iPhone charging question

KYkampers

I have done a search and not found anyone with this issue. We took our new 2016 T@B on its maiden voyage in October. We used the 12V USB ports to charge our iPhone 6SEs, an iPad 2 and an iPad 4 mini. Early in the trip, the first iPhone failed, the battery would no longer charge unless it was completely powered off, and then it VERY rapidly lost the charge. Apple replaced it in Denver and right away that battery failed in the same way. Eventually the other iPhone battery failed as well.  We have now figured out that the iPad 2 will only charge when it is completely powered down, though it will hold a charge. The iPad 4 mini seems ok. We have tested all of our cords and they seem fine. The only thing that was different is that we were living in and charging in the T@B. Has anyone had this experience, or do any of you have any ideas as to what is going on? Wiring problem in the USB port? Thanks!

Nomad

Mine all charge fine. I know there is some battery issue with the iPhone 6S that I saw recently and Apple is doing a free battery replacement on those.
I suppose it could be a bad USB outlet - Have you tried using a cigarette lighter adapter in either the above sink or bench outlets to see if that makes a difference?

Photomom

I had one outlet in my new T@B that wouldn't charge an iPhone at all but your problem is different. Are you saying that now none of your devices will charge from any power source? If that is the case it does sound like there may be a problem with your T@B. Do know what voltage your converter is putting out?

Verna

@KYkampers, another thing to look at since all your Apple products are showing strange charging symptoms is what is common that you are using other than the USB ports? Same cord? Same USB charger?  I have had to replace cords after only 6 months of use because they have gone defective. I have also switched to the Amazon Apple approved cords because the gauge of wiring is heavier in the Amazon cords, and the length is longer than in the Apple cords. I will not use just any cord, except those who are reputable and give a guarantee on their cords. 

I have no problem charging my iPad, iPods, and iPhone 6S+ in the T@B, although I can only charge the iPad from the only factory installed a USB port over the sink. 

Smullis7

No issues here.  I charge an iPhone 6, 6 Plus and an iPad Pro 9.7.

greggill

The USB charging station in our tab quit working the first night we used it. Pleasant Valley said they have had some trouble with those and replaced it for us.

Fatman1966

No issues on any of our Apple items

ericnliz

Our USB charging station also had an issue, and was replaced at no charge under warranty. Works like a champ now, I even run a car vacuum off the cigarette lighter port.

Verna

They haven't been back on the forum since they posted this problem. It would be nice to know if they solved the problem.

Hey @KYkampers, have you solved the problem?

KYkampers

Sorry, kids were home but they are gone now, so I'm back online! In answer to some questions: We have used only Apple charging cords. We were using those cords in the car and in the T@B, plus I am sure a random hotel or other outlet here and there, but doubt we had all three devices to any one place except the car and T@B. We had charged in the car previously with no issues. The only thing common denominator we can think of is we were charging in the T@B for the first time. One of our cords was discovered defective at about the same time, but Apple folks told us that could cause a phone to not charge with that cord but a cord could not damage the phone the way ours were both damaged. The Apple person I spoke with said he had never seen anything like what he saw with my phone so it was weird. We did not tell Apple about the T@B as a possible issue. They gave us both new phones, so did not want to mess that up when we don't know if the T@B is even the issue. We bought both phones in Feb 2016 and they were fine until that trip. If no one else has had problems, then if it is the T@B then it is a one-off thing. I am afraid to test it with our new phones until/unless there is some way to check out the wiring. Can't risk ruining one of them, as I doubt Apple would replace another one. Any other advice appreciated.

KYkampers

Me again. For what it is worth, I will research the iphone battery recall/repair notice to see if it sounds like our issue and let you know. But we just replaced one of them last week and they did not mention that. Our phones are 6SEs. 

Verna

Thanks for the reply, @KYkampers. Do you have anything else that can be charged or used in the USB?  A fan? I'd also hate to put a new iPhone in the USB. 

KYkampers

good thought, I am sure I can come up with something that I can afford to lose. Only thing I won't know for sure is if it will have the same impact on another type of device. Will check back in later. Do you think it would matter whether we are on battery power or shore power? Shore would be a lot easier right now since we have put it to bed for the winter.

Verna

Simulate what you had when you were charging and had the problem. Were you on battery or shore power. 

To the electrical wizard people on here, I'm going to need some help helping @KYkampers if we need to actually test the USB. Like how many volts should be there at the USB side, etc, please. 

Michigan_Mike

Here is some product information on the charge station in the trailers from the manufacturer:

Specifications

• Easy installation, professional appearance
• Usb 2.1 amp, 5v refer to your device for specific requirements
• 21v 10 amp, 12v using 18 ga. Wire or 20 amp, 12v using 14 ga. Wire
• Color - White
• Outside dimension - 5 w x 3.75 h x 2 d in.
• Cutout dimension - 3-1/8 w x 2.5 h x 1.5 in. D

Photomom

If they have a multimeter and know how to use it they can check the output voltage and polarity of the charger. I would NOT attempt to charge anything until the problem is identified.

