User Tag List

Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 39

Thread: Battery?

  1. #11
    Fireside Member Susan_S's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Florida and Vermont and anywhere in between
    Posts
    51
    Mentioned
    3 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by acoleman43 View Post
    Your trailer has a convert/charger. A converter converts AC electricity to DC electricity. The charger uses AC electricity to charge the battery (DC electricity).

    The converter does bypass the battery. The converter takes the electricity supplied from shore power, converts it to DC electricity which supplies your DC distribution panel. The charger takes the AC electricity from shore power converts it to DC electricity which is used to charge your battery.

    So, it seems it's either a battery issue (the battery isn't taking a charge and should be replaced) or a charger issue (the charger isn't charging the battery).

    To know what the issue is you should measure voltage coming from the charger to the battery to make sure it's actually supplying a charge to the battery. If that looks good, you will need to check the voltage of the battery. If the voltage at the battery is low, chances are it's a worn out battery. If the voltage coming from the charger is low, it might be a charger issue.
    Hi acoleman3 and thanks for your help. In testing various items' voltage it seems that one of the points of the recepticle that takes the cable from the RV has no power to it. I am thinking it's a fuse but not sure. Trying to interpret the schematic of the fuse box of the Chevy Silverado is not easy and if I'm correct the fuse that is the culprit is not a "regular" fuse.

    Anyone with a Silverado 2500 wishing to weigh in is welcome.

    Thanks again,
    Sue
    Susan (and Alan, Oliver, and Shiloh).
    2020 Solitude 380 FL-R

  2. #12
    Site Sponsor
    Join Date
    Aug 2022
    Posts
    24
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Susan_S View Post
    Hi acoleman3 and thanks for your help. In testing various items' voltage it seems that one of the points of the recepticle that takes the cable from the RV has no power to it. I am thinking it's a fuse but not sure. Trying to interpret the schematic of the fuse box of the Chevy Silverado is not easy and if I'm correct the fuse that is the culprit is not a "regular" fuse.

    Anyone with a Silverado 2500 wishing to weigh in is welcome.

    Thanks again,
    Sue
    Hi Sue. I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you talking about the 7 pin connector, or are you talking about the 50 amp power chord from shore power?

  3. #13
    Site Team Soundsailor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2021
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    3,215
    Mentioned
    51 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by acoleman43 View Post
    Hi Sue. I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you talking about the 7 pin connector, or are you talking about the 50 amp power chord from shore power?
    Pretty sure @Susan_S is referring to the 7-pin cable from the truck (Silverado) to her trailer. While there is some charging that happens over that cable, I don't think that's the source of the battery issue.
    Stephen and Judy
    2022 Reflection 150 Series 260RD (Stella)
    2017 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD (Blue)
    Traded - 2018 Forest River Rockwood Minilite 2104S

  4. #14
    Fireside Member Susan_S's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Florida and Vermont and anywhere in between
    Posts
    51
    Mentioned
    3 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by acoleman43 View Post
    Hi Sue. I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you talking about the 7 pin connector, or are you talking about the 50 amp power chord from shore power?
    Hi AC, Can I call you that? Sorry...I am talking about the receptacle on the truck that the 7 pin connector of the RV gets put into? Does that make any sense? It seems that there is voltage on many of the "points" but one is "dead" according to the voltmeter. Just when I think that I get it, I'm even more confused.

    We left Nebraska for Iowa today. Got the jacks up while on shore power, pulled in the slides while on shore power, and then finally disconnected. Turned on the "inverter" for the residential fridge. Got to Iowa to set up. Went to put down the landing gear and although the voltage on the panel said 12.8 it quickly went down and the panel gave a low voltage alarm and stopped working. Connected to shore power and immediately the voltage came up to over 13. Got the rig detached and leveled and all went fine. Except.....upon going in the RV, (and turning off the inverter), the fridge was at 58 and freezer at 20 (usually at 37 degrees and -2 respectively).

    It's confusing to me, I need a bit more study of this...but if the battery provides the power to the inverter, and there isn't enough power to keep the fridge going, is it ultimately the battery,.......or is the inverter the problem........?

    And calling a Chevy dealership to be told ..."sorry, I really don't know"....when asking about which fuse I might need, is a sorry state of affairs to me. How about "Sorry I really don't know but hang on a minute and I'll check". Ugh.

