Battery keeps losing its charge
I am on the road enjoying my summer vacation. I was staying at Ashville, NC and all was fine. When I arrived at Mt. Pleasant, SC the battery was dead. I checked the charging fuse in my truck and it had blown. I bought a new battery because I did not know how old the one in it was when I bought the unit. It was fine. I added an electric tongue jack before I left home. I had a duh moment when I figured out the interior lights were running on battery power because the breaker tripped in the breaker panel. I unhooked the battery when we went to the Outer Banks or NC and let it charge. When I arrived at my sons house in Waldorf, MD and opened the unit to get a few things out for the night my lights were very dim inside and of course the refrigerator was set to DC. So the batter was dead too. I plugged it into a/c for the night and the battery was back to full charge the next morning. I did not have this problem before I added the tongue jack so I am wondering if it could be bleeding the charge off the battery while it is sitting still. My truck is charging the battery while we are moving so nothing is wrong there. Any suggestions? I know this is a novel message but the history is important in this problem.
Thank you, Mike |
The tongue jack should not be bleeding anything if it is working properly, it's either running or it isn't. Does it have a light on it that may be turned on, but that wouldn't drain the battery. Does it hook to the battery with an inline fuse?
The fridge probably draws about 15 amps and can drain the battery in a hurry, especially if the TV charge line is not supplying power to the battery. The battery charge line may not be keeping up with the fridge draw and is drawing from the battery as well. Charge lines are many times under sized. |
Default Battetry keeps losing its charge
The light is off on the jack. Seems strange this just happened after I put the jack in. I have not had this unit on a long trip until this year. So from at what I understand is that the fridge is not designed to sit for a few hours without any kind of charge going to the battery and will drain the battery in a matter of hours. It is designed to be on battery setting while traveling and then plugged into electricity when you reach your destination. I am still learning about Hi-Lo. Once I get how it works then I can devise a routine when I travel and add it to my checklist so I do not miss anything. Thanks so much for the information on how the fridge draws power from the battery.
:-) |
Rat, I think your fridge is a 3-way. If so, the BEST way to run it is off propane. It is most efficient that way. AC power is next best and DC is just for traveling.
But, if you're parked where you can plug into shore power, AC is the cheapest way to run it. - Jack |
Quote:
We travel most times with the fridge turned off. If the fridge is pre-cooled overnight and all the food is put in cold it is good for 4 or 5 hours without problems. Gas works best but there are differences of opinion over using it while traveling. I have used the fridge in DC mode with no problems but I also have dual batteries that may take the load along with the charge line. The worst situation is running the battery down to the point that the top won't lift when you get to your destination. When the batteries get down that low there is permanent damage and the life may be shortened and they may not hold a full charge. |
Quote:
Thank you. |
Quote:
My owner's manual specifically states you should not run with the propane on. The fridge on a Hi-Lo will not properly vent due to the telescoping top. |
Quote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnW0...eature=related After looking again in my manual, I cannot confirm what I said earlier about the venting. I may have read it somewhere on the forum so perhaps others can chime in on that but it does state "Be sure the LP gas is turned off" in the "Preparing for Travel" section (section 12 in my manual). |
Quote:
I've never driven with the fridge running on propane, but I HAVE had the charging fuse blow (twice) with it powered with DC. The fridge holds cold well enough that things survive the unpowered period without damage. I've learned to carry extra 30 A charging fuses with me. And, I disconnect the trailer from the TV electrically before raising the top. - Jack |
Battery losing charge
Thanks Jack,
That is kind of what I was thinking. There is still ventilation even though the top is down. I have several 30 amp fuses on hand just for that purpose. This is one of the things my wife is pretty persistent about. Keeping food cold on the road and when you surprised about the charging fuse blowing. I am learning a lot about hi-lo's since we traded our Road Runner for this one. Not pulling a bill board is the best part about this. The first RV was an impulse buy without checking out other options before we discovered Hi-Lo. This is the best RV that was ever designed. Mike |
Quote:
|
Quote:
- Jack |
Quote:
|
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:13 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
HiLoTrailerForum.com Copyright 2010