no 12v power

[Rysonn]

We have had our Pioneer RG26 for about 5 weeks now. 2 weeks ago we had it at our local dealer for some work and mentioned that there was an issue with battery power. They stated that one of the circuits was bad and they replaced it. They, I believe, were referring to one of the circuits mounted to the frame where the cable coming from the battery goes in and the cable then goes from that circuit in to the camper (fuse box).

This past weekend we took it out and had it plugged in to 30 amp from Friday to Sunday. We go to leave on Sunday and again no battery power to anything. Not the tongue jack, leveling jacks, anything. I would have assumed that having it plugged in for 2 days would have charged the battery but it did not. Thankfully, in preparation for this issue, I have been carrying a jumper box. Using that jumper box is the only way I can get anything running off of the battery to work. Additionally when I unplug power there is nothing inside the rig powered either via the battery.

Once we got it towed home I tested the voltage on the battery and it was only at 6.8v which clearly won't do anything. I have left a message again with the dealer but what am I missing? Is it that the interstate battery on my 2019 rig is no good? Is there something else I am missing that would prevent the battery from getting charged and force me to have to connect a jumper box to do anything? I don't want to dump a bunch of money into a new battery if there is something simple I am missing. I saw videos of the circuits on the frame having a small reset button but I climbed under and looked and I didn't see any such think.

I had even installed a battery disconnect after buying it and just took that back off again in case that was somehow causing the issue.

Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[cookie]

Here is what I would do.
Plug into shore power then check the voltage at the battery. It should be around 13+ volts DC. If not I would visit the charging source. Check voltage there. If no output check it's source from 120 volts AC. You may be unplugged, loose wire out tripped 120 volt breaker. Turn off then back on the breakers.
I would also check 12 volt DC voltage across the 12 volt breakers. With one probe of your multimeter to ground check the voltage on each side of each breaker. Both terminals should show 12 volts DC. If not you have found the faulty breaker.
If all fails remove the battery, give it a good charge and take it in to have it load tested.

Peace
Dave

 

[danemayer]

Hi Rysonn,

Don't want to overlook the simple things. If your trailer has a battery cutoff switch, make sure it's ON.

You're looking in the right area. When plugged into shore power, the Power Converter changes 120V AC into 12V DC to 1) power your interior lights, and 2) charge the battery. If you're plugged into shore power, you should read around 13V or so at the battery, if the output of the Power Converter is getting to the battery. Measure voltage between the positive terminal and a known good ground - not the battery negative terminal.

If you get a good reading between the positive terminal and a known good ground, but a bad reading between the positive and negative terminals, the cable from the negative terminal to frame ground has a bad connection.

If you go back to the 12V DC mini-circuit breakers near your battery and check voltage there, it'll help you diagnose the problem. Follow the thick cable from the battery to one of the breakers. Check voltage from each side of that breaker to a known good ground. If you see low voltage on the battery side, and 13V on the other side, the breaker is tripped (or bad). The reset button is teeeeeenny tiny. You may have to feel for it.

If you read low voltage on both sides, the next thing to check is the holding tank level panel inside. That panel should have a battery level indicator in addition to the tank level indicators. While on shore power, it should show 4 lights indicating a full battery charge. Actually, while on shore power, it's showing you the higher of Power Converter output, or battery level (or tow vehicle output, if you're hooked up). If your battery voltage reading was low, and the lights on the tank level panel don't show a full charge, you likely have a problem with the Power Converter.

Our 12V DC Block Diagram and Diagnostic Guide may help you run down the problem step-by-step.

 

[Rysonn]

Hi Rysonn,

Don't want to overlook the simple things. If your trailer has a battery cutoff switch, make sure it's ON.

You're looking in the right area. When plugged into shore power, the Power Converter changes 120V AC into 12V DC to 1) power your interior lights, and 2) charge the battery. If you're plugged into shore power, you should read around 13V or so at the battery, if the output of the Power Converter is getting to the battery. Measure voltage between the positive terminal and a known good ground - not the battery negative terminal.

If you get a good reading between the positive terminal and a known good ground, but a bad reading between the positive and negative terminals, the cable from the negative terminal to frame ground has a bad connection.

If you go back to the 12V DC mini-circuit breakers near your battery and check voltage there, it'll help you diagnose the problem. Follow the thick cable from the battery to one of the breakers. Check voltage from each side of that breaker to a known good ground. If you see low voltage on the battery side, and 13V on the other side, the breaker is tripped (or bad). The reset button is teeeeeenny tiny. You may have to feel for it.

If you read low voltage on both sides, the next thing to check is the holding tank level panel inside. That panel should have a battery level indicator in addition to the tank level indicators. While on shore power, it should show 4 lights indicating a full battery charge. Actually, while on shore power, it's showing you the higher of Power Converter output, or battery level (or tow vehicle output, if you're hooked up). If your battery voltage reading was low, and the lights on the tank level panel don't show a full charge, you likely have a problem with the Power Converter.

Our 12V DC Block Diagram and Diagnostic Guide may help you run down the problem step-by-step.

View attachment 64323

Thank you for that info. You are correct. When plugged in to shore power and I check the battery level it is readying as full. The second I disconnect shore power I get literally nothing on the panel at all. My 6.8v reading was connecting to the negative and positive on the battery itself. Again, clearly after being plugged in for 2 straight days you would expect a charge higher than that.

There was a battery disconnect wired in and I did make sure it was on. However not I have completely disconnected it as I was afraid that maybe I had a bad switch so I bypassed it so now I am down to just disconnecting the negative battery wire when it is in storage. That is what makes this difficult since it sits at storage and not at our house due to HOA so getting it back to plug in to shore is a bit of a struggle.

My thought was that it had to be that circuit as you have pictured and I can clearly see where one looks different (newer) than the others which would coincide with the dealer saying they had to change it. I see about 6 or so of the mini breakers there and can clearly see the one with the wire from the battery going in and the wire from there going in to the camper. I could swear that I pulled off all of the red rubber boots and felt around all of them and could not find one that had a little reset button on it but I am not opposed to looking again. I also don't have a battery charge capable of charging a batter that size as the only one I have is a small trickle charger for our motorcycles. lol

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Thank you for that info. You are correct. When plugged in to shore power and I check the battery level it is readying as full. The second I disconnect shore power I get literally nothing on the panel at all. My 6.8v reading was connecting to the negative and positive on the battery itself. Again, clearly after being plugged in for 2 straight days you would expect a charge higher than that.

Afraid to tell you this, but if your battery really is sitting at 6.8v, you'll probably need a new battery as well. Take it out and have it tested.

 

[Rysonn]

Afraid to tell you this, but if your battery really is sitting at 6.8v, you'll probably need a new battery as well. Take it out and have it tested.

Update: Pulled the battery, took it to Auto Zone. They tested it and, of course, it was registering not even 1 volt. Left it with them for 2 hours on a charger and it didn't take a charge. I verified with my own tester and it didn't even register.

So clearly on that end of it the battery needs to be replaced, which I can do. Hopefully that is the last cog in the process of resolving the issue since the dealer replaced a mini circuit.

I went back to storage in literally touched all 4 sides of the six mini circuit's I saw on the frame behind the battery. Not a single one of them had a reset button on it.

 

[danemayer]

I went back to storage in literally touched all 4 sides of the six mini circuit's I saw on the frame behind the battery. Not a single one of them had a reset button on it.

The dealer may have replaced the manual-reset breaker with an auto-reset breaker.