12v power when plugged in

RJsfishin wrote:

Dakota98 wrote:
The monitor panel is useless anyway. If you want to know battery SOC, @ minimum get a voltmeter & install it.

The panel meter IS AN ANALOG VOLT METER. It may not be as accurate as a digital read out, but it works fine for knowing if the charging system is working or not. I have never seen one fail. In your case you can bet the TVs charging system is not making it to the trailers 12 volt distribution center, which should be at the other end of the trailer's 12v connector cord.

That was my second mistake of the day.

The first was getting out of bed. :S

Thanks a lot folks. I do have full truck voltage at the number 4 terminal. I'm going to go out tomorrow night and check the voltage at the trlr battery with the truck plugged into the trlr and running. That's the one thing I've not checked.

Dakota98 wrote:
The monitor panel is useless anyway. If you want to know battery SOC, @ minimum get a voltmeter & install it.

The panel meter IS AN ANALOG VOLT METER. It may not be as accurate as a digital read out, but it works fine for knowing if the charging system is working or not. I have never seen one fail. In your case you can bet the TVs charging system is not making it to the trailers 12 volt distribution center, which should be at the other end of the trailer's 12v connector cord.

look at Tuson's pic. You should have batt voltage at the #4 on the trailer plug.

Our Grand Design batteries are charged when we're driving. I know you said you checked the power at the truck, but just in case you want to check it again, here's a diagram for checking it out:



Set your volt meter to DC volts and make sure you're measuring about 13.5VDC between pins 1 & 4 with the truck running. If not, track down the issue with the truck.

If you confirm the 13.5 volts at the truck, check the voltage at the battery on the FW. You'll probably be between 12.0 to 12.6VDC. Then connect the 7-way plug between the truck and the trailer. Start the truck and verify that you now have about 13.5VDC at the battery. If not, the problem likely is in the FW and you need to track it down. It could be something as simple as a blown fuse.

chrisinkanata wrote:
So we have a new Grand Design trlr. On this trlr, if the battery is at 75% on the panel and I plug it into our truck, the voltage doesn't change. Even after driving all day the voltage will not have changed. Confirmed 12v at the connector on the truck. Every other trlr we've had, when it gets plugged into the truck, the panel indicates 100%. This is a pain because if the battery is low, there may not be enough juice to power the pump for the LevelUp front legs so unless I have my generator with me, I'm stuck.

BTW...disregard the trlr in my sig. Any thoughts?

Chris

You may have a resettable circuit breaker in the line from your trailer umbilical cord to the battery. Follow the wires through to see if you can find one. It will NOT be part of your power panel.

This chart shows the DC VOLTAGE verses STATE OF CHARGE of your batteries.

It is not absolute but very useful to get you in the ball park.

The really sure method is to Measure the Specific Gravity of each cell using a HYDROMETER.



When we are camping off the batteries we never let our batteries drop below the 50% charge state over night. This is represented by a 12.0VDC DC VOLTS reading on my meter panel. Dropping the batteries below their 50% charge state will do harm to your battery performance and will eventually have to replace them.



Roy Ken

I would get a volt meter or test light.
I would verify that your truck's power is getting to the junction box located at the end of the umbilical cord by the pin box. There could be a circuit breaker or fuse there.
Then check for wire from the umbilical cord connection to the battery in the 5er.
You need to verify the ground is getting through the system as well.
Has the trailer connector been used before? Check to insure that the dummy fuse has been replaced with a 30 amp fuse in the fuse block under the hood. You reading at the connector could just be induced voltage.

The monitor panel is useless anyway. If you want to know battery SOC, @ minimum get a voltmeter & install it.

Get an actual voltage measurement. I think the panel has a defect.