    :-) Thank you though, Sue
    Susan (and Alan, Oliver, and Shiloh).
    2020 Solitude 380 FL-R

  5. #15
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Posts
    4,570
    Mentioned
    136 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I would put a multimeter on the battery itself and see what the real voltage is, not go off the panel (do this while connected to shore power and disconnected, it will help with troubleshooting). It sounds like either a bad battery, or maybe a bad connection to the battery preventing charging (assuming the battery disconnect is in the correct position). Have you tried changing the battery disconnect switch position, regardless of the wording on the switch?
    2023 Momentum 398M-R
    2023 Ford F-450

    SOLD - 2021 Reflection 311BHS
    SOLD - 2017 Momentum 399TH

  6. #16
    Site Team xrated's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    "Murvul", TN
    Posts
    3,357
    Mentioned
    135 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    When the trailer is plugged into shore power and the converter/charger is working, you cannot get a correct battery voltage reading. The reading you are seeing the voltage that the converter/charger is putting out. To get an accurate reading of what the battery is, disconnect one lead from the battery....either the Pos. lead Or the Neg lead, then put a multi-meter on the two battery terminals and see what the voltage is reading.
    2016 F350 CrewCab Dually
    2018 Momentum 394M...Heavily Modded!
    2023 Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT+
    Excessive Payload is a Wonderful Thing

    "If it ain't fast....It ain't Fun"

  7. #17
    Site Team Soundsailor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2021
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    3,215
    Mentioned
    51 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Susan_S View Post
    Hi AC, Can I call you that? Sorry...I am talking about the receptacle on the truck that the 7 pin connector of the RV gets put into? Does that make any sense? It seems that there is voltage on many of the "points" but one is "dead" according to the voltmeter. Just when I think that I get it, I'm even more confused.

    We left Nebraska for Iowa today. Got the jacks up while on shore power, pulled in the slides while on shore power, and then finally disconnected. Turned on the "inverter" for the residential fridge. Got to Iowa to set up. Went to put down the landing gear and although the voltage on the panel said 12.8 it quickly went down and the panel gave a low voltage alarm and stopped working. Connected to shore power and immediately the voltage came up to over 13. Got the rig detached and leveled and all went fine. Except.....upon going in the RV, (and turning off the inverter), the fridge was at 58 and freezer at 20 (usually at 37 degrees and -2 respectively).

    It's confusing to me, I need a bit more study of this...but if the battery provides the power to the inverter, and there isn't enough power to keep the fridge going, is it ultimately the battery,.......or is the inverter the problem........?

    And calling a Chevy dealership to be told ..."sorry, I really don't know"....when asking about which fuse I might need, is a sorry state of affairs to me. How about "Sorry I really don't know but hang on a minute and I'll check". Ugh.

    :-) Thank you though, Sue
    Sounds like a bad battery, as others have suggested disconnect the battery and test it.
    Stephen and Judy
    2022 Reflection 150 Series 260RD (Stella)
    2017 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD (Blue)
    Traded - 2018 Forest River Rockwood Minilite 2104S

  8. #18
    Site Sponsor
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Fort Collins, Colorado
    Posts
    1,303
    Mentioned
    25 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Susan_S View Post
    Hi AC, Can I call you that? Sorry...I am talking about the receptacle on the truck that the 7 pin connector of the RV gets put into? Does that make any sense? It seems that there is voltage on many of the "points" but one is "dead" according to the voltmeter. Just when I think that I get it, I'm even more confused.

    We left Nebraska for Iowa today. Got the jacks up while on shore power, pulled in the slides while on shore power, and then finally disconnected. Turned on the "inverter" for the residential fridge. Got to Iowa to set up. Went to put down the landing gear and although the voltage on the panel said 12.8 it quickly went down and the panel gave a low voltage alarm and stopped working. Connected to shore power and immediately the voltage came up to over 13. Got the rig detached and leveled and all went fine. Except.....upon going in the RV, (and turning off the inverter), the fridge was at 58 and freezer at 20 (usually at 37 degrees and -2 respectively).

    It's confusing to me, I need a bit more study of this...but if the battery provides the power to the inverter, and there isn't enough power to keep the fridge going, is it ultimately the battery,.......or is the inverter the problem........?

    And calling a Chevy dealership to be told ..."sorry, I really don't know"....when asking about which fuse I might need, is a sorry state of affairs to me. How about "Sorry I really don't know but hang on a minute and I'll check". Ugh.

    :-) Thank you though, Sue
    Hello Sue, I know it can be confusing but take a deep breath and bear with me. You can have four (yes 4) different, but interrelated power systems you are dealing with.

