No Lights When Running On Battery....

OK, here's the final outcome. I was off today so I just brought the trailer in to the dealer which is only 20 minutes away. I still have the extended warranty so I figured if it was anything major than it might be covered anyway.

It took 3 guys about 30 minutes to solve the problem. While my 30A fuse by the battery was fine, the wires themselves were corroded under the wire nut. They ended up replacing the whole fuse setup and we were on our way free of charge.

When I got home I checked the camper batteries and they were about 12.46 A few days ago they were only 12.31 but jumped to 12.35 when plugged in. Today they were finally 14.06 after I got home and plugged in.

Saga over. :-)

cm11599ps wrote:
....My brother just purchased a new camper last week and has the same exact batteries which are stored in my garage since the camper is in storage. That battery gave me a 12.56 Same exact battery as mine but 4 years newer and basically not used yet. Now for more testing...

Basic troubleshooting. Swap the batteries, as a test. See if the new batteries light up your rig, and see if your old batteries leave the other rig in darkness. I am betting the problem stays with your rig and does not follow the batteries.

As for only being 4-years old.... You are checking & watering them occasionally, right? I went 9-years on a Trojan battery before it started getting a little soft - not shot, just a bit soft. Kept plugged in, and pulled the caps and watered annually with distilled water. To die at 4-years seems a bit of a short service life.

-Eric

csamayfield55 wrote:

cm11599ps wrote:
I currently have the batteries disconnected and the camper unplugged from the house. I'd like to see if the batteries can hold the charge cause like I said, I think they're on their way out anyway. I'll play with things again in a few days when I get some time.

Although you may have batteries that are not up to snuff that is NOT your issue! Just like other said, you have something going on in the wiring from the batteries to the trailer. IN my 2005 I had the auto reset circuit breaker fail. It was right below the batteries on the frame. My new trailer has one mounted in the battery box up high.

Follow your hot wire from the frame and find either the fuse or CB and test voltage on both sides of it. There is one somewhere. Also check and make sure your ground wire is attached securely to your frame close to your batteries.

Chris

OP could also reconnect the battery and then test for voltage at one of the non-working lights using a separate ground. That should determine if the + side of the wire is good to that light. Using a differently supplied ground or + wire to test using the opposite existing wire and working back to the battery will certainly determine where the problem in the wiring is. It is a lot more thorough and pretty easy to do this and generally only requires one's time.

I found a loose mid-trailer frame ground that fed my slide motor using this method.

cm11599ps wrote:
I currently have the batteries disconnected and the camper unplugged from the house. I'd like to see if the batteries can hold the charge cause like I said, I think they're on their way out anyway. I'll play with things again in a few days when I get some time.

Although you may have batteries that are not up to snuff that is NOT your issue! Just like other said, you have something going on in the wiring from the batteries to the trailer. IN my 2005 I had the auto reset circuit breaker fail. It was right below the batteries on the frame. My new trailer has one mounted in the battery box up high.

Follow your hot wire from the frame and find either the fuse or CB and test voltage on both sides of it. There is one somewhere. Also check and make sure your ground wire is attached securely to your frame close to your batteries.

Chris

I currently have the batteries disconnected and the camper unplugged from the house. I'd like to see if the batteries can hold the charge cause like I said, I think they're on their way out anyway. I'll play with things again in a few days when I get some time.

I had exactly the same problem. In my case, the converter was trying it's hardest to charge the batteries, but the negative cable at the converter connection terminal strip was loose. All the converter could do was heat that loose connection.

It could be positive, it could be negative. While connected to power, try wiggling the heavy leads on the converter wiring terminal. If suddenly the lights in the camper get very bright, you have found your problem.

If you have a long lead, connect one end to the negative battery post, the other to the negative converter terminal strip. If that helps, the problem is the negative feed. If not remove that, and try positive battery to positive converter. If that helps, the problem is in the positive feed.

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

Follow the main battery cable from the battery toward the frame of the rig. Odds are there is a fuse or circuit breaker that has failed.

If you have 12+ volts on the battery everything 12v should work. Actually 11 volts should operate everything. You must have an open circuit. Keep poking with the voltmeter and you will find 12 on one side of something and 0 on the other. Fix, adjust, repair, clean, or replace that item.

My first guess is the self resetting circuit breaker near the battery has failed. Very rare mid wire and probably at a connection or component.

No, I don't have a battery disconnect.