Sucking the life outta me.....

[Kmikesell]

Thanks guys for all the info...

YES I checked the water level before returning the batts to the TM.
NO I didn't do a hydrometer check.
YES the tongue jack has power (it has a LED light that works).
NO I didn't check the battery voltage while charging, They had been disconnected from the charger for about 12 hours before I checked the voltage.
YES the jumper cable is short (6") and is a standard "Battery Cable" I got from the RV store.

The TM is in storage right now and I'm about to go in for back surgery. I will address all of these issues ASAP.

[Bill]

Thanks for the info. We don't mean to nag, but each question is sparked by an idea in someone's head, and if you don't answer, we can't proceed.

Originally Posted by Kmikesell

YES the tongue jack has power (it has a LED light that works).

Sadly, this doesn't tell us much other than the wires are at least somewhat connected. This is a good thing to know, but it doesn't tell us how good the connections are. An LED requires only a tiny amount of voltage / current to light up. Most of them will continue to light at 5 volts or so, and they require only a few 10s of milliamps of current. The jack motor requires around 1000 times as much current, and voltage near a full 12 volts.

So this brings us around again to the question of "do you have a good ground between the jack itself and the actual frame of the trailer", (not the swing tongue). The ground connection could be ratty/rusty/corroded/loose, and still pass enough power for the LED. But the voltage drop through the crummy ground will starve the jack, and it may not even twitch. This is a relatively common problem, easily confirmed or denied, and easily fixed.

Earlier posts point toward charge/discharge problems, and I have no problems with any of that. But the ground connection to the jack is easy to check, and if it eliminates one possible symptom, so much the better.

I hope your back surgery goes well. Get back to us when you can, and with your help, we will continue to scope this out.

Bill

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Kmikesell

NO I didn't check the battery voltage while charging, They had been disconnected from the charger for about 12 hours before I checked the voltage.

Not nit-picking but it is simply impossible for a 12V lead acid battery (or 2, 6V) to read 13.5V after resting (no power input at all) for 12 hours. You may have a faulty voltmeter. If you are reading the voltage at the TM panel, inside the camper, those are often incorrect.

[Kmikesell]

Originally Posted by Bill

So this brings us around again to the question of "do you have a good ground between the jack itself and the actual frame of the trailer", (not the swing tongue). The ground connection could be ratty/rusty/corroded/loose, and still pass enough power for the LED. But the voltage drop through the crummy ground will starve the jack, and it may not even twitch. This is a relatively common problem, easily confirmed or denied, and easily fixed. Bill

I was originally concerned with a good grounding... So I supplemented the simple (The bolt through the base plate is your ground) and wired a direct connection from the base plate to a grounded bolt on the main frame, not the swing arm.

Upon further reflection, I may have done this to myself. About 6 months ago, when returning from a weekender, my bargman cable got loose and drug on the ground, wearing away several of the internal wires. I "spliced" them as a repair.... Now I'm thinking that i did an inadequate job and there is a short some where in my repair. Maybe I should Just replace the entire cable as a start. Thoughts?

[Kmikesell]

Originally Posted by Wavery

Not nit-picking but it is simply impossible for a 12V lead acid battery (or 2, 6V) to read 13.5V after resting (no power input at all) for 12 hours. You may have a faulty voltmeter. If you are reading the voltage at the TM panel, inside the camper, those are often incorrect.

It might have read a little lower..... But why would that reading be impossible?

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Wavery

If you are reading the voltage at the TM panel, inside the camper, those are often incorrect.

Wavery -

When you say "Reading the voltage ...",

If you are referring to using the little LED lights on the sink apron panel to "read" the voltage, I agree with you 100%. Those lights are basically qualitative, rather than quantitative, and cannot be used to get an actual numeric voltage reading. Trying to do so is like expecting the gray water tank lights to read "7/16 full".

Bill

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Kmikesell

About 6 months ago, when returning from a weekender, my bargman cable got loose and drug on the ground, wearing away several of the internal wires. I "spliced" them as a repair....

Good thought. How did you do the repair? Twist the wires and tape them? Wire nut? Solder and tape? Shrink sleeve? Good quality crimp fitting (difficult for an amateur to do)?

Now I'm thinking that i did an inadequate job and there is a short some where in my repair. Thoughts?

There won't be a short (which would blow a fuse somewhere), but there might be an intermittent open. As this open circuit comes and goes, it would effect the operation of the jack, and would also result in intermittent or no charging. Since you seem to be experiencing both, I think you may be pointed in the right direction.

Bill

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Kmikesell

About 6 months ago, when returning from a weekender, my bargman cable got loose and drug on the ground, wearing away several of the internal wires... Maybe I should Just replace the entire cable as a start. Thoughts?

When a Bargman cable comes loose and the plug drags on the ground, the worst damage is usually experienced by the plastic body of the plug. If there is enough damage that any of the 7 individual contacts is exposed, the structure of the plug may no longer be strong enough to hold the contact in place, even if it looks OK. Each contact in the plug must mate very firmly with the matching contact in the tow vehicle half of the pair, and if there is any looseness, the contact will quickly go open or intermittent.

If this is what you are seeing, the answer to your question may be yes. Good thinking.

Bill

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Kmikesell

It might have read a little lower..... But why would that reading be impossible?

12V batteries at rest can only hold 12.9V (for a short time) in a brand new, high quality battery. It has to do with the maximum specific gravity of the battery acid. 13.0V plus indicates some sort of voltage input. 13.5V is actually a charging voltage to get the battery up to 12.9V.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Kmikesell

Upon further reflection, I may have done this to myself. About 6 months ago, when returning from a weekender, my bargman cable got loose and drug on the ground, wearing away several of the internal wires. I "spliced" them as a repair.... Now I'm thinking that i did an inadequate job and there is a short some where in my repair. Maybe I should Just replace the entire cable as a start. Thoughts?

You don't have to replace the entire cable. I had the same problem on a cargo trailer that I bought the precious owner tried to splice the cable.

I bought this cable and put wire end connectors on where I cut the original cable at the frame. Then it's just a matter of putting the right connectors on the proper terminals in the box.

https://www.amazon.com/Snowy-Fox-Tra...8&sr=8-14&th=1