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  1. #1
    Site Sponsor GeoffnCheri's Avatar
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    What's going on with my batteries? Don't Rule Out the Battery Disconnect Switch

    Sharing this for others as a learning experience: 2011 F-250 6.7 CC towing a 2018 Reflection 303RLS

    Issue: Dead Battery/Battery not recharging during tow or on shore power

    On multiple trips we have never experienced a dead battery issue and refrigerator not working on propane/battery while towing.

    Situation: Picked up the trailer from storage on Wednesday afternoon for a weekend trip. I had utilized the battery disconnect three weeks prior and did not charge the battery during that time. Hauled the 303 to the house and plugged it in. Refrigerator on electric and is at 34 degrees by the next morning. Thursday night I fill the fresh water tank for a Friday departure as campsite is electric only. Friday morning the wife packs the fridge, temp at 37 degrees after opening, closing and packing. I turn on the propane, unplug from the house and off we go. An hour and 45 minute drive in 95 degree temps we arrive. Upon arrival we open the unit and the refrigerator is off. Plug in to electric and temp reads 59 degrees. Fortunately we had a very large cooler and we get ice and empty the fridge in to the cooler. The next morning the fridge is 37 degrees. I scratch my head thinking kinked propane line??? Unit shuts off with no propane flow??? The weekend is good and everything runs fine. Hook up to go home and no power to refrigerator when we arrive home. WTH???

    Voltmeter shows battery at 12.1 with nothing connected. Pull the battery and it is currently on the charger. Check the 7 pin on the truck and it shows an output of 14.2 on the 1 and 4 pin. Check the GD forum and research the issue. Read up on a possible solutions and jump in the truck and drive to the storage unit. Open the basement and sure and heck, battery disconnect is in the off position. Drop in a battery, fire up the fridge on propane and unit is working. Refrigerator issue ruled out.

    Likely reason for the issue - Low battery at the beginning of the trip which tried to power the refrigerator fans while towing and drained it down.

    Likely cause- User cranial-rectal inversion

    Moral of the story - Failure of the battery to charge on shore power and from the tow vehicle may very well be the simplest solution and user error. Check the battery disconnect switch to ensure battery is "On" and will accept a charge...Or, my converter is going bad. I have not checked the output on it yet. I will check the converter output this week.

    I am open to checking for other potential issues if the electrical gurus think there may be another issue?
    Last edited by GeoffnCheri; 06-23-2019 at 04:36 PM.
    Geoff and Cheri
    2011 F250 CC 6.7L
    Firestone Ride Rite Airbags
    Pull Rite 16k SuperGlide
    2018 Reflection 303RLS, Build date 9/2017
    USMC-Retired
    Thin Blue Line - Retired

  2. #2
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
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    Yep - happened to us as we were loading the final stuff as we hit the road full-time in 2015. A plastic bin hit the switch in the basement and disconnected the battery. Couldn't figure out why everything worked on shore power but not unplugged... DUH! Our favorite tech at the dealership didn't make me feel too bad when he told me what to do about it.

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  3. #3
    Long Hauler
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    When in storage for 3 weeks and the battery disconnect "off" there still is plenty of parasitic draw on the battery. Mine is parked in my drive and when it sits for that long I have a very low battery. This is not the case any more, I have rewired the battery disconnect to actually disconnect everything. You could also just add a disconnect between the battery and the breakers. An easier way is to just disconnect the negative if leaving for a long period.

    Brian

  4. #4
    Site Sponsor GeoffnCheri's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Country Campers View Post
    When in storage for 3 weeks and the battery disconnect "off" there still is plenty of parasitic draw on the battery. Mine is parked in my drive and when it sits for that long I have a very low battery. This is not the case any more, I have rewired the battery disconnect to actually disconnect everything. You could also just add a disconnect between the battery and the breakers. An easier way is to just disconnect the negative if leaving for a long period.

    Brian
    That was absolutely the cause of the low battery issue.
    Geoff and Cheri
    2011 F250 CC 6.7L
    Firestone Ride Rite Airbags
    Pull Rite 16k SuperGlide
    2018 Reflection 303RLS, Build date 9/2017
    USMC-Retired
    Thin Blue Line - Retired

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