my A-frame is beeping at me

oldgrayghost · 09-07-2017, 02:10 PM

we have yet to hook-up and make a trip with out new FST-12RBST. today I was out in the garage checking some things on my truck and heard a "beep". I knew it wasn't my truck so I walked around the camper and it beeped again. seems to be doing it at about 30 second intervals. anyone have an idea what this is?

khbama · 09-07-2017, 02:13 PM

Likely the carbon monoxide on low battery. Usually happened on my TT after hooking up after a few weeks of sitting before I started disconnecting the battery after every trip. Should go away once the battery gets charged up

**Mr. Dan** · 09-07-2017, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khbama

Likely the carbon monoxide on low battery. Usually happened on my TT after hooking up after a few weeks of sitting before I started disconnecting the battery after every trip. Should go away once the battery gets charged up

X2

glarior · 09-07-2017, 02:28 PM

Or smoke detector battery low.

oldgrayghost · 09-07-2017, 02:33 PM

thanks for input guys.

Brother Les · 09-07-2017, 02:55 PM

If you are not hooked up to shore power to keep the battery charged, you must unhook the RV battery so that it does not deplete (Install a battery disconnect). There are several parasite elements in the camper that pull a very small amount of juice. Over time it will run down your RV battery if not plugged in to shore power (or solar). You will need to have it fully deep charged with a battery charger. The converter will trickle charge the battery, but not as 'deep' as it should be. Do not 'charge' and 'let drain' the battery too many times as this will really shorten the life span of the battery. All 12v systems 'will' work from the 'converter' charging system 'if' your battery is 'shot'..... But and this is a big 'but', But the Furnace, if you try to use it on cool/cold days, as the Furnace 'NEEDS' a good 'boost' of 12v power to start the fan/burner process. So... if for some 'reason', the furnace does not come on as it should, deep test your battery to make sure it is in good shape and able to hold a good charge.

An 'other beep' may be a low battery in the smoke detector.

Either way...you have a low battery somewhere.

fonzie · 09-07-2017, 03:51 PM

I'll go with the smoke detector low battery......

oldgrayghost · 09-07-2017, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brother Les

If you are not hooked up to shore power to keep the battery charged, you must unhook the RV battery so that it does not deplete (Install a battery disconnect). There are several parasite elements in the camper that pull a very small amount of juice. Over time it will run down your RV battery if not plugged in to shore power (or solar). You will need to have it fully deep charged with a battery charger. The converter will trickle charge the battery, but not as 'deep' as it should be. Do not 'charge' and 'let drain' the battery too many times as this will really shorten the life span of the battery. All 12v systems 'will' work from the 'converter' charging system 'if' your battery is 'shot'..... But and this is a big 'but', But the Furnace, if you try to use it on cool/cold days, as the Furnace 'NEEDS' a good 'boost' of 12v power to start the fan/burner process. So... if for some 'reason', the furnace does not come on as it should, deep test your battery to make sure it is in good shape and able to hold a good charge.

An 'other beep' may be a low battery in the smoke detector.

Either way...you have a low battery somewhere.

very wise suggestion Brother Les. I hadn't even started thinking about all the various "stand bys" and vampires involved here. I will make a battery disconnect the next item on my agenda.
thanks again to everyone for their input on this!

azmotogirl · 09-07-2017, 08:19 PM

We just went through the same thing..... it was the smoke detector.... you will need a 9v battery. When the camper is closed it sounds like it is coming from the carbon monoxide detector but that was not the case for us.

MontyPP · 09-07-2017, 10:22 PM

At least you had a battery in yours. We camped several nights before I checked ours.

JArry · 09-11-2017, 06:08 PM

Yep, the CO/LP detector.

Also - Far into a long haul trip running the fridge on 12V (dealer-installed Group 24 battery), when I park and shut off the vehicle for a bit I will get the beep. It goes away when I start the vehicle again. I guess it's a sign the vehicle is not recharging the battery fast enough to replenish from the draw of the fridge. It's never drained the battery enough to cause obvious long-term damage... yet.

markb5900 · 09-11-2017, 06:12 PM

Just had the same thing happen on our 5er.
Standing in the yard I hear a beeping every minute or so.
What the hec is that???? I think to myself.
Battery is three years old and normally I plug the 5er into a 120 to keep the battery charged, but since we got home it had been three days and hadn't gotten around to plugging it in yet.
Sure enough, it was the CO/Propane detector beeping because of low power source. Ours is hardwired into the 12v system.
Plugged it in and low and behold, all is good again.
Will have to replace the battery next year probably, but all is good for now.

