Strange issue with batteries

[wyleyrabbit]

As I write this, we're at a campground that has 30A service and are plugged in.

For some strange reason that someone here might know, our batteries do not show as fully charged. It's very cloudy and we're in a shady spot, and the solar charge controller says the batteries are at about 60% capacity and are charging with 2.5A.

How is it even possible that our batteries aren't at 100%? What uses the batteries when we're plugged in to shore power? Do the lights and fans? And with 30A supplying the power, why do these not charge up again right away?

We have a pair of 6V golf cart batteries, each rated at (I think 220Ah).

 

[caissiel]

Your converter is supplying 12v power when you are connected. if you have a 50Amp Trailer connected on 30amp you have 1 line feeding 2 lines. It could be that your adapter does not feed both line and the converter is not getting power. If your system worked good on 50 Amp it might be that.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Hmmm. Interesting. We've never had a problem before, and I don't think we've ever connected to 50A power.

 

[jbeletti]

I agree with caissiel - it sounds like your converter is not getting AC power for some reason. A few possibilities come to mind:

1. Either you dropped one leg of AC power (bad 50 to 30 amp adapter)
2. The AC breaker that feeds the converter is tripped
3. The converter is not plugged in to the AC receptacle in the utility area

Note that twice this year, I noticed my batteries not fully charged. Both times, the converter had come unplugged from the AC receptacle in the utility area. This last time, I strapped the plug in with tie-wraps.

Could be any of these things but my guess is item 1. I heard a story recently of a brand of 50 to 30 amp adapters made in Milwaukee that only supplied power to one blade of the 30 amp receptacle. Not good.

Jim

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Jim,

When you say "...the converter had come unplugged from the AC receptacle in the utility area", what do you mean by "the utility area"? Do you mean in the basement behind the wall?

Chris

 

[wyleyrabbit]

I went into the basement, took off two walls, got out the flashlight and felt around. There was a cord plugged into a receptacle near the central vac, which I unplugged then put back in. I also unplugged the power cable from the post and plugged it back in. Finally, I found breaker #7 which is labeled "converter", so flipped it off then back on.

From what I can tell, the only thing charging our batteries is our solar panels, and that's slow since it's very overcast today.

I must admit that I'm getting a bit frustrated. I have almost spent more time working on the trailer this trip than I have with my family. Water leaks due to extremely poor/cheap plumbing design/implementation (see my other thread), now the batteries won't charge. Oh and our Samsung HT-X20 has now started turning off intermittently (says "protection" then the power light blinks and the unit turns off).

:-(

Chris

 

[branson4020]

Chris,

Look in the basement again. The central vac will be plugged into one outlet, the converter should be plugged into another, separate outlet.

 

[jmgratz]

There are some fuses on the converter also. Check them to see if they have blown. Put a volt meter on the battery and see if you have around 14 volts in. If so your converter is working.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Is there an easier way of accessing the converter and/or seeing if it's on? Are there any indicator lights on it or anything?

We're down to 50% battery now. If the converter was disconnected or blown, would our A/C receptacles still be supplying 120V?

Chris

 

[jmgratz]

All the converter does is covert the 120 volts to 12 volts and provide a charging means for the battery. If the converter goes out you will still have your 120 volts service but with nothing charging your battery it will go dead. As a temporary fix you can hook a battery charger to your battery until you get the converter repaired. You can also hook the rig up to your tow vehicle but be aware it will cause your tow vehicle battery to discharge without the motor running. You need the 12 volt service to run your control board on the refrigerator and the thermostat and lights.

The way to see if your converter is putting out is to use a voltmeter to check its output. Be sure the AC outlet the converter is plugged into is live as well. Hope this helps. BTW when our converter went out we went to Wal-Mart and bought a cheap battery charger to use until we got a replacement converter. The other problem it could be if your converter is putting out 12 volts is a defective battery. A dead cell on the battery and it won't hold a charge.

 

[jmgratz]

Also if your 12 volts gets too low it could cause damage to your appliances. It is that important.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Ok, just put the voltmeter on the batteries (with all the wires attached, including from the converter) and I have 12.15 volts. Not good, I guess.

So, possibilities?

1. Bad battery
2. Low water in battery? (I haven't checked that yet)
3. Dead converter?
4. Blown fuse in coverter.

Not even sure I can get at the converter. It's waay back there. Do I take off more walls?

 

[jmgratz]

You will have to remove the wall (access) panel to get to the converter. Check the water in the battery first. But what you have listed is what to check.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

For now, if I hook up the truck and idle it for a while, will that charge the batteries?

Also, what if I plug into a 15A plug on the campground pedestal?

 

[jmgratz]

Plugging it into the truck may help charge it some. I can't see where the 15 amp pedistal power would help. If the converter is not putting out what it should or is out then only fix would be replace the converter. There should be some fuses on the converter that could have blown causing it not to put out.

 

[caissiel]

was 12.5 Volts with the solar panel hooked up, if not then the batteries usualy show about 12.6 with nothing drawing power, if you have a draw from a full good battery it will show lower voltage as far as under 12 Volts

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Ok, checked the water level in my batteries. They were at about 2/3 what they should be. Fortunately, DW bought some distiller water so the batteries are now full. I guess we'll see tomorrow. I will let everyone here know.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[caissiel]

I have installed an amp gauge on the line coming from the truck to the trailer. this way I can see if the batteries are getting juice or not. I rough camp a lot and use my truck as a generator to charge my Batteries. By Idling about 20 Minutes a day I can keep my batteries loaded. I also keep the truck connected so the truck batteries are also part of the chain. When I glow and start the truck to go somewhere, I just let it Idle a bit and the alternators charge the trailer batteries also. I wish I could have bigger cables from the truck to the trailer 10Gauge is realy not big enough to charge at any good rate. Most Coaches have 4 RV batteries and connected close to the alternators.

 

[jbeletti]

Here's another way to test your converter without having to be a contortionist.

On my unit and maybe yours too, the batter has 2 red leads connecting to the positive terminal. One is the feed from the battery to the DC fuse panel. The other is the DC output of the converter in order to charge the battery.

If yours is the same, disconnect both red leads from the positive terminal. Using a volt meter set to DC and the 20 volt range, check for DC voltage on each of those red leads to a chassis ground.

If you get a reading, note what it is. If it's in the 13.5 to 14.2 volt range or so, that's an indicator that your converter is working. If it is, I'd suspect your battery as having an issue. The low electrolyte level you found could be a contributing factor.

Jim

 

[wyleyrabbit]

After a lot of unscrewing, I managed to get the basement wall off behind the vacuum. A quick check of the converter revealed that the fuses had blown. A quick trip to the nearest Walmart and $3.15 later and I had a package of five 30A automotive fuses. I put the fuses in to the converter, and plugged it in and (a drum roll please) it started up. The house lights got brighter and the batteries immediately began charging up. Yay! A few hours later and they're now at 100%. Double yay!

Thank you everyone for your help with this.

Cheers,
Chris