Beeping Alarm??

[TXgearhead]

This happened yesterday and again today. Today I drove about 6 hours and pulled into the RV park. When unhooking I hear beeping from the front of the coach. Sounds just like the level up system, but it's not coming from there. It's coming from the front battery compartment. I had gotten out of my truck twice previously today and didn't hear it. About 2 minutes after my Proressive EMS threw power to the coach it quit.
Any help is welcome.

 

[boatto5er]

Sounds like the propane detector. It’s beeping because your battery is putting out low voltage. Check your truck to make sure you are charging your battery while driving.


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[TXgearhead]

So, you are saying it just sounds like the propane alarm but is a battery alarm?
i never had an issue with the truck not charging, but I did just have a propane regulator fail and replaced.
Ill see what the battery voltages are after driving all day. I'm hooked up now.
Thanks.

 

[danemayer]

Sounds like your batteries are low. Turn off shore power and check voltage at the Levelup Control Panel. Should be between 12.0 and 12.6V DC while unplugged from shore power and from the truck.

If the front compartment is the source of the beep, it might be the inverter that powers the residential refrigerator.

 

[wdk450]

So, you are saying it just sounds like the propane alarm but is a battery alarm?

Since the propane leakage alarm is considered a CRITICAL protective alarm system that doesn't run off of its own small capacity battery, but rather is powered by the large 12 volt lead acid trailer systems battery, the propane detector has a low battery alarm built into it that will beep off for a LONG time if the main lead acid battery is at a low charge level. The propane alarm also has a main, shrill, "GET OUT OF THE TRAILER" ALARM TONE contrasting the short, quiet, "beep" of its low battery alarm.

If you ever have occasion to walk around a large RV storage yard, you will frequently hear these quiet beeps coming from RV's that have not had their batteries charged recently.

 

[LBR]

If you have a residential refrigerator, it is probably the dedicated inverter, and your battery voltage gets less than 11.5 V during the towing day.

Have your batteries load tested. Also depending on your tow vehicle, you may have a separate fuse block for the tow plug, and the fuse for the trailer charging circuit may be blown.

 

[TXgearhead]

Thanks for all the info. Not that it matters but the batteries are about 18 months old. I haven't noted the battery voltage after towing but I think I would have noticed voltage lower than 12 when I powered up the level system.
I'll check voltage in the morning when I disconnect from pedestal power.

 

[avvidclif]

Thanks for all the info. Not that it matters but the batteries are about 18 months old. I haven't noted the battery voltage after towing but I think I would have noticed voltage lower than 12 when I powered up the level system.
I'll check voltage in the morning when I disconnect from pedestal power.

It will probably be fine in the morning(been charging all night) but check and make a note of it. Wait 5-10 min before checking it. Then when you arrive at the next stop check it again before hooking up to power.

 

[TXgearhead]

It will probably be fine in the morning(been charging all night) but check and make a note of it. Wait 5-10 min before checking it. Then when you arrive at the next stop check it again before hooking up to power.

After thinking about it more last night, I thought the same thing.
I'll do some digging when we get to the next stop. Emporia Kansas should have sources to buy batteries if that is what it is.
Friday and Saturday will be in Knoxville Iowa. May be an auto parts store there. Maybe.
Thanks for all y'all's help.

 

[TXgearhead]

I found the battery cables somewhat loose this morning. I'll see if that helps.

 

[TXgearhead]

Drove from 8am to 3pm today, all interstate. Ended with 12.1 volts. No beeping. Connections are tight. Batteries have water. I had a new VOM in my toolbox and tried to check voltage on the 7 pin on the truck. I put the positive lead on the 12V pin at 1 o'clock, and was going to ground on the tailgate lock lug. I got a little sizzle and decided to leave it for now before I blow a fuse.
The dealer installed batteries are Deka? Marine Master Deep Cycle Starting Group 27. I can't find the amp hour rating. I think I will be shopping for batteries when I get back home.

