Battery Issue - Page 2

RAMN8TER · 11-18-2014, 12:25 PM

AA,
I have very strong lights when plugged in to shore power. The slides work, as does the fridge. I haven't tried the leveling jacks yet. I'll do that when I go home this afternoon.
I'll also check where my inverter is and see if it is firmly plugged in. I'm hoping I won't have to tear down the bulkhead to get to it.
I'll also check the fuses associated with the convertor (4 of them) and, if I understand Dave correctly, the ones on the inverter.
Wish I didn't have to work today!
I'll let you know of my progress. If you come up with anything, please don't hesitate.
Thanks,
Jack

spindrift · 11-18-2014, 01:17 PM

Just to be clear...
A converter changes AC power to DC power.
An inverter changes DC power to AC power.

An inverter was an option at the time of our purchase. Most of us, I believe, have converters. The converter is what charges the battery. It too has fuses, and a dip switch that allows for use with different type batteries.

johnboytoo · 11-18-2014, 01:50 PM

Not sure if this could be a factor, and I'm sure you already did this,
but did you check your battery disconnect switch ?

Is it on or off ?

good luck !

**piper guy** · 11-18-2014, 02:09 PM

John - good point. If the disconnect switch is off, there shouldn't be any way to charge the batteries. Although if it is wired as a total disconnect I'm not sure lights would work either. I'll have to try mine next time it's hooked to shore power ( I retired mine two years ago so that everything is off when the switches are off. I also added a second switch so that I could isolate the second battery)

RAMN8TER · 11-18-2014, 02:11 PM

I double checked the battery disconnect switch. It is definitely in the on position.
I can't wait until I get off this afternoon to continue troubleshooting!

**Dave&Ginny** · 11-18-2014, 03:23 PM

I would recommend for everyone buying and carrying with them a good battery charger. There's been a few times where I've had to use mine

mhs4771 · 11-18-2014, 03:25 PM

Another thing to check with regard to the Bat Disconnect Switch. Check the cables attached to it and make sure they're tight. We were having strange battery indications on our recent Alaska trip and traced it to the studs in the switch, nuts used to hold the cable on the studs were about ready to fall off, resulting in very intermittent connections.

**Dave&Ginny** · 11-18-2014, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhs4771

Another thing to check with regard to the Bat Disconnect Switch. Check the cables attached to it and make sure they're tight. We were having strange battery indications on our recent Alaska trip and traced it to the studs in the switch, nuts used to hold the cable on the studs were about ready to fall off, resulting in very intermittent connections.

That's a great point...Didn't someone on here have a problem with a bad battery connector? and someone else had a problem a while back with the buz bar having loose connectors.

**hoosierguy** · 11-18-2014, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

That's a great point...Didn't someone on here have a problem with a bad battery connector? and someone else had a problem a while back with the buz bar having loose connectors.

A couple of years ago, I checked all of the connections at the buss bars and found that some of the nuts were only finger tight.

RAMN8TER · 11-18-2014, 04:52 PM

Guy,
The bus bar you are referring to; is that the one that is attached to the bulkhead right above where the batteries are?
-Jack

MZWoody · 11-18-2014, 06:28 PM

That's exactly what happened to our 2 month old 2015 36RL. After spending hours on the phone with Magnum Tech trying to figure out why the inverter wouldn't work longer than 10 minutes I was told to check the Batteries. I took the batteries out to find one was completely dry and the other had one dry cell. I filled them up (with distilled H20)and they got hot and had a rotten egg smell. Lazy days told me they were Interstate Batteries and they had a one year replacement warranty and I could return them directly to Interstate. They looked like OEM Interstate battery with no marking's of any kind on them except a date code. I took them to a interstate dealer and was told they were from 2012 and were not Interstate Batteries their 29 Group style batteries are black not white with green top. These were bad so I replaced them and everything works great that was the whole problem. The next problem is trying to get my money back from Lazydays we'll see nothing as of yet.

RAMN8TER · 11-18-2014, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trfield58

Again, I would verify AC power feed to the converter is good first and then if that is good, yes, it would seem the "charging" portion of the converter is bad..???....

Tim,
Ok...dumb question...what is the best way to verify if AC Power is being fed to the converter. I have a multimeter and am ready to go attack!

RAMN8TER · 11-18-2014, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atom ant

Jack,

When plugged in, our voltmeter has all lights lit up, regardless of condition of the batteries. It's purely just a voltmeter that will read the charging voltage off the converter. If you aren't charging, it is most likely just a breaker or fuse as others have said. They have both 110VAC supply and then a batch of 12V fuses, breakers. If you have good strong interior lighting when plugged in, the 110VAC side should be working. If they are weak, you probably lost AC to the converter as others have said.

I noticed today that when I had the batteries out of the RW being charged, I had no lights and the fridge was off as well (getting it ready for this weekend). Does that just support even more AA what you said above??
Thanks.

spindrift · 11-18-2014, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAMN8TER

Tim,
Ok...dumb question...what is the best way to verify if AC Power is being fed to the converter. I have a multimeter and am ready to go attack!

The converter will have terminals for AC "in" and DC "out". You'll need a multimeter to check for 120VAC and around 13.25-13.5VDC. Check the fuses on the converter while you're in there. Just to be safe, check the breaker in the panel to make sure it's in the closed, or "on", position.

RAMN8TER · 11-18-2014, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spindrift

The converter will have terminals for AC "in" and DC "out". You'll need a multimeter to check for 120VAC and around 13.25-13.5VDC. Check the fuses on the converter while you're in there. Just to be safe, check the breaker in the panel to make sure it's in the closed, or "on", position.

Got it. Now for the fun part...taking down the bulkhead to get to the converter...

Thanks!

spindrift · 11-18-2014, 11:49 PM

They use, at least on ours, Robertson screws...a real pain in the next if you don't have the right tool. If you don't have Robertson tools, get the darn things out and replace with regular screws of the same size. It will save you time when you need to get in there when something else breaks.

RAMN8TER · 11-18-2014, 11:51 PM

I'm so looking forward to this...in 28 degree weather!

spindrift · 11-18-2014, 11:53 PM

Don't worry...it's a small space. Your body heat will keep it warm.

RAMN8TER · 11-19-2014, 12:02 AM

That's what my wife said as well!

**hoosierguy** · 11-19-2014, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAMN8TER

Guy,
The bus bar you are referring to; is that the one that is attached to the bulkhead right above where the batteries are?
-Jack

Yes. On my 2012 36RL there is a two sectioned bus bar, above and to the right of the battery location, with several 6 GA. wires connect to one side and individual circuit leads coming off the other side. Be sure to check the nuts on the bus bar studs. There seem to be two nuts on each stud and in some cases you may have to take off the top nut, remove the leads and tighten the bottom nut, then reconnect the leads and put the top nut back on.

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