Electric jack not working, maybe battery?

**Bailey'sMom** · 07-05-2013, 11:55 AM

My new to me 2010 TM 2720SD is being delivered tomorrow. Guy hauling it says the electric tongue jack is not working. Said it worked at the dealer but it isn't now.

Dealer says it could be that the connections on the battery loosened up. Also said he thought the prior owner got a new battery before trading it in...

Do you think it would be just a bad connection? Could battery drain that fast? Maybe they had fridg on or something?

Apparently the electric tongue jack cannot work off the tow vehicle battery, only the TM. Can someone confirm this?

Also, there must be a manual crank lever for when the battery dies. Where is this located?

Thanks all!

tgpmd1 · 07-05-2013, 12:13 PM

Sorry don't know about this one, but if your state requires an inspection, ask the dealer if they will pay for it to be fixed if the place charges you to fix a connection or correct the problem. The place that did our inspection did a few things little things for us at no charge (fuses, loose wire, etc.)

ChillEDog · 07-05-2013, 01:31 PM

Sometimes my tongue jack stops working, then later it works. Discussing with a friend, he thought maybe a capacitor was overheating. My point being, it may be that this is not uncommon. Others here will know more.

My other point being, I just ordered a handle on Amazon, reference "Atwood 87891 Replacement Handle Power Jack".

Riwright · 07-05-2013, 01:46 PM

There is a manual crank lever that comes with the electric jacks. I would look in the bumper tool box for it.

You should be able to run the jack if the tow vehicle is attached.

A dead battery is the first thing I would check for. Even with a new battery if something was left running for a few days it would discharge the battery. Plug the trailer in with an extension cord when you get it home. If everything is dead when the trailer is not plugged in and then everything starts working when you plug it in then you most likely have a dead battery. It will charge back up over several days. Look around and find what was left on.

You can run most everything in the trailer and charge the battery with a heavy duty extension cord. You can get adapters for that 30 amp plug. You cannot run anything that draws a lot of power this way. Do not run the air conditioner. You cannot run any appliances in the trailer such as a space heater, microwave or hair dryer. Anything that gets hot or gets cold should be avoided. All of these things are OK when you are connected to a real 30 amp connection at a campground but not wiith an extension cord.

Don't leave the battery in discharged state, get it charged back up.

07-05-2013, 02:45 PM

Check the cable that runs from the jack to the battery, it should have a connector about half way that can come loose. I would unplug and replug it to be sure. If you have a swing away tongue your ground (the other half of powering a device) may be less than great. A piece of wire jumpering from the fixed part of the tongue (or actually the NEGATIVE terminal of the battering if up front and the front part of the hitch (shiny metal such as an unpainted bolt) will complete the connection safely Unless the fuse blew the jack should run with the jumper and the checking of the connector. If not another quick check, see if the light works, that is the other switch on the jack motor. I wonder if the delivery guy is switching the wrong switch????

Hope you get it figured out! Please let us know.
Dave

07-05-2013, 02:59 PM

My trailer is unfortunately 110 miles away at the moment, but I seem to recall my electric jack has a fuse on it, so check the wire for fuses and replace as needed. Wires can also come loose or more likely pulled loose by all the people that have been handling your trailer.

People store handles under the bed mattress, check under the couches and other storage areas when you can get in the trailer. My old 3124 stored some of the awning accessories under the couch, not sure if the factory or an owner did this.

**Bailey'sMom** · 07-05-2013, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riwright

There is a manual crank lever that comes with the electric jacks. I would look in the bumper tool box for it.

You should be able to run the jack if the tow vehicle is attached.

Don't leave the battery in discharged state, get it charged back up.

Manual Crank: I thought there should be one. I will look for it.

Running with Tow vehichle attached: Have you actually tried this? I figured you should be able to do this also, and had planned to do it with car running when I set up just to avoid running down the battery.

Re-Charging battery: Maybe stupid question, but.... will it just start charging automatically when plugged in?

Also, shouldn't the solar panel be charging the battery as he is driving it down the highway? If so, I suspect it probably is loose wiring.

Will find out on Saturday and report in when I can.

**Bailey'sMom** · 07-05-2013, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clown9644

Check the cable that runs from the jack to the battery, it should have a connector about half way that can come loose. I would unplug and replug it to be sure. If you have a swing away tongue your ground (the other half of powering a device) may be less than great. A piece of wire jumpering from the fixed part of the tongue (or actually the NEGATIVE terminal of the battering if up front and the front part of the hitch (shiny metal such as an unpainted bolt) will complete the connection safely Unless the fuse blew the jack should run with the jumper and the checking of the connector. If not another quick check, see if the light works, that is the other switch on the jack motor. I wonder if the delivery guy is switching the wrong switch????

Hope you get it figured out! Please let us know.
Dave

Wow, I will have to check all of this. Thanks Dave.

Boy it's times like this that I really miss my Dad (gone 7 years now). He was a wiz with all of this and would have loved this trailer and would have done a ton of mods for me. Wish I had his understanding of electrical.

countrygirl · 07-05-2013, 05:32 PM

Hey Baileys Mom...I think I am as excited for you are you are in getting your TM. Anyway...one time a couple years ago my husband took they camper down early to an archery tournament to get a great free dry camp site in the generator area. He had something to do the next day so he left it with friends keeping an eye on it. I also had to work. So when we do get there to set up camp finally...the electric tounge jack would not work. The problem was that the fus holder went bad so he plugged in the truck like he was towing it and it worked great.

After we got home he replaced the fuse holder and I bought a crank for the ele jack just in case we ever had a problem again...since them...at least 3 years we have never needed it.

It is good insurance though and I bought it off ebay new for about 10.00.

BTW...we bought out TM new with the electric tounge jack and it did not come with a crank.

Riwright · 07-06-2013, 12:56 AM

>>Running with Tow vehichle attached: Have you actually tried this? I figured you should be able to do this also, and had planned to do it with car running when I set up just to avoid running down the battery.

Yes. I left something running in the trailer once. Flattened out the battery really well. I was able to run the tongue jack by hooking up to the tow vehicle.

>> Re-Charging battery: Maybe stupid question, but.... will it just start charging automatically when plugged in?

Yes, that's right. There is a device in there called a converter. It convertes the 110 volt house current into the 12 volt DC current that the trailer uses for everything (except the air conditioner and the 110 volt plugs). The converter also charges the battery.

>>Also, shouldn't the solar panel be charging the battery as he is driving it down the highway? If so, I suspect it probably is loose wiring.

The solar panel should charge the battery. If the trailer is hooked up to a tow vehicle (as opposed to coming on a flatbed) then the tow vehicle will charge it up as well.

If the battery is heavily discharged and the weather is not clear then the battery may not be back up to par.

If the battery is dead then it will be fairly easy to tell. Your interior lights will be dead or very dim. Nothing will work right. When you plug the trailer in everythign will start working.

If the battery is OK then start checking other stuff. All of the other suggestions are good candidates.