 

[Flick]

Drove from 8am to 3pm today, all interstate. Ended with 12.1 volts. No beeping. Connections are tight. Batteries have water. I had a new VOM in my toolbox and tried to check voltage on the 7 pin on the truck. I put the positive lead on the 12V pin at 1 o'clock, and was going to ground on the tailgate lock lug. I got a little sizzle and decided to leave it for now before I blow a fuse.
The dealer installed batteries are Deka? Marine Master Deep Cycle Starting Group 27. I can't find the amp hour rating. I think I will be shopping for batteries when I get back home.

When you get home take them to any auto supply store and have them load checked. One could have a bad cell. If they both load check okay, look elsewhere for a cause.

 

[wdk450]

You can do all of the charging system checks right on your trailer battery.Disconnect shore power and truck umbilical cord.Measure trailer battery DC voltage.Connect truck umbilical with the truck engine running (some trucks have the charging circuit live only when the engine is running).Measure battery DC voltage - should be higher than last reading if truck is charging the trailer battery.Disconnect the truck umbilical cord.Connect the trailer to shorepower and check AC appliances (microwave - refrig) to see if ac power is on.Measure battery DC voltage. Again, the voltage. It should be higher than the 1st (no charging sources) reading.

 

[Flick]

You can do all of the charging system checks right on your trailer battery.Disconnect shore power and truck umbilical cord.Measure trailer battery DC voltage.Connect truck umbilical with the truck engine running (some trucks have the charging circuit live only when the engine is running).Measure battery DC voltage - should be higher than last reading if truck is charging the trailer battery.Disconnect the truck umbilical cord.Connect the trailer to shorepower and check AC appliances (microwave - refrig) to see if ac power is on.Measure battery DC voltage. Again, the voltage. It should be higher than the 1st (no charging sources) reading.

I agree with all the above but unless you separate the batteries from each other, you won’t be able to tell if one is faulty and that’s why the suggested individual load test.

 

[SNOKING]

If one is bad, replace both. If you put a new battery with a older one, the new one will soon be just as good(aka Not Good) as the older one.

 

[RickL]

My suggestion is to upgrade your battery’s to 6 volt. After traveling for the day I noticed I pulled down my batteries, especially when it was hot outside. After upgrading to 4 6v 235 amp hr, I have no issue if (and it’s very rare) we travel a 8+ hr day. Wasn’t cheap, @ $900, but as we full time our freezer is typically full of frozen meat. One time we took the trailer in to the dealer they failed to plug it in and we lost probably $600 worth of stuff.

 

[wdk450]

I have an older thread on the truck charging system for the trailer batteries. I had the fuse in the truck for this repeatedly blowing with no visual evidence this had happened. I finally added a self resetting circuit breaker of an amperage lower than the corresponding charging fuse in the truck. I think it was a 25 amp fuse in the truck and I added a 20 amp self-resetting breaker in the charging line just after the trailer connection box for the umbilical cable. After doing that, my truck/trailer charging system is reliable, the batteries are charged, and the truck fuse no longer blows. I think I had momentary high current draws on the charging line for some reason.

The critical point of this topic is that the trailer battery charging circuit from the truck is PRIMARILY THERE TO CHARGE THE TRAILER BATTERY SO THAT THE TRAILER'S ELECTRIC EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM HAS POWER IN THE EVENT OF A TRAILER - TRUCK DISCONNECT, WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKING LANYARD SWITCH BEING PULLED AND ACTIVATED. This should immediately apply full electric braking on the trailer and STOP the runaway trailer. Any other functions, such as running electric refrigerators, is simply extra to the trailer battery's primary emergency braking safety function.

 

[TXgearhead]

If we can cripple along like this on the way back home I'll dig deeper. I dont want to be pulling batteries out in a campground. I'll check specific gravity and have them load tested. I think I'm just running the cheap batteries down. I'll also check the truck charging system.
We did about the same length trip last November to Charlotte. No issues but it was a lot cooler.
Kyle Larson won the sprint car race tonight at Knoxville Iowa. We'll see what he does tomorrow night.