Why isn't the battery charging?

As I said in another recent post I am new to this.

I bought the hilo mojo this spring. The battery was charged and things worked. I used it on a camping trip. No problem with having lights (the only thing I used and the water pump worked - turned it on by accident). Some kids charged their phone off of it (sigh teens can't live without their phones - went with another family) as well. Still had juice when we came back home.

I just plugged the trailer into the house for 24 hours and while everything worked with it plugged in, nothing works with it unplugged.

Have I missed some sort of adjustment or setting I need to make in order to charge the battery off of my house?

They did not make a manual for this trailer so I am guessing things are similar to the 2009 one in the library someone uploaded.

This trailer has 3 way fridge, AC, water pump, propane heater, lights. I did install an electric brake on my car for it. The wire for the break away brake got rubbed through (thus 'cut') by dragging on the road (I had one chain too low as it turns out - didn't realize that at the time) on the way home from the camping trip which isn't fixed yet.

Don't want to drag it to the RV place as they charge $120 an hour if I can figure out what the problem is. Battery is 2009. Held a charge for a long time initially.

Thanks,
Carolyn

Do the interior lights come on when plugged in to shore power? If so, your converter/charger is probably ok. If you have a volt meter check the voltage at the battery before plugging into shore power to see what you have. Then plug in and check the voltage, you should get up to 13.6 volts if charging. Leave the charger go for say 24 hours then turn off. Wait several hours to see what voltage you have at the battery. If it is good you should have 12.6 volts. If not, it is probably bad. If you ran the battery dead sometime it could be ruined. The refrigerator in 12 volt mode can do a good job of draining a battery. Take the battery to someplace like Advance Auto Parts, they will check it for you. You need to have a deep cycle battery for RV use, that is what to look for if you need a new one.

I should have added to make sure the battery cables are firmly attached to the battery and the connections are clean. Oh, and you did say that things worked when plugged in.

Hi

Thanks. I will try to find something to measure the voltage (and check to be sure everything is still clean) and also take the battery off the trailer to take it in to see if it is any good. It worked when I parked it after the trip. Battery is in a case. Haven't touched anything other than turn off all switches while it has sat.

As far as I know I have everything turned off in the trailer - all switches I can find are off so there shouldn't be a passive drain when it isn't being used.

Is there anything inside the trailer that I need to make sure isn't turned off in order for the battery to charge?

Also would the cut break away brake wire affect this in any way?

Thanks,
Carolyn

There are things like the LP leak detector that has constant draw on the battery. If you don't have a master power switch inside it is wise to disconnect the battery when not in use. As I stated yesterday, get a battery charger like the Battery Tender and hook it on. It will put a constant float charge on the battery and not harm it. Sometimes being plugged in all the time through the converter can put too much charge on the battery.

Get a multimeter at Walmart and you can check the voltages. They are easy to use, you just have to read the instructions. If you have questions you know where to ask. Equus 3300 Hands Free Digital Multimeter, Electronic Digital Multimeter, Automotive Multimeter, Equus Multimeter It can be anything similar to this one. They are a handy thing to have.

I am getting together my shopping list - both the smart charger thing you mentioned yesterday and the volt meter. I can't find anything that looks like a master switch - there are only three on/off switches that are not actually part of an appliance. As far as I can figure out one is for the water pump, one for the lights and one for the heater. The fridge and AC have on/off switches on them.

Since I have no garage it seems like it would make sense to remove the battery and take it inside to keep it trickle charged. Otherwise I'd be running the power cord into an outdoor extension cord to an unprotected from the weather plug on the outside of my house. Doesn't seem like a good idea to do that.

Thanks for your answers

Carolyn

Yep, get the battery into the garage and put the charger on it. That is your best option.

Carolyn

Where do you live? How cold has it gotten? If it has been sitting for five months or so, not charged, it could have really gotten zapped by just sitting and especially if it got cold and froze. Deep cycle batteries need some loving care to keep them functioning well. Its four years old- so a combination of not being maintained and "phantom" charges in the trailer could have done a number on it. Do what Rich is suggesting and see what you got.

