Intermittent Power in Big Horn

[RVFun4Us]

Just got my 3055 BigHorn back on Thursday from the local dealer after having wheel bearing repacked and slides adjusted. When I went inside today and turned on the lights, you could tell I was not getting full power. I had it plugged into my house. Surge protector says I have 120 volts going in. Refrigerator would also not stay on electric power. So I pulled the battery and it was discharged. Having it recharged and checked at local tire company.

My question is whether the battery would have anything to do with low AC voltage in the 5th wheel? If the battery is not the problem, what else might cause this problem? Since the battery was discharged, I am also wondering if the line charge cord keeping the battery charged up might be the problem. I did not seem to have any issues prior to taking it to the dealer but it did sit one week waiting for the repair with any power.

Any ideas?

 

[RVFun4Us]

Sorry, it was at the dealer without any power hookup.

 

[cookie]

There is a good chance that the battery discharged while at the dealer.
If it was not plugged in and they used some 12 volt stuff, like lights, the battery may well have gone dead.
Your rig is also a 2008 model. Have you ever replaced the battery? Checked for anode corrosion?

Peace
Dave

 

[danemayer]

Hi RVFun4Us,

If it was sitting for a week with the battery cutoff switch ON, the parasitic drains could have run down the battery. It should have started recharging when you plugged in at home.

Most of the interior lights are running off 12V DC. Even when the battery is depleted, while on shore power, the Power Converter should supply enough 12V to keep all the 12V devices in the coach running.

So when you say "low AC Voltage", do you mean the lights were dim? Or were there problems with running 110V AC devices like the microwave?

 

[jnbhobe]

Check if the converter is charging the battery when plugged into shore power.

 

[RVFun4Us]

Got the battery back and it is fully charged now. The tire store said the battery was good. So I brought it home and hooked it up. All the lights are bright again and the refer is on again. But I still don't have a good feeling. I think something may be draining the battery. As some of you said, maybe it discharged while at the dealer. But I have had it plugged in to house current for a day and a half. Don't know how long it takes to charge completely. And yes, I replaced the battery in 2011. When I say low AC voltage, I meant the when I turned on the lights, it was kind of like a brownout. About half power. The refer kept going on and off but I know with a low battery voltage, that would happen. So it might come down to the converter. I don't know how to check to see if it is charging the battery. I will look in the morning and see how the battery level is. I checked the inside gauge and if it is correct, the battery charge read out as fair. This after running a few things in the 5th wheel after reinstalling the battery. The gauge runs from discharged, fair, good and charged. So that is probably not a good sign either.

 

[danemayer]

Take a look at our 12V Block Diagram and Diagnostic Guide. It'll walk you through how to find the problem using a volt meter. You may have something as simple as the Power Converter (which supplies 12V to the battery and to the fuse box) coming unplugged from vibration.

 

[pegmikef]

If the battery is good and was fully charged when you put it in, you can use a volt meter to check whether or not the battery is charging when you are hooked up to shore power. A fully charged battery will normally read 13.2 V or a little higher as this is the maintenance level used by the converter.

 

[RVFun4Us]

OK, an update. Battery was still showing just "Good" on my inside monitor this morning so I pulled it and put on my charger for a couple of hours. Unplugged the AC and turned off the converter breaker. I pulled the basement partition out in front of the converter. I noticed three 25 amp fuses on the side of the converter so I pulled them to see if they were good. All three fuses were blown. So I replaced them and found the manual reset circuit breaker button that was referenced in the 12V Block Diagram and Diagnostic Guide that Dan Mayer provided the link to. I pushed the button but could not tell by feel if it clicked or snapped or whatever it is suppose to do. Put the battery back in, plugged the AC in and turned the converter breaker back on. Tested the battery before I reinstalled with my multimeter and it showed 12 volts. After turning the breaker back on, the battery showed somewhat over 13 volts, indicating I think that the converter was charging the battery. Peg and Mike Finnegan indicated in their post a 13.2 volt reading is normal so I guess that is what I have. Then checked the inside monitor and it shows the battery fully charged. So I think the problem is solved Will check again tomorrow morning to make sure. Anyone have any idea why all three fuses would have been blown? I am presuming that was the cause of the battery running down and the converter not charging the battery. Only other thing I did was pushing the manual reset button. By the way, the converter plug was snug in the outlet so that was not the problem. Thanks everyone for your input. Once again, this board has proven its weight in gold.

 

[TedS]

You might what to get some idea why the converter fuses were blown. Most likely, the battery was connected backwards when connected on installation. It only takes as long as saying 'Oops' when the battery is accidently connected backwards to blow those fuses.

 

[RVFun4Us]

Yes Ted. After looking at the Progressive Dynamics 9200 manual, I now know that the three fuses are there for a reverse battery protection circuit, that is, if a battery is accidentally hooked up backwards, the converter will be protected. Externally mounted ATC type fuses will blow when a battery is connected in reverse. When I first reinstalled the battery this year, I did reverse the connections momentarily. So that must be the reason. I now have each battery cable labeled so this doesn't happen again.