TRAVEL TRAILER BATTERY ISSUES

[michaelman501]

On our last trip after setting up our low battery indicator started beeping at us within a few hours of setting up. We only dry camp and can normally go about 3 days without the battery needing a recharge via the genny. After coming home i charged the battery by pluggin the travel trailer cord into an extension cord with adapter from the house and left in plugged into the shore power for a week. I then unplugged it and turned on the lights and radio just to see how quick the battery would drain. The battery went from reading full to empty in 1 hour, and the lights were extremely dim. My question is does this sound like just a bad battery not holding a charge, or is there other issues ? The battery is a single 12v Interstate RV battery thats only 2 years old. I am hoping to get some advice, i am mechanically inclined but lack knowledge of the charging system in travel trailers etc. Thanks in advance.

[time2roll]

These batteries live much longer if they are kept 100% charged in storage.
Consider a 60 to 120 watt solar panel.... unless stored in the shade.

[michaelman501]

I just thought i would post back a quick update! I have been diagnosing the problem the last few days and realize that i had a problem with receptacle at my house and my trailer wasnt getting power. So when i went camping my rig went with a pretty much dead batter even though it had been plugged in prior to our trip! The only charge it got was during the hour long trip towing the trailer to the campground. Thanks everyone for your input, i am now ready for my first week of holidays next week!

[bsimonds]

Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
Also get a battery hydrometer. It will really tell you what your battery's state of charge is. It can also show a dead or weak cell.

X2

[Canadian_Rainbi]

Also get a battery hydrometer. It will really tell you what your battery's state of charge is. It can also show a dead or weak cell.

[dclark1946]

In addition to a digital multimeter you should also consider purchasing and learning to use a DC clamp-on Ammeter such as one that Sears sells. You can monitor your charge and discharge current. When you are dry camping and have limited generator run time you need to know the health of your 12V system to avoid running out of power.

Dick

[RoyB]

The quick check would be measure across the battery terminals with your voltmeter with shore power turned off. If the battery is fully charged it will read around 12.6-7VDC. Then turn on the shore power and the same battery terminals should read 13.6VDC telling you the converter/charger is ON and the connections between the converter and the battery are all good.

If you do not see the increase in DC VOLTAGE at the battery terminals when you turn on the shore power then the converter/charger may be bad, or the interconnect fuses between the converter and battery are bad, or you have some sort of bad cable connections or perhaps you have a BATTERY DISCONNECT switch open.

I had to chuckle when i read you was going to pick up a DC Multimeter as they were on sale.... They only cost $7-$20 available from LOWES-WALMART-Any number of autoparts stores. Sometimes you get one free when buying some RV related items from Northern Tools or Harbor freight....


Good luck with tracking down your battery not being charged

just my thoughts
Roy Ken

[qtla9111]

Check your connections. I had the same issue. One cable connector had a small crack and the rest were dirty with some corrosion. Be sure to clean and grease the posts. I thought for sure my batteries were shot. The voltmeter will tell you the charge level but not what the problem is. Working well now.

[skipnchar]

Most likely you just need a MUCH better battery. If you're using a "marine/RV deep cycle battery, then this is little more than a modified starting battery. These batteries will not withstand very many deep discharges so when you ARE using them for dry camping you are MUCH better off to recharge them daily rather than deeply discharging them before recharging again. The Marine/RV deep cycle battery works pretty well for someone who stays in campgrounds or RV parks with electric hook ups MOST of the time since the battery is kept nearly fully charged.
Good luck / Skip

[michaelman501]

mbopp wrote:
Do you have a voltmeter? What's the battery voltage under charge? What's the voltage after it sits for 3 days disconnected?

I do not have a voltmeter but will be picking one up tonight as they are on sale. I am hoping its just the battery and nothing else as we are leaving for a summer holidays with the trailer in 11 days! I will investigate the matter this weekend and get back to all of you. Thanks for the help. If anyone else has any input its much appreciated.

[time2roll]

Sounds like classic shorted battery.

[mbopp]

Do you have a voltmeter? What's the battery voltage under charge? What's the voltage after it sits for 3 days disconnected?

[Dennis_M_M]

You will find some good battery info ere: hhttp://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

Sounds like a battery dying.

[the_bear_II]

If you can check the fluid level make sure all cells are topped off.

Batteries today can go bad quickly. The plates are very thin and can break from road vibration or a bad bump. I always feel lucky when I can get more than 3 years out of a battery. Our roads have gotten really bad in California. The other day the wife was following and I hit a bad bump on I-15 she said all four tires came off of the ground on our 5th wheel. That's 15000lbs flying for a 1/2 second...almost as good as the Spruce Goose.

If the fluid is not low or it's a maintenance free, I would have an interstate dealer test it and give an adjustment on a new one.