No Lights When Running On Battery....
My deep cycle Interstate batteries have been giving me problems recently. They really haven't been holding a charge anywhere as near as long as they used to. They're over 4 years old now. You could...
Forum Discussion
Certainly looks like you have a disconnect between the batteries and the 12VDC Distribution Center where the ATC fuses are located.
My 2008 trailer has a in-line fuse just inches away from the positive terminal on the batteries. Some of the newer trailer may have a resetable circuit breaker here.
You can also look for loose connections or frayed cables ends around the battery terminals etc...
Some folks sometimes asks what you have done lately to your battery system. It is so easy to hook them up wrong haha...
The RV Trailer cable system uses BLACK for hot and WHITE for ground cables. The automotive system tat we have known over the years uses RED color for hot and BLACK for ground connections. Sometimes these colors get all mixed into the trailer system since a battery is being used. The best thing to do is locate the word NEG or symbol stamped on the battery CASE and make sure this is the battery cable that goes to frame ground close to the battery when using a 12V battery.
I always have a laugh when someone buys a new Car radio to install in the trailer as it will come out of the box with RED and BLACK cables where RED is hot. Then you get it wired in and right away you notice you have a RED wire on top of a BLACK wire. Makes the old timers turn over in their graves hehe...
The battery cable should go all the way to the 12VDC distribution panel from the on-line fuse location. Both the on-board Converter/Charger unit and the Battery Bank both feeds the same 12VDC Distribution Panel where all of the ATC fuses are located...
First thing to look for is the in-line fuse or circuit breaker and see if it has the 13.6VDC on the trailer side coming from the converter/charger unit when plugged into shore power. Or you can go the other side if you don't have shore power and measure for the 12.33VDC you measured before going thru the fuse or circuit breaker going to the 12VDC Distribution fuse panel. Since you don't have trailer lights when not on batteries only you obviously don't have an connection.
Let us know if you have found the in-line fuse and hopefully you have found a blown fuse.
Its really all that simple...
If you did find a blown fuse it may just blow again perhaps you have a temporary shorted cell in the battery and this was too much load for when the converter/charger was trying to charge your battery. You should check the battery fluid levels and one may dry if you haven't check this in a long time. Need to bring the fluid level above the internal cores and hope the battery is still ok...
I do this check just about every time I am around my batteries mounted on my trailer tongue area. I will measure the battery terminal with a multimeter and if the batteries are fully charged they will read 12.6-7VDC like your friends did.. then I will plug in my shore power cable to a pedestal or home 120VAC receptacle with an adapter and then looking at the same battery terminals I should see this DC VOLTAGE jump up to 13.6VDC or higher if you have a smart mode charging system. This tells me I am connected to the converter/charger unit and it is indeed charging my batteries. If I don't see this 13.6VDC than I know something is not connected like it should be.
Just a habit I have gotten into checking the battery status...
Let us know what you found...
Roy Ken
My 2008 trailer has a in-line fuse just inches away from the positive terminal on the batteries. Some of the newer trailer may have a resetable circuit breaker here.
You can also look for loose connections or frayed cables ends around the battery terminals etc...
Some folks sometimes asks what you have done lately to your battery system. It is so easy to hook them up wrong haha...
The RV Trailer cable system uses BLACK for hot and WHITE for ground cables. The automotive system tat we have known over the years uses RED color for hot and BLACK for ground connections. Sometimes these colors get all mixed into the trailer system since a battery is being used. The best thing to do is locate the word NEG or symbol stamped on the battery CASE and make sure this is the battery cable that goes to frame ground close to the battery when using a 12V battery.
I always have a laugh when someone buys a new Car radio to install in the trailer as it will come out of the box with RED and BLACK cables where RED is hot. Then you get it wired in and right away you notice you have a RED wire on top of a BLACK wire. Makes the old timers turn over in their graves hehe...
The battery cable should go all the way to the 12VDC distribution panel from the on-line fuse location. Both the on-board Converter/Charger unit and the Battery Bank both feeds the same 12VDC Distribution Panel where all of the ATC fuses are located...
First thing to look for is the in-line fuse or circuit breaker and see if it has the 13.6VDC on the trailer side coming from the converter/charger unit when plugged into shore power. Or you can go the other side if you don't have shore power and measure for the 12.33VDC you measured before going thru the fuse or circuit breaker going to the 12VDC Distribution fuse panel. Since you don't have trailer lights when not on batteries only you obviously don't have an connection.
Let us know if you have found the in-line fuse and hopefully you have found a blown fuse.
Its really all that simple...
If you did find a blown fuse it may just blow again perhaps you have a temporary shorted cell in the battery and this was too much load for when the converter/charger was trying to charge your battery. You should check the battery fluid levels and one may dry if you haven't check this in a long time. Need to bring the fluid level above the internal cores and hope the battery is still ok...
I do this check just about every time I am around my batteries mounted on my trailer tongue area. I will measure the battery terminal with a multimeter and if the batteries are fully charged they will read 12.6-7VDC like your friends did.. then I will plug in my shore power cable to a pedestal or home 120VAC receptacle with an adapter and then looking at the same battery terminals I should see this DC VOLTAGE jump up to 13.6VDC or higher if you have a smart mode charging system. This tells me I am connected to the converter/charger unit and it is indeed charging my batteries. If I don't see this 13.6VDC than I know something is not connected like it should be.
Just a habit I have gotten into checking the battery status...
Let us know what you found...
Roy Ken
