HELP Electrical problem!

[cmcdar]

Picked up new to me camper Trail Cruiser c191 (Hybrid) travel trailer.

Battery was quite low so put a charger on it, while still connected to the camper. This morning I go out to check the voltage of the battery and it is "boiling".

I had disconnected the power to the the charger so there was no charging overnight. This morning the charger was humming and the battery is 'boiling' (hot, battery acid coming out the top). I disconnected the charger and disconnected the battery from the camper. It was almost as if the power was flowing from the camper to the battery (camper plugged into shore power - regular house extension cord).

When I went inside the camper my fuse panel was humming YIKES. Needless to say, I disconnected the extension cord.

Anybody have any idea what on earth happened?

Thanks so much!

[DrewE]

I'm glad it was all resolved easily.

By the way, some converters hum by nature. It doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong—it's just the nature of the converter. Simpler ones have a big honking 120V to 12V transformer, and if something is slightly loose internally or if the stars are misaligned or whatever it hums.

More modern ones are switching power supplies, and these don't hum as such.

[cmcdar]

It was the "bad" battery. Once replaced, everything was fine.

This is a camper, disconnecting the battery involved one pos connection and one neg connection????

I do have a meter as I reported in previous posts that I was checking the voltage...

OP is a woman who has decades of experience in home building, repair, remodeling and auto mechanics. Just not a lot of experience in the new 2007 (ha ha) travel trailer technology.

I have seasonal camped for seventeen years. First camper was a 1970 BeeLine. I then bought a 1984 28' Fleetwood. But these campers were just towed twice a year.

So, I am a newby to having a "towable" camper. Trust me, it is a whole 'nother animal.

I'm back in the "Happy Camper" category for now. I have already upgraded the toilet, replaced a broken potable water drain valve. Next, install back-up camera and solar panels.

I'm sure I will need to pick your brains again.

Thanks fella's you guys came thru in a big way and in a hurry!!!!!!

[2oldman]

jrnymn7 wrote:
he or she? OP's name is caryl.

Most likely a he.

[jrnymn7]

By chance, are the LED's on the 120v circuit, not the 12v circuit?

[jrnymn7]

he or she? OP's name is caryl.

[SCVJeff]

Hopefully he now has one...

[jrnymn7]

To check the converters output, just stick the meter probes in its + and - outputs... being careful not to switch polarities. The meter should have several settings... put it on 20v dc.

[jrnymn7]

"Panel humming: The panel was humming even after I totally disconnected the battery (both Neg and Pos)."

Did you disconnect the battery from the converter, or from something else?

If from something else, then the charger would have kept pumping out whatever (high) voltage it was at, which would also go to the panel. If from the converter, perhaps the voltage dropped back down to ~ 13.6, but the panel was maybe hot, and kept humming due to the continuous power? Impossible to say until you get some readings.

[SCVJeff]

Time to go to Sears, Harbor Freight, etc., and buy a DVM. At this point you're shooting in the dark not knowing battery voltage, converter voltage (important), or AC component on the converter, which might also be shutting down the LED's.

HERE is a whole page of them, and I see you're lucky enough to have 2 Harbor Freight's nearby.

[2oldman]

cmcdar wrote:
Where/how should I check the converter output?

Plug shore back in and take a reading across the wires you removed from the battery. Actually it would be better with a battery in there.

All 12v item should work on battery, unless of course the battery is shot. What is the potential across the battery terminals?

[cmcdar]

OK, I'm back.

LED, no I switched 180 to make sure polarity was correct. LED did work on shore power NOT on battery power.

Panel humming: The panel was humming even after I totally disconnected the battery (both Neg and Pos). Humming did not stop until I disconnected shore power.

I have since reconnected shore power and (no humming) everything appears to be operating normally.

Right now I have no battery connected. Where/how should I check the converter output?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

• Start with the basics
• A boiling battery means it cannot take another watt of charge
• So disconnect the negative battery cable after unplugging from shore power
• The battery is now sitting disconnected
• Wait overnight, then still disconnected check the voltage with your meter
• If it is less than 12.7 volts it is bad - end game
• If it reads somewhere near 12.7 volts or above then take it to an auto parts store and have it tested
• This will confirm the problem before your very eyes.

[jrnymn7]

"I did plug the shore power back in and no more "humming" from the panel"

It's quite possible the converter-only portion of your converter-charger is operating properly, while the charger feature may not be. This would explain the lack of humming when on 'normal', i.e; converter-only, power. That said, I imagine a bad cell could also cause the charger feature to act erratically. This is why you need to check the converter under various conditions.

[SCVJeff]

The reason the LED's didnt light is that were probably in backwards. Allot of LED's, especially cheap ones have no polarity correction circuit in them