This seems like a good explanation how. https://youtu.be/mA3xgob404o
Easiest and safest thing is to strip a USB cable as shown in the video.

Michigan_Mike

KYkampers said:

The only thing common denominator we can think of is we were charging in the T@B for the first time. One of our cords was discovered defective at about the same time, but Apple folks told us that could cause a phone to not charge with that cord but a cord could not damage the phone the way ours were both damaged. The Apple person I spoke with said he had never seen anything like what he saw with my phone so it was weird. 

Are you using a surge protector in your trailer?   Since these are electronic devices I would venture to say that a spike in voltage could easily fry/damage a cell phone or laptop, iPad, etc. (this happens quite frequently) and maybe you had some type of voltage fluctuation that raised the voltage somehow inside the trailer (e.g., while hooked to a park pedestal, bad ground on the park's equipment, etc.) causing high voltage or even the loss of a ground or voltage across the park pedestal ground, etc.  

I've seen some crazy things happen during my career with the power company and know that computer related/electronic devices are one of the most sensitive pieces of equipment and failure is eminent during a voltage surge during storm related conditions, via lightning strikes, ground related situations, or when voltage is induced across common grounds or the loss of a ground on a circuit, etc.  But with that said, I would also expect other similar devices in the trailer to be affected similarly (e.g., the TV/DVD/Stereo, etc.) if there was a bad ground connection and you might experience instances lets say of blinking lights, bright or dim/flickering lighting conditions, etc.  

I know this is a lot of information but unless something is quite obvious it may even be something inside your home, and either way I would be looking at and monitoring the voltage both inside the trailer and in your home if you cannot pin down exactly when these failures might have occurred (when plugged into a campground circuit, while boondocking, while plugged into your home, etc.).  The electric converter inside the trailer and even the Alde unit would be suspect and items that I'd check as well since these items could create an issue if one of them were to fail.  

I had some issues with my new Silverado pickup truck and was experiencing many episodes of the vehicles warning bell going off while towing the trailer and had to painstakingly check all circuits, isolate devices within the trailer, tighten connections, check grounds, etc.  Electrical circuits can create strange happenings and if you are not familiar with troubleshooting electric circuits you might want to have someone who is familiar do some checking for you.  

Nomad

Mike - Would voltage spikes etc affect the DC circuits? Wouldn't they be evened out by the converter/battery?

Photomom

As I read it, it sounds like 4 separate incidents - iPhone battery, replacement battery, second iPhone, iPad2. It seems like a pretty consistent problem, not random voltage spikes. Unless a voltage spike fried something. 

Photomom

If it were my trailer, this is how I'd troubleshoot it. First, are the other 12v things in the trailer working normally? LED lights, fridge, TV, Jensen? If your trailer came with multiple charging stations, did you use more than one or always the same one?

I'd first make sure that the converter is putting out nominal 12v. Check voltage with one of those doohickeys that plug into a 12v outlet, or use a multimeter (careful not to short the leads together or you'll pop a fuse.) Check the 12v outlet that is part of your charging station.

I assume you were trying to charge using one of the USB outlets (and not an Apple charger plugged into a 120v outlet.) Use an old USB charging cable and make a test lead as shown in the video I posted. Use the multimeter to make sure the red and black wires show 5v, and that the polarity is correct. (black = common, red = 5v.)

Unfortunately none of this tests whether the outlets are supplying the correct amount of current. In my case, one of the USB outlets that came in my T@B was defective. One of our phones complained that it couldn't charge, and the other looked like it was charging, but it wasn't. I only left the phones plugged in long enough to know they weren't charging. It's not really possible that the current could be too high, as that is determined by the devices you plug in themselves.

I know there are some temperature and other constraints for iDevices. This article has some helpful info. http://www.apple.com/batteries/maximizing-performance/

Who did you talk to at Apple? A local Genius or someone at Apple Support?

KYkampers

Some really good input here. My husband is more the science and handy-guy of the house, so will put him on this task. I can answer a few questions though: Its really hard to know about a power surge. Certainly possible, but we were traveling across country and in different places each night on shore power when first phone went out. The replacement Genius Bar phone went out almost immediately, first time I charged it. Other 12v things all are working fine. We used both USB ports in the one charging station over the sink in front, and do not have any others.  We used one of the electrical outlets while on shore power only after the devices were no longer charging, to see if they would charge that way, and they did not. We talked only to local Apple Geniuses. 
We will check out the article and do some testing and let you all know how we do. Thanks again!

Photomom

If the replacement phone you got at the Apple Store died right away you should ask for another. It was almost certainly a refurbished phone of unknown provenance and not a new one. Don't charge it in your T@B though.

KYkampers

I got the replacement phone in Denver while we were on vacation, before we suspected a pattern. It worked when I got it, but had problems the next day, was useless the rest of the trip. When we got home, they replaced it with a brand new phone. No, not charging anything in T@B now.