Travel trailer battery

[Kathy T.]

I have an 08' Rockwood 8296SSFK. When I plug into an electrical outlet, there is a low volume high pitch whistling sound coming from the converter/fuse panel area. My neighbor stated that it was the converter attempting to charge the battery (which is bad), and if I don't replace the battery, the converter will burn up. He also that I need to keep a battery hooked up in my trailer or else the 12 volts/amps would burn up?? Has anyone ever heard of this? I am (newly) seasonal, so I always use electric, do I need the battery at all?

[Ford Idaho]

Yes you do need the battery, it works the brakes in the event of a breakaway.

The noise you hear may be the fan for the converter.

[andymil]

That noise is probably from the high frequency electronics in the converter. Whether it's good or bad depends on the condition of the battery. It will probably make more noise when the current output is high (charging hard, low battery) and not as much when the battery is fully charged.

I don't think you need the battery if you are not towing. Sometimes I will leave my power plugged in when I'm at home and open the battery disconnect to keep from over charging the battery. (May not be necessary, but I do it.) This doesn't seem to cause a problem. My slides won't move with the battery disconnected.

Disconnect the negative lead at the battery and see if the noise changes.

[Kathy T.]

Thank you Ford Idaho and andymil! Yes, high frequency...that's the noise I hear. I know it's not the fan, that is pretty loud when it runs. I'm pretty sure the battery is completely dead at this point and everything seems to work being just plugged in to the electric box. Do you think I could ruin anything if I just disconnected it while I'm parked? I know I need it if I will be towing it again and will replace it at that time.

[Flybob]

If your battery is dead/ bad disconnect it and remove it. Make sure the battery connections are insulated and and don't touch. You could damage converter or blow the reverse polarity fuses. If you are planning to tow, you need a good working battery to operate the breakaway switch. If you are not going to tow, the dead battery will freeze and break and could damage the RV.

[Kathy T.]

Thank you Flybob!