Newbie question chg house batt

Rickhise,

If your trailer is a 2016 then yes, your batteries are being charged while plugged in. I second the suggestion that you get a digital volt ohm meter. You can actually measure the voltage at the battery before and after. You can also measure it during the process.

Another thing to check. Someone already mentioned "float" charge. A good three stage converter will charge a low battery quickly and then change down to a float charge when it gets close to fully charged. Once it is fully charged it will drop down to a maintain level.

My fancy pants Airstream came with a single stage converter. That meant that it was always on full charge. The PO left it plugged in 24/7 so it continued to charge even though it was fully charged. The end result was two fried batteries that had to be replaced. I also chose to replace the converter.

So, check on what kind of converter you have and see if it is a three stage converter. If not, start looking around. Mine wasn't all that expensive and it is working great.

azrving wrote:
If you had unplugged and plugged it in and noticed no change in fan speed or bulb brightness what you then do.

Then go to harbor Freight and buy a cheap meter to help diagnose what is going on with the converter, or what ever charging method is being used.

If you had unplugged and plugged it in and noticed no change in fan speed or bulb brightness what do you then do.

Exactly why I like the help I find here.
Simple understandable and answers the questions
Thanks all!

But those that like to give you help in ways to research it yourself
Normally aren’t much help to me.

I was going to say the same as Pianotuna. Though it might be a bit hard to find an incandescent light in a trailer these days. You can also turn on the vent fan over the stove or in the roof and then plug in the trailer. The fan should start spinning faster.

unplug from shore power
turn on an incandescent 12 volt light
plug into shore power. If the light got brighter--the battery is being charged.

Get a digital multi meter as you'll need it at times. You should see about 13.2 volts when the converter is in float mode and the battery is fully charged.

When you are not plugged in the converter won't be charging the battery so the voltage will drop to about 12.6 or 12.7 when fully charged. As you use the battery the voltage will drop. For a Group 27 or similar battery you don't want to discharge much below 12.2 volts.

Get a meter and come back and people on here will guide you through it.

If you are plugged in to shore power and everything is working correctly, then your house battery is charging.

Yes but there also other ways to recharge your house battery....solar and generators. Me thinks you need some basic RV electric reading.