Battery's being drained

[artistic camper]

Hi I'm new. I just bought a 2807 C Classic Hi Lo Anniversary Edition from a dealership. They tested wiring, pressure tested gas & water, put 2 new 12volt batteries in it. 2 changes we had them make when we picked it up. We had them put in a plug in for a microwave and the microwave and replace 4 sconce lights with LED lights. They had it up and down 3 time while we were there with no problem. We camped for 3 days hooked to power and all the sudden it won't go down or up. We used the pump to get it high enough to get to the batteries and then used jumper cables to my Tahoe to raise and lower it. We got a volt meter. When plugged in it say's 19.5 volts but still won't raise or lower the camper off the plug in. When unplug the batteries show 8.6 and then as I watch they click down as they lose power. Any ideas? We unplugged the microwave & same as before. We wonder if the LED lights could be doing it? We leave the fridge off and fan off when we aren't plugged in at a campground. Other than that we can only think of the fire alarm pulling juice off the batteries. Batteries are new and are charging off the car but not getting higher than 9.6 volts. Mistified. Any ideas? Thanks ahead of time for you time and help. Artistic Camper

 

[JackandJanet]

Artistic, welcome to the forum!

You said you have 19.5V when plugged in? Where are you measuring this? Across the terminals of your batteries? If so, they are being charged at a rate that is VERY much too high! This level will kill lead-acid batteries very quickly, and I suspect that is what has happened to yours. The 8.6V you see with the trailer unplugged is typical of "dead" batteries.

I don't think the LED lights or other things like the alarm are causing the problem. And, if you are trying to charge the batteries in their current state off your Tow Vehicle, it might damage your Tow Vehicle's alternator or batteries. Disconnect it RIGHT NOW!

To get power to raise or lower your top, you are going to need new batteries, or, disconnect the battery cables in the trailer from the batteries there and attach your car's jumper cables directly to the disconnected cables. That way your car's battery will raise or lower the top.

I think you need to have your trailer's Converter checked. It is what is transforming the 120V Ac power at the campground to charging power for your batteries and it should normally not be anything higher than 14.5V DC.

Take the trailer back to the dealer where you bought it. I would think they would fix it for you at no charge, since it is so new.

- Jack

 

[artistic camper]

Help with draining battery

Thank you so much for your help. Yes It reads 19.5 when plugged in only. I assume it is reading the electric from the campground. I am measuring across the terminals, a lead from volt meter on each battery. Is that wrong? Should I only be reading one battery at a time? The dealership is in South Dakota gave me 2 new batteries with the trailer. I have since driven it home to Austin, TX.
You said the batteries are being charged at a rate thats to high but how is that possible? I've just been plugged into campground 30v outlets. Since I can't take the trailer back to South Dakota do I need to find a local RV dealership to service the Converter or would a local auto mechanic be just as good. Is this a really expensive fix? I just bought this camper 2 weeks ago. I really appreciate all your help. Thanks so much.

 

[Usagi5678]

agree with Jack.

My first thought was the converter has gone bad. Perhaps you can order a converter from Best converter. Then get a mobile mechanic to install for you. If the mobile mechanic for RV diagnosis your problem then perhaps you can get the dealer to pay for the new part and labor. Have the old make and part # of the converter when you order. Keep us posted.

 

[JackandJanet]

Yes, you can read the voltage by putting one probe from the meter on the positive post of one of the batteries and the other probe on the negative terminal of the other battery. They are connected in parallel, so each battery will read the same voltage, and you could get this same voltage if you placed the meter probes on both terminals of each battery independently.

But, if the batteries are reading as low as you say when the Converter is NOT plugged in, then they are dead, and probably ruined. Again, I would not attempt to charge them with your car. Batteries in that condition put a great strain on the car.s alternator and can damage it, or other circuitry in the car.

Replace the batteries in the trailer and don't attempt to charge them using shore power until you have the Converter checked by someone who knows what they're doing. It sounds like your Converter has a bad voltage regulator function, which is putting WAY too much voltage on the batteries - This will cause them to literally "boil" and dry out.

- Jack

 

[artistic camper]

Battery Draining

Wow, thank you so much!!! I will get the converter checked out asap and buy 2 new battery's. It's so great to find some help. God Bless you.

 

[JackandJanet]

You're welcome! I hope you find the cause and can get it fixed at little cost. I'm sorry the dealership you bought it from is so far away, because I think they would fix it at no cost to you.

- Jack

 

[RichR]

Jack, If they check the voltage on the unconnected cables from the converter I believe they should see 14.7 volts maximum. The only other thought had was that the batteries are wired in series rather than parallel as they should be. That would not be good.

 

[JackandJanet]

Jack, If they check the voltage on the unconnected cables from the converter I believe they should see 14.7 volts maximum. The only other thought had was that the batteries are wired in series rather than parallel as they should be. That would not be good.

The possibility of them being in series occurred to me too, Rich, but I figured that would have blown all the lights in the trailer and maybe caused other problems in the water pump, fan, refrigerator, etc. Since he didn't mention any of that, I "assumed" (always dangerous) that the batteries were in parallel.

