12 volt goes dead when pulling a few amps

[DesertRat]

I have over 300ah of 12 volt storage but I can't draw more than 5 amps with out the accessories shutting down.

The wiring and connections look good. I think I'm down to a failing component. Every thing works normal when plugged in to 120v so my problem is specifically with the 12 volt system. Any suggestions?

2016 Solitude

[BabyBober]

What do you mean by accessories? We need more information but first guess is one of the resettable circuit breakers off the battery.

[Cate&Rob]

My guess would be a defective battery. If 12V things work when plugged into shorepower, the converter is working. Put a voltmeter across the battery terminals and watch what happens when you turn on 12V loads (with shorepower unplugged). Voltage should drop only slightly if batteries are in good shape.

Rob

[jkwilson]

Battery or a bad connection are the most likely causes. A bad connection will probably cause voltage drop only when loaded so it fools a lot of people. A meter will show perfect voltages, but turn something on and it goes to heck. An easy way to check is to use a meter to measure the voltage from the positive battery terminal (the battery terminal itself, not the cable end) to the positive input of the load center. The reading should be very near zero when no power is being drawn, but will rise as you begin using power. Repeat on the negative side of the circuit. More than a few tenths drop would be cause for concern

[Second Chance]

I experienced these same symptoms this last spring. Turns out I had hit the battery disconnect switch in the basement with a Zero Gravity chair. The converter can't handle the amps the battery can. I turned the battery disconnect switch back on and everything was hunky-dory.

Rob

[sande005]

In rough order of priority (assuming the battery has been given an adequate amount of time to be recharged by the converter AND as Second Chance noted, your switch is on!):

Battery is bad. Close to 98% of the time this is the issue.
Loose or corroded terminals and/or wire connections.
Converter is not recharging battery.

Get a voltmeter. See what the battery voltage is fresh off the charger. Then again after a couple of hours of non-use. Then again during and after your "5 amps of accessories". Let us know the results, what kind of battery, what accessories, and how long they were run.

[DesertRat]

I found the problem. It looks like a standard Power Distribution Block. I kind of by-passed it and every thing is functioning normal at the moment.

[DesertRat]

Picture of the "Rig" for attention.