Battery not charging or holding charge

There is nothing that should make the battery discharge while the RV is plugged in. If the battery is discharging while the RV is plugged in, the converter must be bad.

stigle wrote:
I have a travel trailer. The battery is not holding the charge and keeps dropping.while camping. I am hooked up to 30 amp. I purchased a new deep cycle battery and am having the same problem. What charges the battery when it is not hooked up to a vehicle? I'm not sure what i should be checking but would appreciat any advice. Thanks!

When disconnected from vehicle and connected to a campground pedestal, the converter charges the battery. To check operation of the converter, measure voltage at the battery terminals. It should be above 13 V. Is it possible you miswired the cables to the battery, even for an instant? If so, the reverse polarity fuses on the converter may have blown. There is also a circuit breaker or fuse between the battery and the 12V distribution panel, typically located on the tongue or frame.

Good luck.

I see you have an older Travel Trailer and I suspect it is using a single mode converter/charger unit that only produces 13.6VDC when charging your battery. It also takes a good 12 hours of charge time to fully charge a deep cycle battery when only using 13.6VDC as source. The 13.6VDC is also known to boil off your battery fluids over a pretty short period time which is probably killing your battery. Your float standy DC VOltage needs to be no more than 13.2VDC t keep from boiling out the battery fluids (so says Progressive Dynamics)

Batteries are not not cheap - Invest in a $10-$20 Multimeter (AMAZON-LOWES-Auto Part STORES) and read your battery voltages on a regular basis. Harbor Freight use to give you a FREE multimeter if you purchased things from them...

You really need to be checking the fluid levels of your battery on a regular basis if this is what you have.

I replaced my WFCO Converter/charger unit in my 2004 and 2008 trailers right after I purchased them. Went with the Progressive Dynamics smart mode models that uses 14.4VDC-13.6VDC-13.2VDC to maintain the batteries...

Roy Ken

Open your trailer Main Power Panel.....typically dark brown/black panel under fridge, cabinet etc.
Inside will be your Circuit Breakers for the 120V AC System and FUSES for the DC Dist System

Check that ALL circuit breakers are ON (turn them off and back on....looking at them can be deceiving)
AC Circuit breakers feed A/C Unit, Microwave, water heater electric heater element, outlets and converter (or converter could be plugged into an outlet)

Converter is what changes AC Power to DC power....supplies the FUSED DC circuits and recharges battery when you are on AC Shore Power. Battery supplies the DC System when not plugged into AC Shore Power.

Converter will take 120V AC and provide a 13.2V DC output (minimum) if less than that converter is failing/failed.

Check that converter is getting AC Power..plugged into a working outlet (if it has a regular power cord) or that the circuit breaker is ON.
(If converter is working it gets hot and the cooling fan in panel will run)

IF you have NO DC when just on a good battery then battery in-line fuse is blown (or a dc circuit breaker is tripped-----looks like a small box with 2 studs). On a travel trailer look under tongue a-frame---trace battery positive cable back to trailer.

If you have a voltmeter.use it to check for AC power/DC power for converter

If you don't have one.get one and learn to use. It really makes finding electrical issues easier on a trailer

The converter is what charges the battery when you are plugged in. If you are at a campground and plugged in, check the campground pedestal and make sure the circuit breakers are on. Do you have a working microwave oven or an air conditioner? I ask because those two only run on the 110 shore power, not the batteries.

When hooked up to "shore power", the converter in your trailer charges your battery(ies). If you have a generator in your trailer, make sure it's switched over from generator to shore power. Some trailers (mine for instance) have a connection box that the shore power cable plugs into to utilize the generator. I unplug this and plug it into the shore power to utilize the campground power.