Rick

Geeze RichR you got me all excited! "hands free" meter. All the ones I've ever used worked better with three hands. Never seems to be a place to set the meter where you can read it and still probe the circuit.

Jim

Carolyn,

When removing/installing battery cables always remove the ground cable first and reconnect it last. This prevents creating a short circuit if/when the wrench contacts both the positive terminal and metal that would otherwise be connect to the battery ground. There is an amazing amount of power packed in a 12v lead acid battery.

Jim

miniceptor86 said:

Carolyn,

When removing/installing battery cables always remove the ground cable first and reconnect it last. This prevents creating a short circuit if/when the wrench contacts both the positive terminal and metal that would otherwise be connect to the battery ground. There is an amazing amount of power packed in a 12v lead acid battery.

Jim

Click to expand...

That's good advice. Many of us get a little careless sometimes.

miniceptor86 said:

Geeze RichR you got me all excited! "hands free" meter. All the ones I've ever used worked better with three hands. Never seems to be a place to set the meter where you can read it and still probe the circuit.

Jim

Click to expand...

This is an even better idea, albeit a bit pricey:
Fluke 233 Remote True-RMS Display Multimeter

Raul

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am going to take the battery off this weekend and get it checked out. Also do 2 golf cart batteries take up more space than one regular deep cycle battery? Was reading people seem to think that gives you more discharges before the battery croaks so I was thinking it might be worth the investment?

Carolyn

Carolyn

Yes, Golf cart batteries DO take up more space and there is a good chance that your battery box is not configured to hold them. Others have done it but have had to re-configure/make-a-new battery box to do so. Also- it takes TWO golf cart batteries ( 6 volts each) to equal the voltage from ONE standard deep cycle 12 bolt battery. You will get more storage capacity ( amp hours) with the golf cart batteries- but they take up more space and weight. Many of us have TWO 12 volt batteries wired parallel ( positive to positive and negative to negative) which gives us MORE amp hours but also makes sure we have some battery power if one goes dead. With two golf cart batteries you must wire them in a series ( positive to negative) to get the needed 12 volts and if one goes down the whole system goes down. I'd keep it simple for now and stay with a 12 volt or, even, two 12 volts if you have room.

Here is a great link provided by others here that you should go to and read. A great over view of how your system works:

http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

Rick

hilltool said:

Carolyn

Yes, Golf cart batteries DO take up more space and there is a good chance that your battery box is not configured to hold them.

Rick

Click to expand...

I just found this out. I wanted to replace the two group 24 batteries in my new (to me) 2409T. Unfortunately, the 6 volt batteries are too tall.

I like 6 volt batteries because of their capacity. On my boat I have a couple of them and I can be at anchor, running the 12V refrigerator and lights, for 2-3 days.

I was looking at an easy way to get the needed height in the battery box without making a new one and having to reroute all the wires and hydraulic lines. It looks like it is possible lower the battery box by cutting the existing supports and welding new supports that allow it to sit an inch or two lower. It appears that all the cables and lines have enough slack in them to allow this. If needed, I could make the existing cable holes in the box taller. I may try doing this later.

Raul

You have to monitor the battery charge level at all times to make sure you don't discharge it below 12 volts to prevent doing permanent damage to the battery. I think if you read through the article on batteries you will see what I mean.

Thanks for the link to batteries.

Carolyn

Did you get things up and running? I hope so, it can be frustrating figuring out problems sometimes.

I didn't see it mentioned.
The battery tender will not charge a dead battery. It is for maintaining a charged battery.
I have 2 and use them for my antique motorcycle and car, and hilo, in a rotation basis.
The lights tell if it is attached correctly, and when full charge is achieved.
Excellent item.
Taking a suspect battery to a parts place for load capacity is the best, and costs nothing.
hth
steve

yes,your break away wire,not the steel thin cable, but the positive wire,if ground down probably shorted out the battery. this is hot all the time. check for bare ends and eleminat the easy problems first, also make sure that the steel wire is not pulled out of the brake disconnect block, this will apply the brakes and drain the battery very quickly