12 V Woe's

Bill_Cochrane

Received my T@B Outback yesterday! After three attempts got it parked in my driveway; this trailer turns on a dime.  I see much practicing ahead.  So once I got it parked I opened the door and turned on the overhead light, ...nothing.  Radio..nothing.. Porch light, fantastic fan...nothing.  Hmm, checked the battery compartment the battery disconnect is on, shows green.  Switched it to red anyway and tried again. Nothing.  Switched back to green.

Plugged the trailer into the house with the 15 amp adapter.  I now have everything. The Alde panel does not illuminate without the house 120V either so there is no opportunity to examine setting on it with 12 V. 

What am I or the trailer doing wrong?   Do I have a bad convertor? 

Bill_Cochrane

Oh and I forgot to mention, I checked all the fuses and circuit breakers ( turned off/on).  Did not check the GFI

ScottG

Since you are getting 12V while plugged into shore power, I'd say the converter portion of your converter is fine.

The circuit breakers and GFI have nothing to do with getting power from the battery, or with running any of the camper's 12V devices.

Assuming your battery was fully charged, it sounds to me like a bad connection between the battery and the converter. Re-check the 30A fuses on the positive line--there's one at the battery and one in the converter panel. If those are ok, trace and inspect any and all connections between the battery terminals, trailer, and converter.

Good luck. Let us know what you find and we'll go from there!

Tabaz

Did you confirm you have a working 30 amp blade fuse at the battery?

wizard1880

Your battery might simply be dead.  It only takes a few days of storage with no hookups for the parasitic loads to drain the battery.  If you have the entertainment system and TV, your parasitic load is somewhere in the 250 mA range, which drains about 6 AH from your battery per day.  The stock battery is ~85 AH, so just 10 days and you're basically dead.

If you can, test the voltage of your battery with the main power disconnected.  It shoudl read 12.5 - 12.8.  If you're under 12v (or worse, under 11 or less), your battery is drained and needs a deep charge.

Bill_Cochrane

Thanks Tabaz.  I did check the 30 amp in the box but couldn't see one at the battery.  I saw what I thought should have a fusable link in it but I could see none.  I'll check again.

Wizard 1880, I bought the Tab yesterday and drove it home 250 miles expecting it to be fully charged.  But nothing worked.  I plugged it in all night with a very long ( but heavy gauge) extension cord.  Again nothing.  I suspect it was parked on the lot for at least a month perhaps much longer without the battery being properly exercised.  If it was dead would it still show 13.6 on the readout by the sink?  I have since brought the T@B closer to an outlet that does not require me to use an extension cord.

I called the RV place 250 miles away and they said IF it's dead it could take three or four, possibly 5 days to fully charge again.  Is this true?  Also can I expect the lights to come on before then as it slowly trickles to full charge? At least then I know it is charging.

One last question. If it is the battery and it is flat and then charged to full capacity, has the life expectancy of it been compromised?

Tabaz

Check out "Fuses for Newbies" on this forum.  If feasible, take the battery to any auto parts store for a diagnosis. They'll let you know if it has any life remaining.

Bill_Cochrane

Ok I think I found the problem but want to check on how to correct.  The fuse in the battery box is completely missing.  See picture.  I will insert a 30 amp fuse in the holder ( Polarity a concern?).  Should I disconnect the 120 V house side and trip all breakers before inserting?
Also note the green to white wire is not connected to each other.  It is only loosely zip tied each other.  I assume this needs to be crimped together?  Before I insert the 30 amp? (Love woodworking, hate electricity) to

tjandtab

It looks like you defiantly found the lack of 12volt battery problem. That is exactly how my 2017 s was after picking up from dealership. Just hook up green wire eyelet to battery positive post and white eyelet to negative post insert fuse and you should be 12volt battery connected 

Bill_Cochrane

Thanks tjandtab and do I feel silly.  My son just looked at it for one minute and said your battery is not even connected.  Just hook up.... and then what you said

Tabaz

That should have been taken care of by your dealer before you picked up your trailer. Amazing they missed something so basic.

Ratkity

OMG.. your dealer!!! No words to describe such cruddy work. Shame on them. Glad you found out the issue and it was easily solvable once you recognized the problem.

ericnliz

Glad you found the issue! Thanks for sharing by the way, sounds like you weren't in this boat alone. Time to charge up & Camp On!

wizard1880

Woot!  And no compromised battery either, phew!