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Battery fully charged, no power inside

tonygebelytonygebely Member Posts: 17
in Battery/Electrical & Solar
My 2018 Tab400's AGM battery reads ~13 volts, the battery disconnect is switched to the "on" position, and I am getting zero power in the unit and the battery meter at the panel isn't showing any signs of life either. This has happened one other time since we have owned the unit, and it randomly started working with no intervention from me. I'm unsure how to proceed, has anyone else experienced this?





Any help would be much appreciated, thank you!

Tony


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Comments

  • ScottGScottG Administrator Posts: 5,557
    A blown main fuse--or a tripped main breaker in the case of the 400--would be my first suspicion. However, those things don't tend to fix themselves without intervention.
    2015 T@B S

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  • tonygebelytonygebely Member Posts: 17
    ScottG said:
    A blown main fuse--or a tripped main breaker in the case of the 400--would be my first suspicion. However, those things don't tend to fix themselves without intervention.

    Thanks Scott, the main breaker in the main black breaker box by the bed is not currently tripped, that was the first thing I checked. And everything works when on shore power. I'm thinking it has to be some sort of wiring issue surrounding the battery itself.
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited December 2021
    Next to the Battery cutoff switch is another DC breaker. That is easy to trip if it is bumped.  Check that breaker and make sure it is set correctly, as it will prevent any DC power to go to the power distribution panel.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,987
    You have: battery fuses in a little holder off the positive battery cable.  Follow that cable and find another "Gloso" circuit breaker. (This is probably what Denny16 is pointing to.)
    A picture of the breaker in this thread:

    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • tonygebelytonygebely Member Posts: 17
    @Denny16 and @pthomas745 thanks for the direction! I checked all around and even followed the wires up into the unit and there is no breaker to be found:



    I think I'm going to take the batter shutoff switch apart and see if I have voltage there, and if not, I'm going to clean the battery posts and reattach everything.

    Tony
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  • tonygebelytonygebely Member Posts: 17
    @Denny16 and @pthomas745 when I took the battery disconnect off the wall, there are two bolts on the back, I get zero V when the battery is switched to "on" and 10.45V when the battery is switched to "off."

    I'd replace the main breaker, but everything works when on shore power, so wouldn't that mean the main breaker is not an issue?
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  • tonygebelytonygebely Member Posts: 17
    Found the fuse, it was wedged in between the battery and a 2x4 supporting the bed, and it's melted to the plastic housing! When I was playing with it, the power kicked on and off in the unit briefly. I'll report back once I'm able to replace this sucker:

    I'


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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited December 2021
    Edit: Grand, we were posting at the same time, and I just saw your response.  You might want to replace that fuse with a 40A DC circuit breaker, like nüCamp is currently using.

    Correct main breaker in the Waco distribution panel is not likely the issue.  Do you have a factory installed inverter?  What month/ year is your 2018 TaB build?
    My Jan 2018 TaB has the DC breaker right next to the switch.  I see yours does not.  
    Sounds like your battery is not fully charged, or has failed.  Our original 2018 TaB battery, similar to yours, died after 2 yrs of use.  These original 2018 TaB400 batteries have a history of issues and early failures.  Your battery terminals also look like they need a good cleaning, and some conductive grease applied after you clean them up.  Then reconnect everything and see if the Waco will recharge the battery.

    To get an accurate battery voltage reading, you need to switch off the main battery disconnect, and read the battery directly after waiting at least 15 miners to an hour (rested battery state).  This will give you an accurate voltage reading.
    cheers 