    One is the 12v "charging" system from your truck. This is what you are talking about recently. To simplify things, just forget about it for this issue. If it is stock (factory), it provides very little charging capacity. Far, far less then the inverter would draw. Depending on the tow vehicle (make, model and year) getting the charging system in the truck to "turn on" and charge the trailer can be somewhat involved. This is not your problem.

    The second 12V system is the battery(ies) in the trailer. This supplies all of the high current loads (like the jacks) in the trailer as well as 12V power (lights, appliance controls, radio, detectors, etc.) if there is no shore power. Most, but not all battery power goes through the "red disconnect" switch. If you can remove the red key from the switch, the battery is disconnected and will not provide power to the trailer nor will it be recharged. Jumping ahead, I believe your problem is most likely a bad battery(ies).

    The third is the 120v AC systems. This is your outlets, fireplace, refrigerator (you have a residential not and RV/dual fuel refrigerator). This has nothing to do with your battery (12V) circuits except as noted below.

    There are two "cross over" systems.
    - An inverter which takes 12V from the batteries and creates 120v AC to run your refrigerator and possibly other things. The inverter has a switch (called a transfer switch) that selects either shore power (if present) or inverted battery power (if no shore or generator power) to the refrigerator.
    - The other cross over system is the "converter/charger" and it goes from 120v AC (shore or generator power) to 12V DC. If you are on shore (or generator) power, this will power many of the 12V items (lights, etc) even if the battery is dead or disconnected. It will also charge the battery, but only if the "battery disconnect" switch connects the battery to the rest of the trailer (and the charger). This is why people keep asking to verify the switch is connected (you can not remove the red key from the switch). This switch has been bumped (turned off) without realizing it many times leading to problems. In your Solitude trailer (like ours) the jacks and main slides are hydraulic and require a lot of power to run. The converter, by itself does not have enough capacity to run the hydraulic system. The battery must be connected to provide enough power.

    The last system is solar, which I do not see any mention of, so I assume you do not have it. I will just say think of solar as another way to charge your battery.

    OK, with all that said, I am guessing you have a very week battery(ies) (there can be many reasons for this) or very poor high current connections. The battery(ies) has enough power to start systems (like the inverter or moving the jacks), but not enough to last a trip (inverter) or run the jacks multiple times.

    **Make sure all 120v appliances (fireplace, water heater, coffee maker, A/C etc) are turned off when traveling - They take a lot of power and will drain batteries fast. **

    I would recommend checking the voltage directly on the battery with a voltmeter. Do not trust any of the trailers built in "meters". Assuming you have stock lead acid batteries, If it above 13.0V while on shore power, the charger and disconnect switch are ok. If you disconnect from shore power and run the jacks a little the voltage will drop. If it is 10.xx or less volts the battery is probably bad. As soon as you stop running the jaks, the voltage should come back up to the high 11.xx or into the 12.xx volt range for a good battery. If any of these indicate a bad battery (I bet it will), pull the battery(ies) out and take them to an auto parts storer and have them "load tested". That will tell you how much capacity they have. Also, with flooded lead acid batteries (typical stock batteries) you have to check the acid level every 1~3 months as they will loose acid. Be careful working around the acid as it is powerful and can burn you. I you are not comfortable with this, ask for help (again, the Autoparts store can check it for you).

    Sorry for the long post, but you sound confused (and it is confusing!). Your problem is the with the battery (12V storage). The question is "what is worng with it", and that is what we are trying to help you with.

    Good luck

    Chris
    Last edited by CoChris; 08-09-2022 at 05:43 PM.
    Chris & Karen
    Fort Collins, CO
    2017 F-350 SRW 6.7 Lariat Value CC LB 4x4
    2018 Solitude 310GK - Sold 7/2023

  9. #19
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Posts
    4,570
    Mentioned
    136 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by xrated View Post
    When the trailer is plugged into shore power and the converter/charger is working, you cannot get a correct battery voltage reading. The reading you are seeing the voltage that the converter/charger is putting out. To get an accurate reading of what the battery is, disconnect one lead from the battery....either the Pos. lead Or the Neg lead, then put a multi-meter on the two battery terminals and see what the voltage is reading.
    That's why i recommended both ways. Disconnected from shore power will show battery voltage. Connected to shore power will show if the battery is receiving the charging voltage (if it's a loose connection on the battery, you wouldnt see charging voltage at the battery when on shore power). Its my understanding they are only looking at the LCD display voltage which isnt exactly an accurate reading.
    2023 Momentum 398M-R
    2023 Ford F-450

    SOLD - 2021 Reflection 311BHS
    SOLD - 2017 Momentum 399TH

  10. #20
    Fireside Member Susan_S's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Florida and Vermont and anywhere in between
    Posts
    51
    Mentioned
    3 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by CoChris View Post
    Hello Sue, I know it can be confusing but take a deep breath and bear with me. You can have four (yes 4) different, but interrelated power systems you are dealing with.

