new battery dead while pluged in

[fun_w_son]

My camper (keystone VR1) stays plugged in on a shore power 30amp hooked to my house. i went the other day and noticed that the battery was low, so after checking all the fuses, i removed it and purchased a new deep cycle battery. hooked it all up and everything was fine. went in the camper a week later and noticed that the battery was down to 3 lights on the meter in the camper. just to check, i put the AC and fridge on, they turned on fine. went 2 days later and the AC and fridge were not running. i had no lights in the camper and the meter had 0 lights lit up. so i turned off the AC and fridge. i will be looking into it tonight after work.... can you guys point me to the first items i should check....

[hohenwald48]

A breaker on the negative wire??? That's not right. Are you sure you don't have the battery connected backwards? Installing the battery backwards might also blow the internal converter fuses usually located on the back of the converter.

[rockhillmanor]

fun w son wrote:
sch911...
the old battery was 2 years old and the water was low, when i filled it i noticed that it was cracked on the back side. the new battery was fully charged when i installed it, but soon went dead within a week or so.

converter not working or more likely too high voltage from it and cooking battery.

Do you smell any type of sulphur smell around your RV? Similar to bad well water. That's the smell of a cooking battery.

since the first battery cracked it could well be from converter cooking the battery. Which could be very dangerous.

CHECK your output of the converter. And like I mentioned before LEAVE the tester on 'after' it reaches specs. This is when you will be able to see if it keeps climbing.

I had a converter that was indeed working but it could not regulate itself and it kept smoking boiling batteries.

It had one capacitor that was shot and the other capacitor just went wild.

[westend]

Yes, a faulty circuit breaker will cause no charge current between battery and 12V converter/distribution panel. You should also install a disconnect switch so that, in the odd situation where the battery is not being charged, the parasitic items in your RV don't drain the battery.

Given the details posted, it's logical that the circuit breaker is OK and your converter is not charging the battery. The idiot light display is a poor diagnostic tool. IMO, every RV owner should have a hand-held meter for diagnosing electrical issues.

[fun_w_son]

mbopp wrote:
Breaker on the negative wire? I don't believe I've ever seen that before. Pics would be helpful.

i'll try to take some tonight.

[mbopp]

Breaker on the negative wire? I don't believe I've ever seen that before. Pics would be helpful.

[Lynnmor]

Until you check the voltage, we can't help you.

[ksg5000]

fun w son wrote:
ksd5000...
i noticed this breaker in the battery compartment on the outside, it is on the negative wire about 6" from the battery. it has rust on it. this weekend i was gonna change that out because of it's rusty condition. do yall think that could be the problem ??? and where do i get one??

I got my replacement at local auto parts store - just bring in the old one. You should be able to test it by determining if there is continuity between the two poles - if no continuity then it s/b replaced.

[fun_w_son]

sch911...
the old battery was 2 years old and the water was low, when i filled it i noticed that it was cracked on the back side. the new battery was fully charged when i installed it, but soon went dead within a week or so.

[fun_w_son]

ksd5000...
i noticed this breaker in the battery compartment on the outside, it is on the negative wire about 6" from the battery. it has rust on it. this weekend i was gonna change that out because of it's rusty condition. do yall think that could be the problem ??? and where do i get one??

[ksg5000]

Check the battery voltage when plugged in - s/b around 13.6. If your voltage is low then my next step would be to check for an "auto reset circuit breaker" near the battery -- they don't look like a std breaker - here's a pic.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PTBVL2/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2/188-3688398-7039616?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=0N0ZEMWV9Y1SRFSMZYA5&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1944687722&pf_rd_i=B0021W0HFI

If that breaker doesn't have continuity between the polls - it's bad. If the breaker is OK then you should check the fuses on the converter - if they are Ok then your converter probably needs replacing.

[mbopp]

Checked for a resettable circuit breaker. Follow the + battery lead to find it, might be under the frame.

[sch911]

You said your old battery was low, was the new one low also? Could it be converter over charging the batteries and boiling them to death?

[beemerphile1]

Order I would test for diagnosis;
1. Breaker supplying power to converter
2. Fuse of power coming out of converter
3. Failed converter

[rockhillmanor]

hohenwald48 wrote:
Sounds like your converter bit the dust. Or tripped a breaker or blew a fuse.

X2
1.turn all the fusses off and then back on. Sometimes they don't look tripped but are.
2. Converter, check the output and leave the tester on 'after' it reaches the specs to see if it increases. I had one with a blown capacitor so it couldn't regulate itself and it was putting out too much and cooking the batteries.

BTW. your fridge and ac need 12 volt for the thermostats. They will come on using shore power but when they cycle down and have to come back on they need 12 volt for the thermostat to work.

[hohenwald48]

Sounds like your converter bit the dust. Or tripped a breaker or blew a fuse.