AC Electricity Drains Battery

[MLW]

I have a 2000 Aero Lite which I have pretty much rebuilt. It has a new converter and had a new battery. When the AC is hooked up, it drains my battery until dead. Does anyone know where my problem might be? Until my last trip I had to recharge the battery off my truck. This time I think I ruined the battery.

[A32Deuce]

You have to check to see if the converter is putting out or if you blew the fuses for it. All of the 12volt could be checked with a volt meter/ohm meter to make sure no shorts.

[bikendan]

Are you sure you didn't cross the battery wires, when you put the new battery in?

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by A32Deuce

You have to check to see if the converter is putting out or if you blew the fuses for it. All of the 12volt could be checked with a volt meter/ohm meter to make sure no shorts.

Originally Posted by bikendan

Are you sure you didn't cross the battery wires, when you put the new battery in?

+1

If you hook the battery wires up wrong, it will blow the reverse polarity fuses to the converter, which is a design feature to keep you from damaging the converter. Many people do this, especially in the RV's that have white and black battery wires. The black goes to the positive side of the battery, which confuses many people.

If you have black and red battery wires, then the black goes to the negative. See how confusing that can be.



If the reverse polarity fuses are blown, then the converter is not providing power to the 12 volt DC items in your RV, but the battery is powering them. (lights, pumps, fans, t-stats, etc). Since the converter is also the battery recharger too, then the battery has no way of being recharged when hooked to 120 volt AC.

Let me edit this thread with several thread/posts links that will help explain this:

(Read this whole first linked thread)

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post779439

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...per-80997.html

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post917748

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1028602

[MLW]

Battery leads are properly connected. Converter fuses are good. How do you suggest I check for shorts with my meter?

[Flybob]

Disconnect the negative battery lead from the battery. With the TT connected to shore power 120V, measure the voltage from the plus terminal on the battery( still connected to converter) and the negative wire ( not the battery post) you just connected. You should see approx 13.8V. If it is zero ( or close) then you have blown fuses or a bad converter. There should be two larger fuses 30-40A ( orange or brown) in the converter. These are the reverse protection fuses. If either is blown you can not charge battery.