Adding second battery

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

OK, I did that. The voltage on the dc output on the converter is 13.68 when camper is plugged into shore. I unplugged from shore with just one battery hooked up and still no power in camper at all. What am i missing? There are 2 wires (1 big red cable and 1 smaller red cable) connected to the common side of the battery disconnect switch. The bigger red cable is the cable on the bottom of the 4 block in picture attached. The smaller red cable is connected to the bottom of the 2 block in the picture. One of the cables on top of 4 block goes to fuss box and then another red cable is connected beside that one and goes to back of converter. HELP!

 

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

Another question...I have 13.68 volts coming out of back of converter going to fuse box, on the big red cable coming from the fuse box going to the 4 block in the picture above the voltage is only .58. Is that what it should be?

 

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

if you are measuring DC voltage from ANY source to a "good" ground you should be getting somewhere between 11 and 14 volts. anything less than that is a problem.

You might try moving a couple conections around on the "4 block" or test continuity on all 6 of the breakers. Could be that one is bad.

 

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

how many wires do you have connected to the batteries? 2 reds and 1 white?

 

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

OK, I did that. The voltage on the dc output on the converter is 13.68 when camper is plugged into shore.

I believe that this rules out the converter. It seems to be working properly.

 

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

Im taking bets that its a bad circuit breaker. Any body want to bet?

 

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

Timdebs:
I would forget about your convertor and just troubleshoot on battery power for now. If following the wiring becomes a problem see if you can identify where 12 volts is not on red wires and then work your way back to the battery.
Take voltmeter readings from the voltage source step-by-step to the fusebox. I would start at the battery. Next the disconnect switch. Next the battery Buss.Then on to the fusebox. It is not unknown for wires to be broken inside a cable jacket and look OK on the outside. That's why you should test at one end of a wire, then on to the other end. Every RED wire/connection should have 12 volts on it. The circuit breakers with the red wires and buss bar you pictured is NOT a grounding block, but a 12 volt protection and distribution group. The bigger the red wire is in diameter, the more current it carries, and the closer it should be to the current source (battery).
12 volt ground wires should be black. Looking further at your photos, they may be white. The best grounding test point is the battery negative terminal. But make sure the grounding is getting to the chassis and any ground (black) wires. To test the grounds, connect your tester from the positive battery terminal (or known good 12 volt point) to the suspect ground wire/point. You should get 12 volts.
Good luck.

First picture are wires going down into the belly. Second picture tracing wire nightmare. Third picture is battery disconnect switch with all red wires. Fourth picture is another wire nightmare. Fifth picture is ground block I am assuming? Sixth picture is positive cable not securely crimped in connector. Seventh picture is fuss panel. Is the bottom supposed to look like that?

 

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

Curious, what is the third, smaller gage wire on the battery switch for?

 

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

Curious, what is the third, smaller gage wire on the battery switch for?

Break-away switch power?????

 

[JohnDar]

Break-away switch power?????

I'll take your word for that, but on my battery, there are only two wires. So, when I add a battery switch, there will be no separate supply to the break-away switch. Not likely I'll tow it without the battery, anyways. I'm adding the switch as a convenience so I can break the circuit without disconnecting/removing the battery for maintenance, etc.

 

[timdebs]

The problem is FOUND! NCREBEL8 you hit the nail on the head. Thank you for calling me and helping me through this. I will make this brief to bring everyone up to date. ncrebel8 called and asked me to check some voltage...(1) at the back of the converter which was 13.6 (2) at the fuse box which was 13.6 and (3) at the circuit breaker WHICH WAS .58. and last (4) checked at the battery disconnect switch and it was also .58. ncrebel8 had me connect to second relay switch and everything worked. All voltage readings were 13.6. Went to West Marine and bought new circuit relay switch (one with a reset button) and hooked everything back up and it worked great! This forum is GREAT! Jim B called this afternoon to tell me to check this switch (the new Landmarks have either an auto-reset relay or a button under the switch you can push to reset). I told him ncrebel8 had called and help me find out that this was the culprit! I will post some pictures tomorrow. Nice to know people from Heartland care and REALLY do read the forum and try to help! Progressive that makes the converter was very helpful in emailing me information on how to check to see if converter is working properly. I sent Jim B the email so he can update the tools on the forum just in case some one needs to check to see if their converter is working properly. Thanks again for everyone's advice and help!

 

[trdeal]

Tim,Glad you got things up and running.Sometimes these are hard to figure out.We hope you are all doing well.See you later.

 

[Recovered from 25-May-2010]

Glad the community came to your aid to help you get this taken care of Tim. Go community!

For all, here's a link to all the documents from Progressive Industries that we have posted on HOM (Heartland Owners Manuals).

Jim

 

[wdk450]

I'll take your word for that, but on my battery, there are only two wires. So, when I add a battery switch, there will be no separate supply to the break-away switch. Not likely I'll tow it without the battery, anyways. I'm adding the switch as a convenience so I can break the circuit without disconnecting/removing the battery for maintenance, etc.

John:
What if you wire up as you have said with the break-away emergency braking switch wired in AFTER the battery disconnect switch, and for whatever reason you don't turn on the battery disconnect switch? No trailer disconnect emergency brakes!
Having this wire connected DIRECTLY to the battery eliminates the possibility of operator error in this critical situation, and I would guess is mandated by the RVIA and state codes. I bet that even fuses, fusable links, or circuit breakers are not allowed in this CRITICAL emergency braking power feed.

 

[JohnDar]

There are only two wires to my battery now. One to the positive terminal, the other to the negative. So, if there is a lead to the break-away switch, it must come off of the buss strip behind the battery. I'm all for safety, but for my intended purpose and the way I work, I'm not concerned about forgetting to turn the switch on. I'd know right away if I did forget because the front jacks, rear stabilizers, awning, and slide hydraulics would not work unless the rig was plugged into the TV. And they normally get used before the truck is close enough to plug in. That and the wife would have been giving me the "business" because none of the lights worked inside.