Charging?, Electrical?, Propane? Issue....

jays55

Greetings,
We are thoroughly enjoying our 2014 T@B CS, purchased new in December, 2014.  However, we've had a couple of issues on our two most recent outings, both of which were while dry-camping.

A month ago, the entire electrical system when dead on the second night.  When I hooked it back up to the car for the return trip, the trailer lights and electric brakes did not work.  After towing it home without lights/brakes, I plugged it into shore power and, once charged, everything worked fine.  So, I assumed something had been left on at the camp, but didn't understand why nothing worked when hooked up to the car's electrical.  It remained on shore power until this past weekend's trip....

This time, on the second night, the heat/water heater system (Alde) and the refrigerator stopped working.  The inside lights and propane stove still worked, only the heat & refrigerator were non-functioning.  I hooded it up to the car and towed it home (trailer lights and brakes working fine).  When we arrived home, the refrigerator was working.  I turned on the heating system and it was working, also.

This is my first RV and I have no experience with these types of systems (Alde, inverters, etc).  Charging issue? Battery issue?  Propane issue?

A few more notes on our T@b;  Always plugged into shore power when stored; battery acid level always at full; propane tank has a gauge attached; T@b was separated from tow vehicle at campsite.

Any help with which way to go on troubleshooting these issues would be appreciated.  The nearest dealer is 3hrs away, so I would fix it myself, rather than seeking warranty work, if the cost is reasonable.

Thanks Gang!

Nomad

Hmmmmm - So just to make sure of the facts, currently, everything is back working even though they started working again at two different times?

jays55

Yes, once I arrived home everything was working again.

Nomad

That is really, really strange - I personally don't know how you diagnose something like that.

jays55

I am going to have the battery checked and, maybe, just purchase a spare.  Though I do hate for every outing to now be an experiment in what might go dead :(.

Nomad

The only common denominator in all that is the battery so good place to start.

SweetlyHome

Sounds like the battery was discharged.  Odd the driving lights didn't work when hooked to the TV as they are independent of the T@B battery.  Perhaps you have an intermittent ground, this would prevent the driving lights and brakes from functioning and the battery from charging.

Nomad

Intermittent ground - That could be it, good suggestion

Cyclonic

Sounds like a battery issue to me as well, I would start by having that checked out.

JandJ92010

I like the intermittent ground theory also.

jkjenn

I would put my money on ground, too. It might be easiest to take a dealer or service center and let them research. I had a bad ground and CW in Golden fixed it - nor further issues.

JacobyO

I put the battery kill switch on my battery ground. When the kill switch is off no power is being drained causing me to lose all battery charge. But also, when the battery is dead or "killed" I don't get trailer lights from the TV. So the no lights on TV might very well be because the battery is completely drained or maybe your ground is not working properly and that is causing both issues.

Lisa33

If you don't have a solar setup, I'd bet it is due to a discharged battery (as others have said).  That would be consistent with the refridge and Alde system working again when you returned home since the tow vehicle's alternator would have been recharging your battery during the drive.  The interior lights and such probably still worked because they require minimal power.  

Be careful with monitoring your battery charge.  The 12v batteries shouldn't be discharged more than 50% to maximize their useful life.  Also, low voltage can destroy electronics.  I fried a television that way.  Pick up an inexpensive 12v battery monitor that you can plug into a 12v outlet.  

Hope this all clears up for you!  Electrical snafus are so frustrating.  My wireless brake controller wasn't working yesterday--turned out to be due to a blown in-line fuse near my vehicle's battery.  Then my fan wasn't working, and that turned out to be due to the remote control coming somehow "unpaired" with the fan.  So, anyway...I can empathize!

SweetlyHome

If turning off your "battery ground switch" turns off you running lights it is likely in the wrong location.  A dead battery or turned off T@B battery should not effect the running lights.  

ChanW

I agree with SweetlyHome. 

I think switching the ground is a questionable way to do it, unless you're only switching off the battery's ground wire, and all the other ground wires are still connected.

The ground needs to be there for two different and separate electrical systems.

The Tab's 'house' electricity, supplied by the Tab's battery, runs the 12v electrical appliances and interior lights. 

The TV's electricity, supplied to the Tab by the 7-pin connector, runs the driving lights and electric brakes, while also supplying a charging current for the Tab's battery.

As others mentioned, a bad ground connection could cause problems with both systems at once.

jays55

The battery is taking and holding a charge.  After reading the great feedback here suggesting an intermittent ground, I remembered watching small woodland creatures running back-an-forth under the T@b during our first trip where the battery went dead.  HMMMMM?  Crawled underneath this morning to look for bare wires, but saw none.  I pulled all the cover panels off to look for possible rodent activity.  If I can't find anything obvious, I guess I'll be taking it in to a service center to see if they can find any intermittent grounds, or ?

Lynda

Hey fellow T@B campers. I have an Outback and ran the battery low. How long should it take to fully recharge it?  A battery monitor sounds like a good idea. 

McCamper

jays55, have you resolved your issues with the battery discharging? I am have same or similar issues. my battery discharges during long road trip while frig is on 12v and hooked to TV and frig cuts out. After a while the running lights from TV fail to work as well. when hooked up at campground battery charges and all is well. the next long leg battery discharges gain and running lights fail to work. Plug in and all is well. Have you found the source of your problem?