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Old 03-25-2014, 08:05 PM   #1
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2014 Clipper FB battery

Just took delivery of my first travel trailer yesterday. I played around in it for about 30 min on just battery power. I checked when I was done, and it registered 50% battery left. Tonight I checked again and it still had 50% power. I then plugged in to a 20A outlet via the 30-20 converter the dealer gave me and played around in it for about an hour. Tested out the AC, Microwave, had all of the 12 V lights on the whole time, plugged in things to the outlets, etc. Everything works fine. Then I unplugged the trailer and checked the battery again to see how much it had charged in that hour. When I went in to check, nothing 12V works at all. Battery tester registers nothing. Checked all fuses, and nothing is blown. Plugged back in to 120V, and everything works just fine. What could I have done to cause this? Some switch/button somewhere I could have accidentally pushed? Verified that the wires are firmly connected to the battery. What else should I look at / check?
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Old 03-26-2014, 07:43 AM   #2
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There is a reset switch under the front (driver's) side of the trailer, right on the I-beam. You might try to see if it needs reset!
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Old 03-26-2014, 07:47 AM   #3
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Maybe similar to this.

Btw if you dont have a battery disconnect switch your battery WILL go dead when your not hooked to shore power.
There are parasitic draws such as radio and co detector.


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Old 03-26-2014, 08:45 AM   #4
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Thanks. I'll look for that reset button when I get home from work tonight.

I was wondering about that CO/LP detector gradually draining my battery last night as I was playing around with things. Didn't even think about the radio.

I was planning on wiring a 2nd battery up in parallel this weekend to give me more capacity, so I'll throw a shutoff on while I'm at it.

Thanks for the tips!
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Old 03-26-2014, 08:50 AM   #5
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I have a viking 16fb, similar unit. I can typically leave the size 27 battery hooked up for a few weeks, using lights occasionally before it drains. 3 or 4 days if I'm in an hour or so a night. So it does take a while to drain, even with the detector and radio draw!
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Old 03-26-2014, 10:08 AM   #6
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I think your first mistake was assuming the battery was fully charged when it was delivered.
Since there are many parasitic battery power drains, many of us install a battery disconnect switch.
And a battery below 50%, will take a long time to recharge, not just a hour.
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Old 03-26-2014, 04:56 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bikendan View Post
I think your first mistake was assuming the battery was fully charged when it was delivered.
Since there are many parasitic battery power drains, many of us install a battery disconnect switch.
And a battery below 50%, will take a long time to recharge, not just a hour.
I never assumed it was fully charged. I knew from the beginning it was at 50%.

I crawled around under the trailer, and never did find a reset button, but I did find a 20A inline fuse that was blown. I replaced it, and the new one immediatly blew. Guess I'll take it back to the dealer this weekend and make them troubleshoot it.
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Old 03-27-2014, 08:54 PM   #8
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Talked to the dealer tonight, and they have no idea, so I'm taking it back to let them look at it this weekend.

Also noticed when I was crawling around under it that the drain plug for the fresh holding tank is missing.

And the left turn signal on the trailer only works when the headlights aren't on.

All minor problems, but a little bit annoying. Is it typical for a brand new trailer to have problems like this?
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Old 03-27-2014, 09:00 PM   #9
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The drain plug in mine was in the cabinet inside. Also, now that I think of it, it wasn't a reset button but an inline breaker, not fuse, with a reset button. Not sure AMP size.
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Old 03-27-2014, 09:29 PM   #10
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Have you tried a different battery, it might be worth checking. Even hooking the jumpers up from your TV to the disconnect battery lines on your TT. If the fuse holds you know it's your battery.
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Old 03-28-2014, 07:52 AM   #11
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Interestingly while I was playing with the turn signal yesterday I noticed the 12V stuff inside the trailer works when I have it plugged in to my van's 7-way connector.

It's defiantly something between the battery and the converter. (Or the battery itself).

Under normal circumstances this would be something I would enjoy troubleshooting and fixing myself, but I got to thinking about it yesterday and decided that since it's brand new I'm going to have the dealer do it.

I'll let y'all know what they say tomorrow.
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Old 03-28-2014, 09:05 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jshadonix View Post
Interestingly while I was playing with the turn signal yesterday I noticed the 12V stuff inside the trailer works when I have it plugged in to my van's 7-way connector.

It's defiantly something between the battery and the converter. (Or the battery itself).

Under normal circumstances this would be something I would enjoy troubleshooting and fixing myself, but I got to thinking about it yesterday and decided that since it's brand new I'm going to have the dealer do it.

I'll let y'all know what they say tomorrow.

This suggests the fuse that powers the converter portion of your power distribution center may have failed. Though it is possible the converter itself failed, that does happen.

Either way, you are correct, under warranty, take it to the dealer before the camping season gets going strong.
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Old 03-31-2014, 12:29 PM   #13
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Well...they claimed they replaced the fuse and it didn't blow, and they left it plugged in for an hour with and without turning things on and it never blew. So all I can figure is either there is an intermittent short to ground that only happens after some jiggling around, or I just had a fluke.

The tail light / turn signal problem turned out to be due to the light being wired backwards on the trailer. (Brake signal was going to the turn signal filament in the bulb and vice versa).
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