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HELP please Maxx fan won’t turn off— draining the battery

ColleenD2ColleenD2 Member Posts: 543
in Battery/Electrical & Solar
2019 T@B 320. So I go out to hook up the camper to go on a 10 day vacation. I go through my usual set up and one of the first things I do is I turn the battery switch dial thingy to on in the front tub. The next thing I do is go into the camper and close the windows completely and open the blinds and shades. When I get in the camper, the battery display on the wall is beeping and it says the battery is in the fives. I don’t know what the heck is going on and I can see that the Maxx fan on the ceiling is on. The fan on the ceiling has not been turned on by me. We haven’t been camping since September. We always double check to make sure everything is turned off when we leave camp and then again when we store. FYI I have also been in the camper at least four times this week and the fan was not on and the battery switch was not beeping but then again I hadn’t turned on the battery switch. 

But for some reason, the fan is going. I press the button press the button press the button press the button, and it simply won’t turn off. So then I am panicking and I go outside and I throw the battery switch so at least the camper won’t be getting power. Then I go about hooking up the camper and I have it fully connected to the car that is running and I go in and the fan has stopped. The battery shows 13 point something. Everything seems fine but no idea what the heck caused the issue that I couldn’t turn off the fan.

I unplug the seven pin from the car. I turn off the car, obviously. I go inside and have lunch. I come back outside to throw a rug in the camper and the battery is beeping again and this time says it’s in the nines. I checked the fan. It’s not turned on. I checked the refrigerator. It’s not turned on. I checked the lights. Not turned on. I checked the Alde. Not turned on. The only other thing that draws power is the EMS that is built in so I flip that out of normal to bypass. We have to do that when we Boondock because it does drop power. The stupid thing is still beeping. I don’t know what the heck is going on. I go and throw the battery switch back to off. I am bound and determined to go camping because I need to get away, but my head is about to explode. I can find nothing on this.

Any suggestions?
2019 Custom T@B 320 U Boondock Lite-ish
Custom Colors & Custom Interior
We've slept in 34 states, 2 countries & counting
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Comments

  • donmontalvodonmontalvo Member Posts: 174
    My fan only goes off when I disconnect the solar panels. ;)
    Don Montalvo | Retired Veteran | Full time boondocker
    Camper: nuCamp T@B 320S BBC 480W solar and 200ah LiFePO4
    TV:  JLUR | Tow Package | 100ah LiFePO4 | 200W Solar | DCtoDC
    https://revkit.com/donmontalvo/ | https://donmontalvo.com
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  • ColleenD2ColleenD2 Member Posts: 543
    Weird. I wonder if something happened. Off to check the battery level at Auto Zone and see it that’s bad.
    2019 Custom T@B 320 U Boondock Lite-ish
    Custom Colors & Custom Interior
    We've slept in 34 states, 2 countries & counting
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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 4,370
    If your fan is the ordinary Fantastic Fan, there is a fuse for it right on the fan.  This Fuses For Newbies File shows where that fuse is.  You also have a fuse there in the converter to pull, but that will shut down the other 12V items in the camper.
    Here is "Fuses For Newbies", scroll down a bit to find the Fan fuse setup.

    A lead acid battery that is charging will always read...13.6V.  If the battery was reading the single digits you mentioned, and that battery had been sitting in that state for a while...it may have "sulfated" enough to be damaged.  You would need a multimeter and a good long charge to get a good idea of the actual "rested" state of charge of a lead acid battery. And, then hope it can hold that charge.  
    If you can: take your time before letting someone sell you a new battery.  Some of the newer "Marine/RV" batteries are certainly a good price, but they are also about 20 percent smaller amp hour wise compared to lead acid batteries from just a few years ago.  There are better lead acid choices for deep cycle than you will find at many "auto parts stores", and of course, lithium batteries.
    You might have a failed fan switch (again, I'm talking about the Fantastic Fan). There were some great simple fan mods a few years ago that showed owners how to put in a "rheostat" fan controller that allowed the fan to operate at an infinite number of speeds.  The thread has many examples of the fan opened up to show the simple parts and wiring.  You could have a bad switch, or a bad 3 speed controller.

    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • rfuss928rfuss928 Member Posts: 1,133
    edited November 21
    The Fantastic Fans were known to turn themselves on if the battery voltage got too low (making a bad situation worse).  Possibly some models of MaxxFan are similar.
    Your battery took up a little charge during the TV connection so the voltage got up to 9.  Not sure what could have drawn it down. It may recover if left on shore power (a charger) overnight.

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  • MuttonChopsMuttonChops Member Posts: 1,869
    ColleenD2 said:
    2019 T@B 320.  
    . . . the Maxx fan on the ceiling is on.  that I couldn’t turn off the fan.

    To be clear you do have a Maxxfan that was factory/dealer/DIY installed to replace the nüCamp standard Fantastic Fan, yes?

    Things to consider:

      1)   Do have the battery tested.
            [I don't know if a very low voltage battery will provide accurate testing results.]

