Can I put a battery charger on batteries without disconnecting converter?

[D_BTravelers]

We were getting ready to go camping in the BC 3650RL and had turned on the refrigerator (Norcold 2118) the day before to pre-cool. We came in to an alarm and error codes "lo dc". which I find means the batteries are low. The FW is stored and connected to 15 amps of shore power, but apparently the Progressive Dynamics converter was not charging the batteries as they showed "1/3" charge level. Last night I connected a 10 amp battery charger across the terminals for the two batteries and immediately the code on the refrigerator went away. Probably should have asked this question before I connected the charger.
As we are leaving for a 5-day campout this afternoon, will it be dangerous to leave the battery charger connected to the batteries during the campout; I would put it on low maintenance level. When we get back I will take it into the RV repair place we use to get it fixed under warranty service. Just bought the BC in January this year and love it. Overall build quality is very good, but so far one of the Lippert leveling hydraulic cylinders starting leaking, the Anderson valve is leaking, and the cheezy vent fan in the bathroom lost it's cover on the trip home from the dealer. Just component parts seem to be giving us issues.

 

[Silverado23]

A tripped breaker is a common problem that results in the battery not charging with the convertor.
This link can help you solve the issue.

https://heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/66755-Charging-Batteries?p=550492&viewfull=1#post550492

 

[D_BTravelers]

Thanks for the link. I had run across a mention of these circuit breakers last night when surfing for answers. Where would this little gem be mounted? Near the main breaker panel inside the BC or perhaps out around the converter? BTW - love the paint on your Landmark.

 

[mlpeloquin]

That little breaker is tripped a lot by plugging in and unplugging to a live power circuit. You always have to check it after you do connect to your 125VAC at home with a live socket as well as when you disconnect. Always, at a RV park's power post, make sure the breakers are off when connecting and off when disconnecting. I still check that little breaker anyway each time I connect and disconnect. The breaker should be located in the front compartment. At least it is in my Big Horn. Mine is the second one down. The push button is a small black pin that is hard to see. Run your fingers down the left side of the breakers and you will feel the button. Don't need much pressure to reset it.

 

[D_BTravelers]

That little breaker is tripped a lot by plugging in and unplugging to a live power circuit. You always have to check it after you do connect to your 125VAC at home with a live socket as well as when you disconnect. Always, at a RV park's power post, make sure the breakers are off when connecting and off when disconnecting. I still check that little breaker anyway each time I connect and disconnect. The breaker should be located in the front compartment. At least it is in my Big Horn. Mine is the second one down. The push button is a small black pin that is hard to see. Run your fingers down the left side of the breakers and you will feel the button. Don't need much pressure to reset it.

Thanks. By the front compartment, you mean the one behind and below the pin box where a generator would be located? That would be too easy to get to, so it can't be there! LOL! I'll look when we go hook up shortly. Thank you again!

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Thanks for the link. I had run across a mention of these circuit breakers last night when surfing for answers. Where would this little gem be mounted?

My image below shows a LOT more information than you're asking for, but look in the lower right to see the breakers and busbar. The "tiny" (very tiny) reset button is on top of the busbar...typically on the top breaker.

This will be located in the front storage compartment.

 

[D_BTravelers]

Ah! Thank you for the large diagram. The buss bar will be by the battery cutoff switch which is in the front lower compartment. Thank you.

 

[dave10a]

It should be noted that the manual circuit breaker could be rated at a lower current than the charger is capable of. In my unit the breaker is 50 amp and the charger is capable of 80 amp. So when the battery is mostly depleted or the circuit total demand goes up because of the jacks with a discharged battery that charger will try and supply full 80 amp current thus tripping the circuit breaker.

 

[RedmondChuck]

Very good read! A lot of awesome info! I just had the same problem so I'll keep all of this in mind! 👍🏻
Just bought my bighorn yesterday! Had this same issue at the lot. Took a bit to figure out why the lights weren't working 🤦🏻*♂️

 

[D_BTravelers]

Converter is not working properly

Returned from 5 days of camping and indeed the converter is not charging the batteries. The FW had been on the repair lot for a week or two and I am positive that the battery disconnect was not turned to "off" so I am going to have the batteries checked tomorrow or Saturday to make sure they are not damaged. The converter alone would not keep the batteries above 1/3 charge, so I put a 10 amp battery charger across the two batteries and turned it to LOW. It kept them charged up for the campout, and I did find the small breaker button (Thank you Oregon Camper for the diagram) and pushed it a couple of times during the campout. Afterward I would disconnect the battery charger to see if the converter was working; each time the batteries ran down again. After a 2 hour drive home the truck had the batteries charged 100% so I turned the disconnect to off even though we are plugged into 120v shore power in storage. I will be taking the FW to the repair shop as soon as they call and tell me the Lippert leveling cylinder replacement is in. Lippert shipped the wrong one the first time.

Thanks for all the help in diagnostics, I now know a lot more about the Big Country electrical!

 

[danemayer]

You might want to check 1) the main circuit breaker panel to ensure the circuit breaker that powers the Converter hasn't tripped, 2) that the Power Converter is plugged into its outlet. They have been know to vibrate out and sometimes need to be tied down. On most rigs, the Power Converter is behind the rear wall of the pass through basement storage.

When the converter is working, and the 50 amp 12V DC mini-circuit breaker isn't tripped, the power reading on the auto leveler panel will be 13.2 - 13.6 V DC. If you don't have auto leveling, you can sometimes tell from the tank level display in the control panel. It not only displays tank levels, but also an approximation of the DC voltage. If the converter is working, all 4 lights will be on. If it's not working, you'll probably have fewer lights on.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Have you inspected the converter? It has 3 fuses and has had some situations of actually coming unplugged.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[Dewayne]

Hey Guys, New or rather Reconnected member here trying to find a way to post

I am Dewayne with a 2014 Heartland Gateway -

My darling wife and I have been on the road for 6 weeks and for the last week have been fighting battery charging issues.

Did have a ad battery - replaced both with New Batteries, Lots of trouble shooting with a Multi meter to find the inconveniently located Converted was not working -

Replaced the od Convertor WCF865 with a new WCF9875 -

Problem still not resolved - output from the new Convertor is only 12.2V

I have been using a battery charger t maintain batteries - Batteries show 12.2V, voltage across the breaker connection is also only 12.2V

House panel still only shows 2/3 charge

Ye I have reset the "tiny breaker" on the bus bar.

Its like everything is working but only at 12.2V.

Any Suggestions / thoughts.

Thanks so much

DeWayne - currently in South Carolina

 

[danemayer]

Hi Dewayne,

Maybe the next step would be to disconnect the converter output from the coach and measure the converter output in isolation. If 12.2V, I would say the converter is the problem.

If 13.2-13.6 in isolation, reconnect it and then isolate it from the batteries and any other possible power sources. Then read the voltage at one of the fuses in the main fuse box inside the coach.

 

[farside291]

You can climb behind the wall with a multimeter and check the output directly at the converter. The terminals are clearly marked positive and negative. If you don't have 13.5 volts at the converter then check the converter. In my case I had the 13.5 volts which put me at the batteries, wires or circuit breakers. Deep cycle marine batteries can take a lot of abuse and still recharge.