2018 mini lite, does my camper have a battery charger?

[TeacherinPA]

I have look all over and can not find in any book I got with my camper if I have a charger for the battery. We have had a no power problem unless we are plugged in. The battery was tested and is at 90% & will hold a charge. We have turned on and also turned off to see is we had the battery disconnect is in the wrong position. Am I missing something? a switch not flipped? Do I need to go out and get a charger and put it in? Yes we are new to this. So any help would be nicely received.
TeacherinPA

[CHICKDOE]

welcome. you'll get this solved. but when you say no power unless plugged into shore power are you referring to 120 vac power (same as at your house) or are you referring to 12 vdc power (which the battery provides)? answering this will point to where to look further.

you have a converter which takes 120vac shore power and converters it to 12 vdc power to recharge the batteries.

do you have those idiot lights that show battery level? if so what do they show when you are disconnected from shore power and when connected to shore power.

[DougW]

To expand on what Chickdoe said; the 12VDC system normally powers the lights, furnace, and, if the fridge is set to run on propane, the 12VDC will run the control circuit so the fridge will work. The television, microwave, and the household style electrical outlets will need to have the camper plugged into a shore power source.

[TeacherinPA]

When we are not plugged into shore power nothing works. My biggest problem is when I want to lift the hitch up to hook up or un hook. I have to be plugged to my car or 120V plug to get the toe ball lift lift moter to work.

When I check the charged light it tells me I am full when un-plugged . But I don't have lights and they are LED's

I thought the battery was crapped out. It's 3 years old. But I had it tested and it good and has a charge.

[kcmusa]

Check for a fuse. Follow the pos line under the trailer. Normally it’s right at the front. Just under the trailer.
Circuit breaker may look like this;
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...k/PK54530.html

[TeacherinPA]

The fuse is good. Its a I have no power from the battery. When plugged in to anything all systems work fine.

[jeff64]

Do you have a battery cut off switch? On mine, the positive cable from the battery goes to a simple push-pull switch. Follow,the cable.

[youroo]

Check your "Reverse Polarity Fuses"! Youroo!!

[CGK]

Originally Posted by TeacherinPA

The fuse is good. Its a I have no power from the battery. When plugged in to anything all systems work fine.

When you say there is no power from the battery to that circuit breaker, have you tested that with a multimeter, or are you simply unable to use 12 volt devices in the camper? Possible solutions will be different if there is no power coming from the battery itself (e.g. battery disconnect, as you mentioned) versus if no power is getting through that circuit breaker (e.g. breaker reset or replacement) versus no power getting to the fuse panel......you get the idea. If you can provide a bit more information, there are many experts who can help you diagnose your issue.

[Scubanut]

Originally Posted by youroo

Check your "Reverse Polarity Fuses"! Youroo!!

[emoji115]what he says

[mike.t]

Originally Posted by TeacherinPA

The fuse is good. Its a I have no power from the battery. When plugged in to anything all systems work fine.

The 120 and 12 volt systems all work fine when plugged in?

[patrickwstewart]

Definitely would consider if the disconnect switch is on...

[CHICKDOE]

it's not the reverse polarity fuses as he is gettign 12 volt power fro, the converter when plugged in.

the is open circuit between the batteries and the loads. the converter powers the loads but the battery won't. this also prevents the converter from recharging the battery.

1. are you sure the battery is charged?
2. have you tried with the battery disconnect in both positions (on and off)?
3. have you found and reset the 12 volt circuit breaker in the battery positive cable? it will be near the battery. trace the cable.

a simply cheap multimeter would be helpful. check each and every connection on the battery cables that leave the battery

other possibilities would be a damaged / corroded battery cable or loose connections at the battery terminals.

[UT_Grandpa]

The battery disconnect switch on my trailer is on trailer tongue, a little right of center as you are facing the front of the trailer. It has a red handle on the switch that turns a quarter turn to turn the power ON/OFF. If you can remove the switch "key" it is in the OFF position. If it won't come out, it is in the ON position.

This switch is in front of the propane tanks and behind the hitch - where the trailer ball goes.

Be aware that, on my trailer, the load on the battery with nothing turned on is about 1/3 Amp which if you do the math, will drain your battery beyond useful state in about 20-30 days. This load, called a parasitic load, comes from the CO detector, fridge electronics, stereo system, and furnace controls. Add to this the normal self-discharge of the batteries over time and you have a problem - this is why they put the disconnect switch on the trailer.

There are a few things that the disconnect switch will not disconnect: Trailer runaway brakes (normally off unless the safety pin is pulled) and the power outlet to the right of the couch where you have the power socket and USB charger. These are hot all the time unless you disconnect the negative battery switch.

I keep my trailer on a 3 Amp Battery Tender 24x7 during the winter months. Good luck.