    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • tonygebelytonygebely Member Posts: 17
    Solution: I replaced the 30A fuse on the line from the battery, it was wedged underneath the 2x4 holding up the bed, so at first, I couldn't find it. I also cleaned the battery posts and connectors and added some conductive grease. Once I reconnected the battery, everything has been working (so far). We're going camping in Pisgah this weekend, so I'm hoping this was a solid solution! Thanks all for your help and have a wonderful weekend!
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,760
    @tonygebely - IIRC the original, single AGM batteries were found to require a 40 amp circuit breaker.  If the battery becomes severely depleted, the higher charge was found to blow the fuse.  Who remembers that?
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited December 2021
    My 2180 TaB400 has the Gloso 40A circuit breaker between the battery switch and the load (Watco panel) connection.  I forgot about the old 30 amp. fuse, until I saw Tony’s post finding the blown fuse.  Having this fuse next to a bit of wood framing is also a bad idea, overheating could cause a fire.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • tonygebelytonygebely Member Posts: 17
    @Sharon_is_SAM and @Denny16 where is the 40A guidance coming from? I feel I should verify before swapping out the 30A with a 40A. Thanks and happy Friday!
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  • dragonsdoflydragonsdofly Member Posts: 1,927
    edited December 2021
    @tonygebely, the change came from nüCamp. The t@b 400's manufactured after yours now have a 40A fuse or breaker in that position. The heavily discharged AGM batteries in the 400 will draw more than 30A through that junction in the charging process. Think of it this way: an extremely thirsty person, when given something to drink, will pull so hard that they collapse the straw in the drink. A much bigger straw is necessary for the extremely thirsty person to get enough liquid through the straw to satisfy their thirst. The same is true of the larger capacity batteries when they are depleted. They need greater capacity in able to charge properly. This was a lesson learned by nüCamp early in the production of the 400's. Since the early models (2018) they have been produced with the 40A in place to allow adequate charging without the damage you experienced. Good luck with your upgrade project. You may also want to check your wire gage at the new 40A location. Sufficient gage to carry the increased draw is also necessary for the system not to be overtaxed.
    2017 t@b sofitel(Dr@gonsFly)TV 2015 Silverado 2500hd(Behemoth). Wyandotte, Michigan.
    Draco dormiens numquam titilandus.
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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,987
    edited December 2021
    @tonygebely When the 400 first showed up around 2017 with the big dual battery AGM setup, there were trailers that the dealers had let the batteries discharge while they sat waiting to be sold.  So, owners were driving them home, plugging them in to charge the battery....and blowing the 30 amp battery fuses. The charge current needed to charge the big battery bank overwhelmed the fuse.  Newer 400's have a large circuit breaker, the Gloso 40 amp breaker brought up in this thread.  I'm not sure if the first year or so had the Gloso breaker.  In this thread, there is a long discussion about this as new 400 owners and the rest of the Forum/NuCamp came to figure out this problem.  40 amp fuses as replacements for the battery fuses are recommended in several comments after discussions with NuCamp.  About midway through the thread NuCamp sent one owner a Gloso circuit breaker to install, which might be the first appearance of the breaker on the Forum.

    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited May 2022
    @pthomas745 the dual 6-volt AGM was not used in the original TaB400s built in 2017, the original 400s up through Mar 2018 had a large single 12VDC AGM 220 amp battery.  The Gloso 40amp circuit breaker was added sometime in the 2017 mid run, with the first TaB400 having the 30amp fuse setup shown here.

    The battery on the early TaB400s was mounted under the Pax side of the rear bunk, in the outdoor storage area up next to the front bulkhead.  This where the Battery cutoff switch was located, and later the     Gloso 40amp circuit breaker was placed next to the cutoff switch.  This was plywood cover on the end and top the battery, where it came into the center area of the under-bunk storage area. After Jan. 2018, until the dual AGM battery setup change was made on 2019 400s, the single AGM battery was put into a black plastic box, vented to the outside, and the plywood cover eliminated.  See photo below:

    A late 2018 TaB400 battery (after Jan 2018) in the black box.  Previously, the battery was covered by a plywood cover shown in OP’s photos above.  Note this is when the little black battery distribution box was added.  The small wires running back along the bottom of the battery go to the battery cutoff switch back in the rear storage area.  Under the plywood floor shown, are the water,pipes and return power wires from the cutoff switch to the Waco Power distribution panel.  The under bunk storage area had a false floor to cover this.  
    The red arrow shows the AIMS inverter connected directly to the battery with a large inline fuse (blue arrow).
     Cheers 
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,987
    @Denny16 thanks for sorting out the battery timeline!

    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    No worries Thomas…
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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