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dyoungker's avatar
dyoungker
Explorer
Dec 24, 2013

2005 Gearbox 260FS Battery Issue

Sorry for the double post... I put this in the toy haulers section...

Hello,

Just bought this toy hauler and I am having an issue I can not figure out... I can not get 12V to work inside trailer. I went and bought 2 brand new batteries today. Charged them up and hooked up to trailer thinking it would all work good. Batteries start generator and move rear bed up and down just fine. If I try to turn on any lights or turn the water pump on the low voltage beep chirps but nothing works. Every time I flip the light switch or any other switch it just beeps and does not turn anything on. If I go back and start the generator all works perfect with the generator running or plugged into shore power. Any ideas what could be causing this?
  • dyoungker's avatar
    dyoungker
    Explorer
    Dec 24, 2013
    OK I got it figured out... It was a 30 amp 12V circuit breaker located under the trailer in a black box. I traced the wire from the converter all the way back to it and found that I was only getting 9V of power on 1 side and 12V of power on the other. Swapped it out with a new one and everything is working good! Thanks for the help!
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Dec 24, 2013
    Check battery negative cable to frame ground connection..tight and clean
    Check battery cables to converter terminals......tight
    Check converter reverse polarity fuses....blown
    Check converter output on shore/gen power....13.6V DC
  • dyoungker's avatar
    dyoungker
    Explorer
    Dec 24, 2013
    Ok just checked out some more stuff... I pulled iff the cover from the converter and was getting 9V when the disconnect was on. Zero volt when off. I then check the voltage behind the disconnect and was getting 12V when off and 9V when on. So I disabled the disconnect and as soon as I connect the wires going from the battery to the converter the voltage drops to 9V. I then go back and think I am having an issue with my battery so I hooked up jumper cables from my truck to the new battery on the trailer. I was then getting 14V at the battery and behind the disconnect. As soon as I make the connection to the converter it drop to 10V and still nothing on the trailer works.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Dec 24, 2013
    WAG--Maybe an inline circuit breaker that protects circuit to power the DC distribution panel from the batteries. Your bed and generator may be wired direct to battery, not with the rest of your 12V system. When you have the generator running or on shore power, the converter is supplying power to your 12v system.
  • Mandalay_Parr's avatar
    Mandalay_Parr
    Explorer
    Dec 24, 2013
    dyoungker wrote:
    They are brand new batteries... I bought them early today and charged them all day. They start the generator just fine so I would think if the batteries were bad it would not start the generator. I am just trying to get lights to work...


    I don't think you can get them fully charged in less than 24 to 36 hours. Measure the battery voltage with a volt meter and report back. 12.2 volts is 50% discharged. 12.7 would be fully charged.
  • PaulJ2's avatar
    PaulJ2
    Explorer
    Dec 24, 2013
    Open connection somewhere between your batteries and the converter. Maybe an open circuit breaker or a master shut-off switch for the batteries.
  • dyoungker's avatar
    dyoungker
    Explorer
    Dec 24, 2013
    They are brand new batteries... I bought them early today and charged them all day. They start the generator just fine so I would think if the batteries were bad it would not start the generator. I am just trying to get lights to work...
  • Mandalay_Parr's avatar
    Mandalay_Parr
    Explorer
    Dec 24, 2013
    Sounds like your batteries are not charged all the way up or you have drained them too much.
    Leave it plugged in for couple of days to charge them up good. Batteries will go down fast with moderate to heavy loads...just like your car.

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