Battery charging

david_joyce

I’m a new owner of a 2015 320 and don’t know how to charge the battery. Can someone give me a little help. I’d be very grateful. Thank you 🙏 

Michigan_Mike

Hook your trailer up to shore power and your trailers electric converter will charge your battery up.  If you don’t have a battery shutoff switch the battery will run down in 3-4 days via parasitic drain via LED light circuits, TV/DVD player, etc.  Use the forum search function above and you will find a wealth of additional information.  

Nessmuk

Is it normal if you switch the disconnect switch to off, for the output of the solar panel to drop to 0 (assuming a fully charged battery). When the switch is turned to the on position the victron app shows output from the panel again.
I just got my Tab and this solar thing is new to me, and a bit confusing.

Nessmuk

Here are two screenshots (No shore power). Battery is fully charged. 5W reading is with battery power to trailer. 0W is with disconnect switch turned to off.
I am just wondering if it is simply parasitic draw that is why this happens. 

dragonsdofly

@david_joyce, as @Michigan_Mike said, hook your trailer up to shore power, and the converter (brown box under driver's side bench seat) will charge the battery. If you are really new to this, you may not know how. I  will assume the trailer is on your property. Hook up your 30 amp trailer electrical cord to the trailer. You need a 30 amp to 20 amp (or 30 to 15 amp [less common] adaptor, which hooks to your 30 amp trailer cord and that adaptor then connects to household current.

 Some people need to connect their adaptor to an appliance grade, high amperage extension cord then into household power. You will also need some kind of EMS (electrical management system) to protect your trailer from power surges, reversed polarity and low voltage situations.

I second Mike's suggestion to get a battery cut-off switch installed, sooner rather than later. That will keep the parasitic draw from discharging your battery every few days.

As an aside, some of us choose to keep our trailers plugged in all the time, and some choose just occasionally when not in use to do a quick systems check, charge or prep for a trip. Whatever suits your personal camping style is what's best for you. Good luck.
-Denise

Marceline

dragonsdofly said:

I second Mike's suggestion to get a battery cut-off switch installed, sooner rather than later. That will keep the parasitic draw from discharging your battery every few days.

Until you get a switch, an alternative is to pull the 30amp fuse that is on the positive wire coming from your battery. 

Sharon_is_SAM

@Nessmuk - my understanding is that the factory installed solar is attached directly to the battery, so the battery switch that isolates the battery from the trailer circuits should not have an impact on the charging.  But, with a current of 0.3 A, as you noted,  your battery is full and in float.  When you turn off the battery via the switch, you stop the phantom drain, so your current goes to 0.

MuttonChops

david_joyce said:
. . . new owner of a 2015 320 and don’t know how to charge the battery. Can someone give me a little help.

While all the responses are correct for the topics they cover, I wonder if perhaps it will cause an information overload for a T@B newbie.

The most simple answer to your question is:
   1.   Connect shore power to your trailer.
   2.   Confirm your T@B Power Center 120VAC Breakers are On.
   3.   Confirm your battery cut-off switch (if installed) is in the On position.

The Power Center unit includes a battery charger that will automatically change and monitor your battery while the T@B is connected to Shore Power and the battery cut-off switch (if installed) is in the On position.

Adding a cut-off switch if not installed, using various solar methods to charge, and accurate monitoring of the battery state . . . . are all for when you get past the confusion of Newbie Life . . . IMHO

david_joyce

Which wires are positive? The yellow/red?

Sharon_is_SAM

@david_joyce - your battery terminals should be marked with a “+” and a “-“.  Are you trying to use a separate charger? 

 If your battery is installed correctly, simply plugging in your TaB and confirming the breakers are not tripped should allow for charging.  

jimrj

+1 on what Sharon said. Also, most battery installations use a red cable for the positive side. 

Verna

@jimrj, actually, in nüCamp’s case they normally use a green wire to the positive side. To stay safe, the fused wire going to the positive terminal would be the safest way of tracing which wire is which. 

The use of the red and yellow wires in the above photo tells me the wiring has been changed since leaving the factory. In this case, the fused wire going to the positive terminal is the positive or hot wire. 

Your best friend also in this case would be a multimeter to verify which is which. 

ScottG

@david_joyce, the original wiring on my 2015 looks like yours. Red wire --> yellow wire w/fuse --> battery positive. 

I don't know why they use funky colors for the fuse holders instead of just sticking with red, but I've seen this other places as well.

A white wire with NO fuse is attached to the negative battery post.

Regardless, don't make judgements based on wire color. There are standards--sort of--but may not always be followed. As others advised above, always confirm all attachments electrically and/or visually. 

JP2558

I took a picture on my phone, of my battery wiring for future reference. Highly recommended, but be sure to include the actual polarity stamped into the battery itself near each post. Basically fool proof.

Sunny2WS

I also had a similar question regarding the battery and charging via the solar panels. I used to own an older t@b (without solar), now have a new one with battery shut off valve and solar. My question - does the battery charge from the solar panels if the battery shut off switch is “off”?  The owner’s manual only states that the battery will not charge from shore power if switch is off. Wondering because my t@b is stored in an open ended garage that catches a little sun conveniently on the panels, so in theory I would like to shut off any parasitic draw and charge up the panels via solar while it is in storage. I can check the monitoring system later but thought people may know in the group. 

pthomas745

The controller "should" be wired directly to the battery, so the battery switch "should" have no effect on solar charging. The easiest way to check would be just look at the solar controller with the battery switch off.  If it is powered on, it is drawing directly from the battery.