Converter/ batt. issues again?

Hello all, Here are the specifics. I have a 05 2619. It has one deka 12v deep cycle battery. I also have a honda eu2000 gen. Last year I was hooked up to shorepower at camp and overnight had battery die and set off propane buzzers, ect. Had 5 month old baby, 3 am., didn't know what was happening at first. Ended up converter not charging trailer batt., dealer replaced converter under warranty. This weekend, went out first time of season. Had camper plugged in for night before leaving home to shore power, towed 3.5 hrs. That night I checked battery on inside panel--showed one "dot". Hooked up gen and ran about 2-3 hrs, showed all while running gen, but when gen turned off after 2-3 hrs only 2 "dots". Was worried about loosing furnace overnight( now 1 yr. old baby). Next day got hold of multi meter, measured batt. before any recharge--- showed @ 11.90v. Hooked up gen., checked output of converter charging-- never went above 12.7 volts. That night ran gen. 4-5 hrs, charged through converter, two "dots" on inside meter, got through night. Towed home, ran fridge 12v both trips, checked inside panel, showed full charge?? I was TOLD by dealer orig. supplied converter( spec says American Enterprises cs-6000xl) no longer used/replaced by Trailmanor and newer updated converter installed. Or they just popped one in from other stock unit , who knows? I don't know how to tell exactly what converter I have. I don't think it is putting out enough volts to charge batts., I also believe my battery had a poor life so far. Sorry for long post, wanted to be clear. Thanks for any help/ info.
Scott

[kempert]

I had a similar situation during a trip to Florida in February. I turned all of the breakers off for a minute and then flipped them on one at a time and everything worked fine. You have to make sure that all are completely off before you flip them on.

Is is possible that you burned out the electric water heater filament? If so, that effects all of the 12 volt system. If you have the water heater switched on without water in the hot water tank, you will instantly burn out the filament. I've been there, done that.

genesc

[Bill]

Scott -

The charge panel should always show all dots when you are plugged into shore power. In that case, it is reading the charger voltage, not the battery voltage. To get a true reading of battery voltage, you need to unplug shore power, then wait 30 minutes or so for the so-called "surface charge" to bleed off.

Well, that wasn't very helpful, was it?

If the TM killed the battery during 3 hours of towing (yes, the refrig is the primary culprit), then it is possible that the tow vehicle is not energizing the 12 VDC charge line through the 7-pin Bargman connector at the hitch. You didn't mention what you have for a tow vehicle, but several members have noted that their tow vehicle manufacturer didn't install a fuse in this line, so it is dead. Use the Search tool to find the discussion - I don't recall which forum it is in.

Charging via a generator and the installed converter is often disappointing. Many hours (MANY more than 2) are often required to bring the battery back up to snuff. BobRederick has installed a decent charging system - you might Search for his posts on the topic.

Finally. TM started installing the American Enterprises CS6000XL converter only quite recently. I have one in my 2006 TM. You are saying that they have already given up on it? I'm not surprised, but do you know what they are using in its place?

And

Originally Posted by genesc

Is is possible that you burned out the electric water heater filament? If so, that effects all of the 12 volt system. If you have the water heater switched on without water in the hot water tank, you will instantly burn out the filament. I've been there, done that.

I have to disagree here. The water heater electric element is powered from 115 VAC, and is completely isolated from the 12 VDC system. If the element burns out, one common effect is that the TM will pop the GFI breaker on the campground's power post, but that cuts off ALL power to the camper.


Bill

To answer questions, First I have never used electric portion of water heater, only gas. My new tow vehicle is an 06 f150 supercrew, I wired the brake control and installed the relay for the fact. towing package harness. I assumed it is factory set up for 12v at plug, but it is something I am going to need to check on. The dealer didn't give up, I just figured it may be easier to fix it right myself, then make two round trips to drop it, and still be having issues. The converter they replaced the orig. with was the same A.E. 6000. I brought home a battery tester tonight, tested the batt. 11.8 volts, good batt., recharge. I unhooked the battery from converter , plugged to shorepower, measured 13.2 at batt. leads, hooked up batt., showed 12.5 at batt. terminals. Hope this helps, and thank you

[Caver]

You might want to take your meter and check the battery voltage with the TV connected and the engine running. The GM vehicles don't come with the fuse for the 12 volts. I don't know about the Fords but it would be good to know that your TV is actually charging the battery.

One more test would be to measure the battery voltage with the TV connected and running and then turn on the refrigerator on 12 volts and see if the voltage is high enough to at least keep the battery charged.

Your potential difference may vary... Ray

Scott

I had an idea that I would try if I was with this issue. Take an auto battery up to the TM. Disconnect your TM battery and connect the auto battery to the TM using jumper cables. Now go and repeat your tests. A car battery doesn't make a good camper battery because it will not last with continuous deep discharges, but it will work just fine as a checkout of your converter, fuses, and TM wiring. You will find out what the voltages should read. You can apply a load, run your generator, or plug into shore power.

I hope this helps.

I had the same issue with my converter (See Best battery ? post). My dealer told me that they were having problems with the American Enterprises Converter. So I called American Entirprises directly. I took out my converter board and sent it to them. It was replaced and shipped back to me at no charge (still under warranty). They are very helpful with trouble shooting over the phone. Here is the web site.

http://americandirect.ibuilder.com/d...t+us&NID=33095

Talked to dealer-- 13.2 normal output of converter unhooked from batt. Also felt 12.5-12.7 was normal reading while charging very discharged batt. Used diagnostic conductance charger at work to charge batt., charged for two hours and then failed batt. I checked tow vehicle, putting out about 14.2 volts at trailer connector. Regardless, if the fridge on 12v, refer fan, and other parasitic draws are on batt while towing, a weak battery may never keep up. Think I'm going to get new batt., use a battery tender with batt. unhooked when not in use, and if converter ends up not cutting it(i.e. charging upkeep) I will look into upgrading it. Take care, Scott

I have 2004 3023 with 7300 converter. I will be staying in the TM for 2 months hooked up to 110VAC. Should I:
(1) Leave the battery connected and check water level every week or
(2) Simply remove the in-line battery fuse and run from the 7300 converter.
Does anyone know about the quality (noise/ripple) on the 7300 output 12VDC when the battery is not connected? ie Would there be a 12V noise issue?