       2)   As @pthomas745 noted Fantastic Fans have a user accessible fuse however typical Maxxfans do not.
             For example the Maxxfan 7500 has an internal self-resetting fuse element.
             So consider removing a fuse in the WFCO Power Center [which ever one feeds the ceiling fan]
             Do this to stop the current/power drain . . . . however, if the Battery cut-off Switch is indeed in the
             "Off" position I don't see how 12VDC power is getting to the fan     . . .

       3)   Perhaps the solar panel or solar controller has failed.
             Without the solar providing a charge to the battery:
              - - trailer baseline current draw if battery switch is on
                    or solar controller current draw with the battery switch off
                    will drain the battery over time.

    IMHO, if your planned trip has no or limited boondocking stops - - - this issue should not be cause to cancel the trip . . . once the battery status is known and the battery is re-charged.  When you get home, you can investigate why the solar is not maintaining the battery charge.

    '18 320 S,  pitched axle, 3020HE; PNW based
    TV: '17 Colorado V6 Z71 4x4, Tow Package, GM Brake Controller
    TV: '25 Canyon AT4
    Adventures:  57   Nights:  399  Towing Miles 49,190
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  • BinghiBinghi Member Posts: 389
    rfuss928 said:
    The Fantastic Fans were known to turn themselves on if the battery voltage got too low (making a bad situation worse).  Possibly some models of MaxxFan are similar.
    Your battery took up a little charge during the TV connection so the voltage got up to 9.  Not sure what could have drawn it down. It may recover if left on shore power (a charger) overnight.

    Why would a fan turn itself on if the voltage gets too low? Doesn’t make sense to me.
    2021 400 BD / 2016 VW Touareg / Austin, TX
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  • rfuss928rfuss928 Member Posts: 1,133
    Binghi said:
    rfuss928 said:
    The Fantastic Fans were known to turn themselves on if the battery voltage got too low (making a bad situation worse).  Possibly some models of MaxxFan are similar.
    Your battery took up a little charge during the TV connection so the voltage got up to 9.  Not sure what could have drawn it down. It may recover if left on shore power (a charger) overnight.

    Why would a fan turn itself on if the voltage gets too low? Doesn’t make sense to me.
    Basically there was a "soft" switch on the control board that lost it's mind when the voltage dropped.  It was one of my earliest trouble shooting challenges with my 2009 CS.

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  • ColleenD2ColleenD2 Member Posts: 543
    Confirming that yes, it is a Maxx not fantastic fan. It was actually ordered and installed by the factory. We custom ordered our 2019 and at the time the fantastic fan could not be open when it was raining. I'm not sure what it's like now but the It was actually ordered and installed by the factory. We custom ordered our 2019 and at the time the fantastic fan could not be open when it was raining. I'm not sure what it's like now but the maxx fan is able to be open all the time.

    I think  the mechanism must be the same for when the battery is low that it turns itself on. That is so contrary in my brain. I'm seeing similar things now on the internet.

    I did take it to the auto parts store and they tested it and said it needed to be charged and retested. That means it's just time to replace. I'm sure it's a goner now. It is almost 6 years old.

    We are going to order a replacement battery at Costco. They are Interstate deep cycle and they are $88 but it takes 2 weeks to come in. That's about half the price as a flooded battery at auto zone or batteries plus.

    Thanks so much for your help.
    2019 Custom T@B 320 U Boondock Lite-ish
    Custom Colors & Custom Interior
    We've slept in 34 states, 2 countries & counting
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  • MuttonChopsMuttonChops Member Posts: 1,869
    ColleenD2 said:
    . . . is a Maxx not fantastic fan. It was actually ordered and installed by the factory. 
    . . . [battery] is almost 6 years old.
    . . . Costco Interstate deep cycle and they are $88 but it takes 2 weeks to come in.
    The Good-Old-Days when nüCamp would do special orders.  :|

    Six Years - - - Yep, replace it.

    Question 1:   Based on price would guess Interstate is an 'add water' flooded style battery.
                         Have you considered getting a lead-acid AGM ?
                         They cost a little bit more but can be drained a bit more and most important
                           do not require maintenance . . . no water level to check.

    Question 2:   Sounds like you still need to identify what killed the old battery.
                         Any replacement will also fail until the current drain is eliminated.
                         New battery will just take longer to die.
                         If you don't have the time to troubleshoot, after new battery is confirmed charged;
                            consider disconnecting the battery negative terminal wire(s) until your next outing.
    '18 320 S,  pitched axle, 3020HE; PNW based
    TV: '17 Colorado V6 Z71 4x4, Tow Package, GM Brake Controller
    TV: '25 Canyon AT4
    Adventures:  57   Nights:  399  Towing Miles 49,190
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  • ColleenD2ColleenD2 Member Posts: 543
    Hahahah yes @MuttonChops we broke them. We were the last custom off the line, all 13 pages of changes.
    2019 Custom T@B 320 U Boondock Lite-ish
    Custom Colors & Custom Interior
    We've slept in 34 states, 2 countries & counting
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  • ColleenD2ColleenD2 Member Posts: 543
    But that did include photos too so they knew exactly what I was asking for, 
    2019 Custom T@B 320 U Boondock Lite-ish
    Custom Colors & Custom Interior
    We've slept in 34 states, 2 countries & counting
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