Batteries not charging???

[Ford truck guy]

Been home for a week or two... Plugged into 30amp shore plug...packed up and drove 3 hours to College Park MD on my way to Charlotte..

After the 3 hour ride , while leveling , I got a low voltage message ?? So I went inside and checked the meter and it was showing no bars... I plugged in and got all my bars back... Leveled and siting here wondering..

Keep it easy , I am electronically challenged

[Shane Wood]

Check all your battery connections. If the invertor is not charging the bats when plugged in and they are in good shape a 3 hrs trip hooked to the truck should have charged them. I suspect the bats are probably no good if they are the ones that came with the trailer

[Ford truck guy]

Originally Posted by Shane Wood

Check all your battery connections. If the invertor is not charging the bats when plugged in and they are in good shape a 3 hrs trip hooked to the truck should have charged them. I suspect the bats are probably no good if they are the ones that came with the trailer

I will check the connections tomorrow.... They are the bats that came with.. 2 group 31's..

The meter says " status FLOAT " ..and "14.3 volts"

[Shane Wood]

My 2 bats that came with the trailer were junk. 1 burnt up in less than 2 mths. I changed them both out on warranty to Interstate AGMs

[Ford truck guy]

Originally Posted by Shane Wood

My 2 bats that came with the trailer were junk. 1 burnt up in less than 2 mths. I changed them both out on warranty to Interstate AGMs

Thanks Shane... What would I look for ? Just AGM ? Group 31?

[Shane Wood]

Yeah any automotive dealer or battery shop will have them. The reason I went to them is they are maintenance free. You do not have to keep adding water to them

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

I will check the connections tomorrow.... They are the bats that came with.. 2 group 31's..

The meter says " status FLOAT " ..and "14.3 volts"

I'm going through the same issue right now, trying to decide which battery I want to purchase. I checked my battery with a voltmeter and it showed 11.46 volts (that's a dead battery). I then plugged the rig into shore power and turned my battery switch on and checked the battery with a voltmeter and it showed 13.67 volts which tells me that the converter is sending the correct charge voltage to the battery. I only use 1 battery which is currently a 28 month old Interstate Group 27 . I thought about an AGM battery but they are twice the price or more. I think I'm going to give Interstate another chance but I will buy the Group 29 instead of the 27. The main reason I like the Interstate is that you can see the level of water without removing any caps or the battery.
I have found less expensive Exide batteries but they are all black cases which will make it more difficult to check the water level. I'm still open for suggestions but need to purchase in the next day or two.

[Ford truck guy]

Well ,



Before I left this morning I checked and my meters showed as full charge... I stopped at Mc Georges RV in Ashland this morning , told them what was going on and they checked me out. The truck is charging as it should... The inverter is also working as it should..... When I got done the 2 hour drive there , I was still at full charge.. He said my tv booster could have caused that ?? I drove the next 7 hours down to Charlotte and had dropped to 1/2 charge once here ??? Shouldn't it have stayed at full charge if it was accepting the charge ?

[Shane Wood]

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

Well ,



Before I left this morning I checked and my meters showed as full charge... I stopped at Mc Georges RV in Ashland this morning , told them what was going on and they checked me out. The truck is charging as it should... The inverter is also working as it should..... When I got done the 2 hour drive there , I was still at full charge.. He said my tv booster could have caused that ?? I drove the next 7 hours down to Charlotte and had dropped to 1/2 charge once here ??? Shouldn't it have stayed at full charge if it was accepting the charge ?

Joe
You need new batteries. It should have been at full charge when you got to your destination

[mhs4771]

I was seeing a similar issue on our 36RL, and when I started trouble shooting it I found the terms on the Battery disconnect switch weren't even finger tight. Tightened and no problem after that.

[Ford truck guy]

Thanks all... When I get a few minutes I will check all the terminals for tightness...

[spindrift]

Always load test a battery before automatically replacing it.

[Ford truck guy]

Finally had time to check things out and found a loose wire.. It was the positive wire on the rear battery, and the nut was aboit 2 turns from coming off..
I think it was a tiara rv mistake, but who cares now...
As long as i am fine , thats all that matters..

Enjoy the rally all!

Joe

[Shane Wood]

Hopefully that was it. I like those cheap fixes

[Rick and Mindy]

I wish my fix would have been that easy. Turns out I had a dead cell. I am going to give Interstate another chance hoping that my battery dying 28 months after purchase was a fluke! Tried to put a Group 29 or 31 in the Redwood box. It fit, but couldn't route the cables through the sides so went with another group 27.

[Jim & Mary]

Joe
I'm redoing the electrical in the battery box area and removed the batteries and connecting wires........the black battery lead that goes to frame ground had a crimp ring tongue connector and the stripped copper going to the ground connecter................the crimped connector just fell off after three years of being loose. Point is we likely all have some loose connections somewhere.

[Ford truck guy]

Well, I will know in a week if that was my only issue... Once I get home, I will load test them and if they are a bit off I will replace them... They are group 31 ( They Say) - no name on them, just a stamp - 3/2015..

[spindrift]

Originally Posted by Jim & Mary

Point is we likely all have some loose connections somewhere.

I can't begin to tell you how many loose connections I have.