**Flybob** · 09-11-2017, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JArry

Yep, the CO/LP detector.

Also - Far into a long haul trip running the fridge on 12V (dealer-installed Group 24 battery), when I park and shut off the vehicle for a bit I will get the beep. It goes away when I start the vehicle again. I guess it's a sign the vehicle is not recharging the battery fast enough to replenish from the draw of the fridge. It's never drained the battery enough to cause obvious long-term damage... yet.

For most stock TVs the wire run to the 12V aux pin on the 7 pin connector is too small to do much more than just keep a charged battery charged. The fridge on 12V uses about 6A when run on DC. The voltage drop on the line from the TV fuse block to the fridge at 6A will cause a significant voltage drop. You can run on propane if you have a 3 way fridge. Also make sure the TV has a relay in the 12V aux circuit so that the 12V aux line is not live when the TV is not running. A group 24 battery is about the lowest capacity the Rv industry can get away with. You may want to replace it with a higher capacity battery.

JArry · 09-11-2017, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flybob

For most stock TVs the wire run to the 12V aux pin on the 7 pin connector is too small to do much more than just keep a charged battery charged. The fridge on 12V uses about 6A when run on DC. The voltage drop on the line from the TV fuse block to the fridge at 6A will cause a significant voltage drop. You can run on propane if you have a 3 way fridge. Also make sure the TV has a relay in the 12V aux circuit so that the 12V aux line is not live when the TV is not running. A group 24 battery is about the lowest capacity the Rv industry can get away with. You may want to replace it with a higher capacity battery.

Thanks -

I won't have an issue anymore this season because I don't expect to have any trips long enough to need to run the fridge while towing. I won't run on propane while towing, though I know many do.

Usually the battery meets my needs up to four or five days without 110V, but I might still upgrade next season. As to the aux circuit relay, I hadn't thought of checking that, but I do unhook the cable to TV whenever I stop for a long time.

pgandw · 09-12-2017, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flybob

For most stock TVs the wire run to the 12V aux pin on the 7 pin connector is too small to do much more than just keep a charged battery charged. The fridge on 12V uses about 6A when run on DC. The voltage drop on the line from the TV fuse block to the fridge at 6A will cause a significant voltage drop. You can run on propane if you have a 3 way fridge. Also make sure the TV has a relay in the 12V aux circuit so that the 12V aux line is not live when the TV is not running. A group 24 battery is about the lowest capacity the Rv industry can get away with. You may want to replace it with a higher capacity battery.

According to the Dometic 4223 parts guide specs (downloaded from the Dometic website), both the AC coil and DC coils are 125 watts, or 10 amps on DC. The fridge is continuous run, with manual start for any mode.

In my A122 (and on my previous pop-up with a similar fridge) with the Dometic 4223, the propane flame is pretty small and will not stay lit with the airflow from being towed at 60+ MPH. The manual start means no relight unless I stop and get out and restart the fridge.

So we run on DC while towing if we want the fridge contents to stay cold. I do use a wireless outdoor thermometer ($10 at Walmart) to monitor fridge temps while both towing and camping. Because there is no throttling on DC, and there is good airflow, the fridge will normally drop below freezing after 4 hours on the road. I then turn the fridge off during a stop, and leave it off for the rest of the day. This lets the batteries get fully charged (they recharge fine without the fridge running), and the fridge stays below 40 degrees.

If I do have to run the fridge all day towing in the Texas heat (90+ degrees) and sun, the batteries will be down a little at the end of the day due to not being recharged enough with the fridge sucking 10 amps even during a stop. But we don't camp in the Texas summer heat without electric and air conditioning so the converter can make up the difference at the campsite.

just my experiences
Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame (with 2 GC-2 6V batts for cold weather)
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

Roseperillo · 09-19-2017, 07:37 PM

My CO alarm came on intermitently day and night for 3 days, all the while hooked up to A.C. My camper is only 1 month old and I have 2 brand new fully charged batteries. I was once told the fumes from the new upholstery could trigger the CO alarm. Does that make sense? If not, why is it alarming when I'm plugged in? Thank you in advance for any insight you have.

JArry · 09-20-2017, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roseperillo

My CO alarm came on intermitently day and night for 3 days, all the while hooked up to A.C. My camper is only 1 month old and I have 2 brand new fully charged batteries. I was once told the fumes from the new upholstery could trigger the CO alarm. Does that make sense? If not, why is it alarming when I'm plugged in? Thank you in advance for any insight you have.

I had this problem soon after purchase. The alarm was replaced under warranty. Dealership said something to the effect that it "tested as needing replacement."

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