battery, charger or wiring issue?
First camping trip out this year and the battery does not work. We only have one battery. If the 120 volts is off, the battery cannot run anything and lights dim down to almost nothing. We are alwa...
Forum Discussion
Responses in red. What I don't understand is why the voltage reads 11.1 volts at the battery with shore power off, cables connected to battery and all 12VDC loads turned off. Shorted cell and not capable of delivering under even a minimal load?
With shore power turned off and battery cables connected, voltage at the converter is 10.8V (while 11.1V at battery). Is 0.3 volts drop okay with all DC loads turned off?
With a bunch of lights (LED) turned on, battery connected and shore power off, the voltage at the battery drops to 9.8 volts.
The thunk I mentioned above when plugging fuses back in turns out to be the 2 Maxxair fans we have.
With shore power turned off and battery cables connected, voltage at the converter is 10.8V (while 11.1V at battery). Is 0.3 volts drop okay with all DC loads turned off?
With a bunch of lights (LED) turned on, battery connected and shore power off, the voltage at the battery drops to 9.8 volts.
The thunk I mentioned above when plugging fuses back in turns out to be the 2 Maxxair fans we have.
RoyB wrote:
Fix one thing at atime... FIRST BIG CHECk is to measure the BATTERY at the termnals with SHORE POWER TURNED OFF.. If the battery is fully charged it should read 12.6-7VDC. With shore power off and battery cables connected, voltage at the battery reads 11.1 volts. If battery pos. cable is disconnected, the battery by itself reads 12.4 volts.
Leaving the meter connected to the battery terminals then turn on SHORE POWER CABLE. The DC VOLATGE at the battery terminal should jump up to 13.6VDC Voltage at the battery reads 13.7 with shore power turned back on.
If it does not this means there is a disconnect somewhere between the CONVERTER DC OUTPUT termials and the BATTERY TERMINALs.
Get that resolved first then we can go from there...
Most likely a blown fuse between the Battery Terminals and the CONVERTER/CHARGER. Might also be your two REVERSE POLARITY fuses blown. Reverse polarity fuses are good - checked with ohmeter. As mentioned previously, connections at the mini circuit breaker in the A-frame look quite corroded. Tried to clean as best I could but have no sandpaper or emery cloth and can't get one nut off the stud. Re-connected all wires to the same terminal and no improvement.
If it blows the same fuses again then most likely the BATTERY has shorted cells. I've had that thought in the back of my mind as a possibility but wouldn't have suspected it on a year old battery (interstate)? Had that happen once on a battery in our skidsteer loader and didn't figure it out until taking it to a battery shop for a test.
This occurs when being left on the 13.6VDC Charge from the CONVERTER/CHARGER being ON for long periods of time and not monitoring the battery fluids. Once the fluids has been boiled out of the battery it will most of the time short out.
let us know what happens after doing these steps...