Regarding the output voltage from the Converter, yes, I think something in the mid 14V range is the maximum, for bulk and absorption charging. That's what made me think there might be something amiss with the voltage regulation in his Converter.

Of course, if the batteries ARE in series, that's a huge can of worms. I don't know what damage that could ultimately cause.

- Jack

 

[RichR]

I hope that's not the case.

 

[tulllosdon]

Hi I'm new. I just bought a 2807 C Classic Hi Lo Anniversary Edition from a dealership. They tested wiring, pressure tested gas & water, put 2 new 12volt batteries in it. 2 changes we had them make when we picked it up. We had them put in a plug in for a microwave and the microwave and replace 4 sconce lights with LED lights. They had it up and down 3 time while we were there with no problem. We camped for 3 days hooked to power and all the sudden it won't go down or up. We used the pump to get it high enough to get to the batteries and then used jumper cables to my Tahoe to raise and lower it. We got a volt meter. When plugged in it say's 19.5 volts but still won't raise or lower the camper off the plug in. When unplug the batteries show 8.6 and then as I watch they click down as they lose power. Any ideas? We unplugged the microwave & same as before. We wonder if the LED lights could be doing it? We leave the fridge off and fan off when we aren't plugged in at a campground. Other than that we can only think of the fire alarm pulling juice off the batteries. Batteries are new and are charging off the car but not getting higher than 9.6 volts. Mistified. Any ideas? Thanks ahead of time for you time and help. Artistic Camper

Check the outside lights, there is a switch under the front if the trailer that controls the three lights, Mine was doing that until I fixed the switch with a new one

 

[oldcarguy]

Minor point (may just be a typo), but when you're plugging into shore power at a campground, you'll generally find 30 amp service (30 and 50 amp in some cases), but it will always be 110/120 volts AC, not 30 volts. As has been mentioned above, the converter takes that 110/120 volt AC input and reduces it to approximately 12 volts DC to charge your on-board batteries and power your 12 volt lights and other equipment.

 

[Beach Papa]

Power drain

My 24' has a refrigerator with a 3 way switch. Gas-AC-DC. Are you sure you have turned the refrigerator to OFF and not to DC power? We NEVER use the DC power option. We thought to pre-cool the refrigerator at home on shore power. Load up and travel to the campground with the refrigerator on DC power. When we left home with a fully charged battery with refrigerator on DC power we arrived at the campground with a totally dead battery, even though it was being charged by the vehicle alternator on the way. Make sure the refrigerator is really in the off position.

 

[javamon]

The repair shop said there was a manual switch before the converter on my 2001 towline which needs to be reset when the battery got too low. Am currently at campsite and hooked to land power. Major appliances working, but power to lights and battery is out. Do you know where that switch might be and how to reset it?

 

[JackandJanet]

The repair shop said there was a manual switch before the converter on my 2001 towline which needs to be reset when the battery got too low. Am currently at campsite and hooked to land power. Major appliances working, but power to lights and battery is out. Do you know where that switch might be and how to reset it?

It sounds like your Master Switch may still be in the position it was when you raised the top upon arrival. The Master Switch is next to the Lift/Lower switch. It is a 3-position switch. Move it to the opposite side. One side enables the Lift/Lower device, the center position disables everything except the refrigerator for travel, and the other side is for camping, which enables the lights, fans, furnace, etc.

- Jack

 

[javamon]

It sounds like your Master Switch may still be in the position it was when you raised the top upon arrival. The Master Switch is next to the Lift/Lower switch. It is a 3-position switch. Move it to the opposite side. One side enables the Lift/Lower device, the center position disables everything except the refrigerator for travel, and the other side is for camping, which enables the lights, fans, furnace, etc.

- Jack

Good guess, but no. The lights were running fine until they drained the battery. The wiring schematics show a manual switch in front of the converter. Just can’t seem to trigger it

 

[JackandJanet]

I've never heard of the switch you are talking about, or seen it in any of the circuit diagrams we have in the reference section of this forum. The other guess I'm going to make is that one or both of the 30 Amp fuses IN the converter circuitry have blown. If this happens, the converter will not deliver a charge to the battery and it will drain, but, the converter still delivers 120V AC power to the wall outlets and the appliances that use AC power.

If you have an Elixir converter, these fuses may NOT be in the fuse panel. They are hidden behind the panel and are inline fuses in the wiring there. Here's a link to the thread I posted where I found and replaced my fuses: https://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f28/converter-troubleshooting-and-repair-6454/

- Jack

 

[javamon]

Thanks for the ideas! I’ll check them out when I get to home base.

 

[javamon]

Found a 30 amp inline fuse in battery compartment. It was good. Could that be the fuse you were referencing?

 

[JackandJanet]

Found a 30 amp inline fuse in battery compartment. It was good. Could that be the fuse you were referencing?

No, I think that might be one for the power tongue jack, if you have that option. The fuses I am talking about are kind of "inside" the converter. I found them under and behind the fuse panel that you see when you open the access panel to it.

- Jack