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....

[beemerphile1]

fun w son wrote:
Disconnected the battery and I have 120 goin in to the converter, and nothing on the out put of the converter. Chechen all over the converter and saw no more fuses other than the ones on the front.

Brand and model of converter?

[fun_w_son]

krobbe wrote:
I'm going with a bad converter. Time to upgrade it.

I'm gonna start lookin.... What you guys think is the best

[krobbe]

I'm going with a bad converter. Time to upgrade it.

[fun_w_son]

Disconnected the battery and I have 120 goin in to the converter, and nothing on the out put of the converter. Chechen all over the converter and saw no more fuses other than the ones on the front.

[hohenwald48]

Still could be a blown converter fuse and he's just reading the voltage off a severely discharged battery connected to the converter. Based on responses I still feel like he hasn't located all the fuses on the converter. A lot of folks miss the fuses actually mounted on the converter itself and I've even known some folks to think the distribution panel is the converter. He also states that he has 120V into the TT but hasn't confirmed that he has 120V on the converter input.

However, without specific converter information or a pic of the unit it's real hard to help a lot.

[westend]

120V into converter and 6.9 DCV output = bad converter.

[RandACampin]

rockhillmanor wrote:

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.

How do you turn fusses off then back on?

[hohenwald48]

fun w son wrote:
would it be wise to remove the intire inverter/converter to see if there are any fuses on the back. BTW the breaker near the battery was on the positive side.

If there are fuses on the front of the converter there are likely none on the back. However, it never hurts to look. You may have posted this info but can you tell us what model converter you have or post a pic of it? If you go to Amazon you can find pics of most all converters made.

[krobbe]

If the converter has no 13-14vdc output.
(If any of this in unfamiliar to you, get a qualified electrician!)
Check:
1. In the distribution panel with cover removed, check the 120vac circuit breaker feeding the converter. (Check for 120vac on the output of the turned on breaker. If not, Bad breaker. Also, look for a broken/loose/burned wire on the breaker or on the neutral bar. I've seen plenty burned/broken wires from loose terminations.)
2. Disconnect the battery. Check for 13vdc on the output side of the converter. (Check it at the Main 12vdc fuse in the distribution panel. No voltage on the input side of the fuse(with 120v feeding the converter) means bad converter and replace with a better multi-stage unit. If voltage is present on the input side of the fuse but not on the output side, then replace fuse.)

Here is a Meter you can plug into a 12v outlet and keep an eye on the batteries when everything is working.


Letting the battery voltage drop below 12.00Vdc(50% charge state) will shorten the life of the battery.
Here is a 12v battery voltage State of Charge chart:
12.6+ = 100%
12.50 = 90%
12.42 = 80%
12.32 = 70%
12.20 = 60%
12.06 = 50%
11.90 = 40%
11.75 = 30%
11.58 = 20%
11.31 = 10%
10.5 = 0%

[fun_w_son]

check the meter last night and had 6.9 on the battery and 6.9 on the converter. i checked all fuses, none were burned. and the breakers, all were on. i have 125 on the AC side coming in the camper. but all the lights would not turn on. i hooked up the battery charger to the battery and the lights came on, but dim... this morning i checked and all lights worked and the battery was charged. would it be wise to remove the intire inverter/converter to see if there are any fuses on the back. BTW the breaker near the battery was on the positive side.

[hohenwald48]

I'm not sure he'll read above 13.5VDC if his battery is totally discharged. Even if his converter is working just fine.

To check the converter fuses you will have to get access to the converter. The fuses should be visible. The converter is likely under a cabinet somewhere. Usually have to remove a panel to get to it.

[westend]

You can test the operation of the converter by supplying 120V power to the converter, insuring that this circuit is closed to the converter, i.e. the converter has 120V input.

Set your meter to DC volts and measure output of the converter on those terminals on the converter or across the battery posts (+,-). You should measure above 13.5 DCV.

[fun_w_son]

hohenwald48 wrote:
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.

located on the back... would i have to remove the converter to access them?? seams like a poor design to place fuses in a non-accessible area??

[fun_w_son]

westend wrote:
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.

i have a meter but haven't had the time (or knowledge) to do it correctly... thanks for the help.

[fun_w_son]

hohenwald48 wrote:
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.

I'm not sure if its a breaker or just some sort of grounding bar??