Battery question while in RV park

[FLGup]

We are on a 2 month road trip right now. So when we left our last park I unhooked from shore power before bringing in the slide or hooking up. I barely got the slide in under battery power and had no battery for tongue jack until I hooked up to the truck and ran the motor. Hmmmm....dead battery or the TT isn't charging the battery. All worked once hooked to the truck.

Anyway, Now that we are setup in our new campsite, I need to remove the battery and take it somewhere to be tested.

Question? Can I leave the TT hooked to shore power and remove the battery or should I throw the main breaker first? I don't have a battery kill switch between the battery and TT.

[time2roll]

No multimeter? What does the battery level gauge say?

If OP runs into town he needs to bring back a battery charger.

[2oldman]

RoyB wrote:
Using a mulitmeter measure across the battery terminals with shore disconnected it read 12.6-7VDC if the battery is fully charged.

He said he doesn't have one. Perhaps he can buy one in town.

[RoyB]

A PLAN B is using the truck jumper cables when you 12VDC with alot of current.

Using the truck to trailer cable will probably only give you around 6 AMPS or so of DC Current.

I have nosed my truck up to the 5th wheel battery a few time to jumper it to get my slides in and out.

You really should be using the pedestal power to do if it is available but sometimes you get caught with just the trailer battery and you have found out it went dead on you before you got the job done.

The next time you hook up to shore power you need to determine if the system is charging your trailer battery right away. Something went belly up on you here as your battery should have been charged up ok after being connected to shore power for that long of time. Everytime we hookup I use my mulitmeter to see if the battery voltage jumps up to 13.6VDC or more. This is your life blood so always take good care of your batteries.

We poor campers just can't go out a buy another battery every other day... My batteries were installed in 2008 and still going...

Roy Ken

[RoyB]

Using a mulitmeter measure across the battery terminals with shore disconnected it read 12.6-7VDC if the battery is fully charged.

Then go turn on the shore power. Your battery reading at the terminals should jump to 13.6VDC telling you that the converter/charger is working. Your DC VOLTAGE may be as high as 14.4VDC depending what mode the converter/charger is in if it is a smart mode charging system.

If you DO NOT see this increase in DC VOLTAGE then you have a disconnect somewhere between the battery and the converter/charger. Might be an inline fuse, bad connection, or the REVERSE POLARITY fuses on the power distribution panel.

Being 13.6VDC only it will take 24 hours or so to re-charge your battery to its 100% capacity.

If the DC VOLTAGE goes to 14.4VDC when the converter/charger is turned ON (connected) it will bring your battery back to 90% charge state in about three hours... You can get almost all of your battery performance running at 90% but you really need to get it to 100% charge as soon as you can.

Roy Ken

[time2roll]

Check the battery voltage first. Check on the battery terminals, then check in the 12v fuse panel inside the RV.
Post the results but I think you need a new converter.

A 5+ amp portable battery charger from the local WalMart or autoparts store will get you back in 12 volts until you can figure out the converter. Just put it direct on the battery and plug in. Nothing to disconnect.

[FLGup]

Trackrig wrote:
While I think you should check the battery, why unhook from shore power before bringing in the slides. Usually that's a large power draw - why not let the shore power help with it?

Bill

I usually do, I had just unhooked from shore at our last campground by mistake and figured, oh well just this once. We had been on shore power at that campground for two days so I should have had a full battery. That's why I think I should check the battery first. Since I don't have a volt meter to check it here. 🙂

[2oldman]

flguppie wrote:
So are you saying the fridge won't work if the battery is out?

If the battery is out AND the converter is off.

Flip the converter back on and see if the fridge (and other 12v devices) work.

[FLGup]

The TT is one year old but may have been on the dealers lot a bit longer. It's a 24m interstate deep cycle battery, so 2 years was all I could hope for. I didnt bring the voltmeter with me on this trip, sigh. I thought I should take it out of the battery box and run to town with it, but kinda hoped the fridge and AC would still work in case the trip took longer than expected.

So are you saying the fridge won't work if the battery is out? Even I flip the 20amp breaker labeled converter. I assume the 20amp breaker labeled converter is the battery. The converter distribution fuse panel lists it as a WFCO model WF-8955PEC

[Trackrig]

While I think you should check the battery, why unhook from shore power before bringing in the slides. Usually that's a large power draw - why not let the shore power help with it?

Bill

[Wishbone51]

Use a meter to check if voltage goes up when connected to shore power. I had a fuse go out between the battery and the power converter that was located in a panel on the underside that I had never had seen this before. Battery wasn't charging.

The battery powered the slide and the jack just fine, as these had separate fused connections, but the interior lights didn't work unless on shore power until I replaced that fuse.

[2oldman]

If you have a converter breaker, just throw that. Danger is having the battery wires touching each other. Of course sans battery AND converter your fridge won't work.

You don't really need to remove it. A simple voltmeter reading should suffice. Take that reading after battery sitting, not being charged, for about an hour. But, given your description, plus you figuring out how old it is, it's probably shot. Have you checked its water?

And if you remove the battery, be sure to take a PICTURE of the wiring first!!

[Terryallan]

I always have, but not all are the same. Read your manual