Loss of battery power mystery

[HudsonDave]

PROBLEM SOLVED! Bad switch. Thanks for the help everyone. The winning suggestion goes to TGR.

I measured the voltage on both sides of the disconnect switch. Showed 12+ volts on the battery side and 0 volts on the trailer side. With the AC plugged in it shows 13+ volts "trying" to go back and charge the battery. Which is why the battery never got charged back up - my battery is just fine.

My temporary fix will be to move the two wires on the 0 volt side over to the 12 volt side - bypassing the switch. Surprised something so mechanically simple would ever fail.

As a side note my power tongue jack and emergency brake already bypass the switch. My CO detector does not.

[Chuck_S]

How 'bout the LP detector down by the floor?

-- Chuck

[CC75]

On my 2015 Cedar Creek, LP/CO detector, 6 point leveling system, emegency brake and radio bypass the stock battery disconnect switch.

[Too Tall]

This is where a DC ammeter comes in handy but a voltmeter will do. Assuming you have the standard inverter;

pull the 2 screws off the breaker panel (disconnect AC while messing with this) and measure the DC side to see if you have about 13.6 volts output with the AC power plugged in. One side is AC, the other is DC 12.6 volt nominal but mine run 13.6 while floating.

If you have an ammeter, you can clip it on one of the battery leads to see if it's getting amps in.

Also go to AutoZone or wherever and buy a hydrometer for about $10. Check the battery electrolyte with the battery fully charged. IMO, this is better than a load test to verify the condition of a lead acid battery.

Disconnect it from the camper and charge with an independent charger if necessary. This will tell you if the battery is any good.

[Chuck_S]

Hey Bruce, this is another one! Checked yours?

On my Roo the radio and LP detector use a measured 3.5 amp hours/day. Insignificant unless the camper is not used for a month and they suck 105 amp hours from the battery which exceeds the capacity of a single Group 24 battery dealers seem to stick on these campers. Two weeks can use 50% of some batteries.

Recommend putting a switch on the Negative pole and completely isolating the battery. Every boat supply store has them. On-Off is all ya need.

-- Chuck

[BillyBass]

did u try plugging in a charger then see if u had any battery life

[gw1800]

Originally Posted by Flybob

Check resettable breaker under frame near hitch.

Yes, those are auto reset breakers. Very possibly bad.

Another thing, on shore power there should be 13.5-14 volts on the battery terminals. Then check both sides of the breaker. If you have voltage only on the side going to the trailer, the breaker is bad. If no voltage on either side, the converter output to the battery is bad.


Too late, the problem was already solved.

[paulyboy]

Possible bad connection on one or two battery posts. Clean lugs with emery cloth, tighten down

[hogdooz]

Simple things first--make sure the batteries have water! I just went through that with mine, low voltage then no voltage. I added distilled water, charged and now is all OK.

[Celticrider]

Same thing happened out of the blue on our Lexington, after a lot of testing, found about the resettable breaker that was the problem on a TT, ours Tripped for no apparent reason and was located by the house batteries , definitely noted for future
Awesome information on this forum

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

You want more? Do more reading.

Chuck,

I’m not being argumentative. You stated that it is RVIA code, and I don’t doubt that it is. Codes are designed for many reasons — uniformity being one of them, and we all know how well the RV industry does when it comes to uniformity. I assumed you must have access to the codes since you said this and I just asked for a citation of that particular portion of the code.

The reason I am interested is because all of my RVs since about 2008 have/had factory-installed battery disconnects and the RVIA sticker (whatever that really means, I don’t know) and all of the RVs (11 last year) that I winterize for friends in my seasonal campground every year, except one (a Forest River destination model), have battery disconnects — I know for sure at least a few have that same RVIA sticker on them — maybe they all do, but I’m not sure. None of them are over five years old except mine.

Every spring, I de-winterize all of these same RVs and check the electrolyte levels and voltages of their batteries, and every year the batteries have been good except for this year, the one that I had to take the cables off of last fall was dead.

All I really want to know is, is it really “RVIA Code”? And, if it is, where can this code be found? And, if it is code, why don’t all RVIA endorsed RVs leave the CO/LP detector connected to the battery with the disconnect activated?

Bruce

[Stevemal]

Originally Posted by nomad297

Chuck,

I’m not being argumentative. You stated that it is RVIA code, and I don’t doubt that it is. Codes are designed for many reasons — uniformity being one of them, and we all know how well the RV industry does when it comes to uniformity. I assumed you must have access to the codes since you said this and I just asked for a citation of that particular portion of the code.

The reason I am interested is because all of my RVs since about 2008 have/had factory-installed battery disconnects and the RVIA sticker (whatever that really means, I don’t know) and all of the RVs (11 last year) that I winterize for friends in my seasonal campground every year, except one (a Forest River destination model), have battery disconnects — I know for sure at least a few have that same RVIA sticker on them — maybe they all do, but I’m not sure. None of them are over five years old except mine.

Every spring, I de-winterize all of these same RVs and check the electrolyte levels and voltages of their batteries, and every year the batteries have been good except for this year, the one that I had to take the cables off of last fall was dead.

All I really want to know is, is it really “RVIA Code”? And, if it is, where can this code be found? And, if it is code, why don’t all RVIA endorsed RVs leave the CO/LP detector connected to the battery with the disconnect activated?

Bruce

If it's RIVA code, FR has cut that corner as well. My 2020Greywolf has a battery disconnect inside under the fridge. When turned off, everything goes dead including the LP sensor as you can clearly see the light go out. It flashes for a while when you turn the disconnect back on. From all the things I've found on my unit, there is NO code that FR follows other than quick and shoddy! My RV tech went down to Indiana and watched them slap together 35 units from 4:30 AM til 10:00 AM and we wonder why they are such junk! Finally after 2 years got all 23 items fixed on mine I think! Will find out this weekend!

[gw1800]

My 2016 Forest River 22RR did not have a battery disconnect. I added one myself. I think this is typical of Forest River. Put things on some and not others.
Plus, the disconnect should not disconnect the LP CO2 detector.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by gw1800

Plus, the disconnect should not disconnect the LP CO2 detector.

Why not?

Bruce

[gw1800]

Originally Posted by nomad297

Why not?

Bruce

Even a stored trailer can get a propane leak. If you enter the trailer and turn on a light, the spark from the switch will blow you out of the trailer.

Do you take the batteries out of your smoke detectors when you leave the house?

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by gw1800

Even a stored trailer can get a propane leak. If you enter the trailer and turn on a light, the spark from the switch will blow you out of the trailer.

Do you take the batteries out of your smoke detectors when you leave the house?

Hmmm.
I always install a 100% battery disconnect in all my RVs because that is what I want. I don't want any parasitic drain on the batteries.
None of my RVs ever came from the factory with a battery disconnect of any kind.
And when we aren't going to use the RV for a lengthy period, I use the disconnect to completely shut off power, I take all the batteries out of my various detectors in the RV, and I turn off propane at the tanks (no hose/pipe leak if tank is off). When I come back months later, battery charge is still good, and propane is still in the tank. Simple.