landmarks batteries low

[dasmoeturhead]

Went to leave or CG yesterday after 30 days, and once we disconnected the shore power, nothing worked, except the hydraulic stabilizers. No lights, no water pump, nothing.

Once we got to our new spot, and connected shore power everything is working now. Not sure what's going on. Can I use a portable battery charger to charge the batteries with the shore power on? If so would I connect it to the post and negative terminal that is on the outside of the battery box? The terminal looks like it's comments to both the batteries.

I will Check the batteries 1st, but I'm not sure if I'm missing something. Gotta get on the road tomorrow.

 

[danemayer]

Went to leave or CG yesterday after 30 days, and once we disconnected the shore power, nothing worked, except the hydraulic stabilizers. No lights, no water pump, nothing.

Once we got to our new spot, and connected shore power everything is working now. Not sure what's going on. Can I use a portable battery charger to charge the batteries with the shore power on? If so would I connect it to the post and negative terminal that is on the outside of the battery box? The terminal looks like it's comments to both the batteries.

I will Check the batteries 1st, but I'm not sure if I'm missing something. Gotta get on the road tomorrow.

Hi dasmoeturhead,

There's a 12V mini-circuit breaker located on a bus bar near the battery that sits in between the Power Converter and the battery. If it trips, you get exactly the symptoms you've described. On your Newport, the batteries are probably in the front compartment, and the row of mini-circuit breakers is nearby, probably covered by a rubber boot. One of the breakers has a teeny-tiny reset button on the edge. It can be pretty hard to see, so you might feel for the reset with your finger.

You can read about this problem in our 12V Block Diagram and Diagnostic Guide, and if you have the residential refrigerator, the Residential Refrigerator Guide has some drawings and pictures that will help you locate the breakers.

Your battery charge may be down a bit since they won't charge on shore power when the breaker is tripped. And yes, you can connect a battery charger to the battery terminals. Just make sure you connect the cables correctly.

 

[jbeletti]

Check the breaker buss for a tripped manual resetting mini-breaker. The buss is in the gen cabinet to the right on the wall behind the batteries. You'll see red rubber caps over the breakers. I think it's the second breaker down from the top that is the manually resetting one. Identify is as a slightly different colored body.

Carefully feel on the right side of the breaker, below the wire connection for a tiny little button that is out. Press in to reset.

Only a guess here that your battery power isn't making it to the DC fuse panel to provide DC power. That also means the batteries are not getting charged by the converter.

Here's a link to a DC power guide that Dan Mayer wrote. It will help give a general understanding of the DC system.

 

[jbeletti]

Jinx! Guess Dan was writing a response at the same time. If his response is different than mine - use his

 

[dasmoeturhead]

Went to leave or CG yesterday after 30 days, and once we disconnected the shore power, nothing worked, except the hydraulic stabilizers. No lights, no water pump, nothing.

Once we got to our new spot, and connected shore power everything is working now. Not sure what's going on. Can I use a portable battery charger to charge the batteries with the shore power on? If so would I connect it to the post and negative terminal that is on the outside of the battery box? The terminal looks like it's comments to both the batteries.

I will Check the batteries 1st, but I'm not sure if I'm missing something. Gotta get on the road tomorrow.

Well after reading about a re-set button on a circuit, I reset it and now the batteries are charging.

Wow I'm sure glad I looked on this thread about 12 vdc pronlems. Saved me a trip to the dealership and all the hassle that entails. Very happy camper.

 

[Nabo]

Glad you were able to find out what the problem was and get it corrected. I was going to suggest that you check in the front compartment to see if the battery disconnect switches had been turned off. In the off mod, the batteries will not charge.

 

[dasmoeturhead]

Thanks guys got the info. It's nice to get a quick response like this when your in a pinch.

 

[jbeletti]

Thanks guys got the info. It's nice to get a quick response like this when your in a pinch.

Never hesitate to turn to the Heartland Owners Forum to tap into the knowledge of thousands of Heartland product owners. Most people get the answer they need in minutes/hours.

Please update this thread as to the fix. If our suggestion is not the issue, we'll all dig into this further with you online.

 

[Jim.Allison]

When using two chargers, one will detect the other chargers output as voltage and has no way to determine if the voltage is from another charger or the battery bank. In the case of automatic chargers one of them will continue to charge until its charging curves are met, but will have failed to recognize the depth of the discharge. This could possibly result in both chargers decreasing their charging output to float before the batteries are fully charged because they are detecting each others output as a charged battery. In the case of batteries that are not beyond 50% (a guess) it is not of much consequence but from dead, it will take a long time to charge at acceptance and float, because the chargers will decrease their bulk charging period.

In the case of my solar charging, I generally rely on the solar charger, and keep the built in charger in the off position until I need it, when using shore power and the built in charger, I turn off the solar charger. They will not harm each other but they can interfere with each other charging curves assuming that both are functioning.

So feel free to connect two chargers or a maintainer but realize that you may not be getting anything out of it. And it may cause your main charger not to charge correctly.

Of course if you are applying a conventional charger, it will charge until you or a timer turn off the machine.

 

[dasmoeturhead]

When using two chargers, one will detect the other chargers output as voltage and has no way to determine if the voltage is from another charger or the battery bank. In the case of automatic chargers one of them will continue to charge until its charging curves are met, but will have failed to recognize the depth of the discharge. This could possibly result in both chargers decreasing their charging output to float before the batteries are fully charged because they are detecting each others output as a charged battery. In the case of batteries that are not beyond 50% (a guess) it is not of much consequence but from dead, it will take a long time to charge at acceptance and float, because the chargers will decrease their bulk charging period.

In the case of my solar charging, I generally rely on the solar charger, and keep the built in charger in the off position until I need it, when using shore power and the built in charger, I turn off the solar charger. They will not harm each other but they can interfere with each other charging curves assuming that both are functioning.

So feel free to connect two chargers or a maintainer but realize that you may not be getting anything out of it. And it may cause your main charger not to charge correctly.

Of course if you are applying a conventional charger, it will charge until you or a timer turn off the machine.

Thanks. I think I'll just let the on board charger do its thing. I have a battery tender, so I thought that would work, but I've decided to let it charge all night. Great info.

 

[Jim.Allison]

It is very difficult to outclass the progressive charger. I'm glad you got your situation fixed.

I know electrical can be very challenging and frustrating, for even the most astute DIY. With my solar/inverter system, I rarely have mechanical issues, but I tend to suffer from self inflicted or imaginary problems. There is no switch or fuse that will fix those.

Thanks. I think I'll just let the on board charger do its thing. I have a battery tender, so I thought that would work, but I've decided to let it charge all night. Great info.