I have just purchased a 2000 Shamrock by Forest River, with brand new battery...the LP gas detector started sounding after a few days and now the battery is flat.
What would cause it to drain so quickly?
Why does it not recharge when connected to the mains (shoreline)? Does it have a convertor, can't see it on the a-frame?
Very new to this world and keen to get exploring but have not power...any help for this newbie from South Africa is welcome
What is a few days? Was the battery properly charged? When plugged into shore power what is the voltage on the battery? To be charging, it should be around 13V.
Welcome to FRF. Congrats on your new to you trailer. What model do you have?
Maybe we can help.
Parasitic drains on the trailer that are on all the time are the cause, I bet. These include Lp Detector, radio, etc. Depending on the size battery, this can happen in a week or two. A small group 24 will not last long. The cheap solution is to disconnect the neg cable. Or, install a battery disconnect.
The converter maybe under the fridge but not sure with a 2000. You'll find it where the fuses and breakers are located.
Are you getting any power at all to the AC (120 volt) appliances like air conditioning or to the receptacles?
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Scott
DW, 3 Kids and our Goldens
2012 Shamrock 233S
2008 Toyota Sequoia 5.7L 4WD
Do you know where the convertor is? Should I disconnect the battery when not in use?
A few days could be more like 3 weeks thinking about it more. Just plugged it in and the volts are 2.54 (probably cause I hooked up yesterday to see if the car would charge it...prior to that it was 0.52 volts.
Aircon and Microwave are working when plugged in. Can't find a fuse board anywhere, nothing under the fridge either. Closest thing is the white box that tell me about the tanks and battery...
Try this. Go under the trailer and follow the wire from the positive terminal of your battery to its end point. That will be the area where you will find your converter. The problem is that there aren't too many 2000 Shamrocks on the forum so I don't know in your model.
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Scott
DW, 3 Kids and our Goldens
2012 Shamrock 233S
2008 Toyota Sequoia 5.7L 4WD
On your battery, I used to pull a fuse on my PUP that was located at the battery to keep from draining the battery. I didn't disconnect the ground, just pulled the fuse. Now on my TT, I disconnect the Neg. Terminal when not in use. The battery that came with mine would not charge properly. I checked the water levels and they were low, filled, recharged, hooked up to TT, looked and seen fumes so I disconnected. I removed the battery, took it to Advance Auto, it was gone. New battery, no more problems. My PUP had the converter and fuse panel under the table.
I too just pull the main fuse right near the pos battery terminal rather than bother with disconnecting cables from terminals. Does the exact same thing.
Ok I have located the fuse board & convertor...FYI - it is the rather large brown box under the oven, which I thought related to the oven. Found this after setting up the whole trailer!
All fuses fine and it is a 45AMP convertor...
Battery still not charging, volts are now at 1.7v.
My hook up is using a normal extension cord with a RV plug adapter - is that right?
When looking under the trailer I noticed the +ve wire from the battery connected to a little black box then a new wire connected to the Aux side of this black box feeding to the fuse board.
Ok I have located the fuse board & convertor...FYI - it is the rather large brown box under the oven, which I thought related to the oven. Found this after setting up the whole trailer!
All fuses fine and it is a 45AMP convertor...
Battery still not charging, volts are now at 1.7v.
My hook up is using a normal extension cord with a RV plug adapter - is that right?
When looking under the trailer I noticed the +ve wire from the battery connected to a little black box then a new wire connected to the Aux side of this black box feeding to the fuse board.
Any other checks/thoughts?
If the little black box looks like one of these it is a fuse for connecting the battery to the converter.
The little tab on the side is a reset button. Press it in and it should click in. If it pops back out DO NOT reset it again till we figure out what is going on.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
No but it could be bad or have a corroded connection.
Remove the wires and lightly sand the terminals and wire brush the threads of the current limiter.
Be sure there is no bump on the sides to press. It may be an auto reset type.
Hook up the side going from the converter to the fuse. DO NOT hook up the battery yet.
See if you have 13 volts or higher at the terminal.
If you don't you have a converter problem.
See if you have 13 volts on the other terminal without the battery wire on it. If not you have a bad fuse.
If you have 13 volts on the battery side; hook up the battery wire.
Check the voltage on that terminal again. If the voltage drops to a lot less than 13 volts then you have a bad battery.
Even though "new" a dead battery WILL freeze; cracking the lead wafer plates that make up the cells.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
test the wires that hook to the battery to see how much is coming from the converter, to the battery.
for that old of a hybrid, the converter could be bad.
2000 was only the second year of production for the hybrid design, for FR.
R-Vision came out with the first ones, in 1998 model year.
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Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
My new Sabre was doing the same thing. The 45 AMP WFCO converter was bad. Having a 70 AMP Progressive Dynamics installed. Seems that many have had problems with the 45 WFCO's.
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2014 Cedar Creek 34 RLSA-7
2015 Chevy Silverado 3500HD LTZ SRW
My new Sabre was doing the same thing. The 45 AMP WFCO converter was bad. Having a 70 AMP Progressive Dynamics installed. Seems that many have had problems with the 45 WFCO's.
on the progressive dynamics
Linear Mode