    One is the 12v "charging" system from your truck. This is what you are talking about recently. To simplify things, just forget about it for this issue. If it is stock (factory), it provides very little charging capacity. Far, far less then the inverter would draw. Depending on the tow vehicle (make, model and year) getting the charging system in the truck to "turn on" and charge the trailer can be somewhat involved. This is not your problem.

    The second 12V system is the battery(ies) in the trailer. This supplies all of the high current loads (like the jacks) in the trailer as well as 12V power (lights, appliance controls, radio, detectors, etc.) if there is no shore power. Most, but not all battery power goes through the "red disconnect" switch. If you can remove the red key from the switch, the battery is disconnected and will not provide power to the trailer nor will it be recharged. Jumping ahead, I believe your problem is most likely a bad battery(ies).

    The third is the 120v AC systems. This is your outlets, fireplace, refrigerator (you have a residential not and RV/dual fuel refrigerator). This has nothing to do with your battery (12V) circuits except as noted below.

    There are two "cross over" systems.
    - An inverter which takes 12V from the batteries and creates 120v AC to run your refrigerator and possibly other things. The inverter has a switch (called a transfer switch) that selects either shore power (if present) or inverted battery power (if no shore or generator power) to the refrigerator.
    - The other cross over system is the "converter/charger" and it goes from 120v AC (shore or generator power) to 12V DC. If you are on shore (or generator) power, this will power many of the 12V items (lights, etc) even if the battery is dead or disconnected. It will also charge the battery, but only if the "battery disconnect" switch connects the battery to the rest of the trailer (and the charger). This is why people keep asking to verify the switch is connected (you can not remove the red key from the switch). This switch has been bumped (turned off) without realizing it many times leading to problems. In your Solitude trailer (like ours) the jacks and main slides are hydraulic and require a lot of power to run. The converter, by itself does not have enough capacity to run the hydraulic system. The battery must be connected to provide enough power.

    The last system is solar, which I do not see any mention of, so I assume you do not have it. I will just say think of solar as another way to charge your battery.

    OK, with all that said, I am guessing you have a very week battery(ies) (there can be many reasons for this) or very poor high current connections. The battery(ies) has enough power to start systems (like the inverter or moving the jacks), but not enough to last a trip (inverter) or run the jacks multiple times.

    **Make sure all 120v appliances (fireplace, water heater, coffee maker, A/C etc) are turned off when traveling - They take a lot of power and will drain batteries fast. **

    I would recommend checking the voltage directly on the battery with a voltmeter. Do not trust any of the trailers built in "meters". Assuming you have stock lead acid batteries, If it above 13.0V while on shore power, the charger and disconnect switch are ok. If you disconnect from shore power and run the jacks a little the voltage will drop. If it is 10.xx or less volts the battery is probably bad. As soon as you stop running the jaks, the voltage should come back up to the high 11.xx or into the 12.xx volt range for a good battery. If any of these indicate a bad battery (I bet it will), pull the battery(ies) out and take them to an auto parts storer and have them "load tested". That will tell you how much capacity they have. Also, with flooded lead acid batteries (typical stock batteries) you have to check the acid level every 1~3 months as they will loose acid. Be careful working around the acid as it is powerful and can burn you. I you are not comfortable with this, ask for help (again, the Autoparts store can check it for you).

    Sorry for the long post, but you sound confused (and it is confusing!). Your problem is the with the battery (12V storage). The question is "what is worng with it", and that is what we are trying to help you with.

    Good luck

    Chris
    Hi Chris, Thank you, really thanks so much for all of that information. Yes I'm a bit confused but not so confused that I'm unwilling or unable to try to understand this. So the information you have given is greatly detailed and will help for sure. I'm going to go through the steps you have listed above (tomorrow) and I will also try to clearly understand this ( I certainly should if I am going to use this RV). :-).

    Your information is greatly detailed and yet, simple enough... :-) and by that I mean you explained it clearly. I hope that I can make sense of it all after testing the battery. And I will let you know what I find.

    You're very kind, thanks a lot.

    Thank you,

    Sue
    Susan (and Alan, Oliver, and Shiloh).
    2020 Solitude 380 FL-R

Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

DISCLAIMER:This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grand Design RV, LLC or any of its affiliates. This is an independent site.