to take it to a dealer to have the electrical feed for the 7 pin connector wired to a hot source under the hood

[nayther]

Originally Posted by kayo

Per the instruction manual of my 2013 Silverado 3500 drw, I had to take it to a dealer to have the electrical feed for the 7 pin connector wired to a hot source under the hood

He has a Ram.

[woo10-210]

The current specs for that TT model shows it has a 12V fridge (3-way?). These suck a lot of power and your TV will need a good alternator to keep up. This also assumes you have a large enough 12V wire gauge from the TV to the TT. Otherwise, the fridge will just use up your TT battery while traveling. BTDT. I learned to just turn off the fridge from 12V.

[tomm1947]

Why would the rear view/back up camera place a draw on the battery if it's connected to the tow vehicle? The running lights & directionals & stop lights are powered by the tow vehicle. I think a battery disconnect would solve the problem? Just my opinion.

[Sterlingsilver]

Your dealer wired the backup camera to the wrong wire/s. The backup camera should be powered from only thre TV parking lights. There may be issues but the RV battery should easily charge up from the TV while traveling or from the converter while docked on shorepower.

[tyler811]

Sorry have not had time to go back to this. Will update this weekend

[bedubya]

Originally Posted by Sterlingsilver

Your dealer wired the backup camera to the wrong wire/s. The backup camera should be powered from only thre TV parking lights. There may be issues but the RV battery should easily charge up from the TV while traveling or from the converter while docked on shorepower.

I'm not sure why the camera would be wired to the "parking" lights. If that were the case, it would only work when the TV lights are on.