Charging problem. - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

hilltool · 09-21-2019, 12:07 PM

I’m not great at electronics so advice is welcome but don’t assume much.

The trailer is plugged in at the house and normally if it is charging I’m reading north of 13 volts. Batteries in parallel and I read across them. I AM getting 110 and the converter seems to be functioning as fan and lights run. Of course, I guess I do t know that for sure without disconnecting battery. Battery reads 12.59 being plugged into shore power. However, when I hook my battery minder [ 3 amp) I’m getting over 14, which seems right.

1. Is it common for a converter to loose just the charging function?

2. What is a good step by step approach to checking what Elise it might be?

Thanks

Rick

RichR · 09-21-2019, 12:21 PM

An easy check is to see what the voltage is at the batteries when plugged into shore power and when unplugged. There should be a noticeable difference. Disconnect the battery and plug into shore power, the converter should be able to light the lights. You should check the breaker and fuses at the converter if no voltage.

JackandJanet · 09-21-2019, 12:55 PM

Rick, Rich is right on when he tells you how to check your charging circuit. I think you should see above 13V at the battery terminals when plugged into shore power. Maybe as much as 13.5-14.0V, pretty much like you see with the Battery Minder.

Voltage around 12.5V tells me the battery is not being charged, but, it will still power your DC equipment and the converter kinda "passes through" the AC power to the air conditioner and such.

I had a similar problem and documented my troubleshooting and repair here: http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f28/...g-repair-6454/ I'd suspect you have the same fuse problem. I'm pretty sure, as I said in my last post in that thread, that raising the trailer/truck combination with the tongue jack put too much DC electrical load on that circuit. Again, I apologize for the shadow in the pictures - I should probably change my lens and retake them.

- Jack

hilltool · 09-21-2019, 05:23 PM

Thanks guys. As I mentioned in the post, I assume I wasn’t charging the batteries because of the 12.59 reading at the posts. I hooked up the battery minder just to see and read the 14.o and later a solid 12.99 at the posts and the minder said it was done charging so maybe my multimeter is a couple hundredths off. Thing is, I’m pretty sure it was charging about a month ago and I had the fan running for the last two straight nights and I assume my battery would read lower than 12.59 if the converter wasn’t running things. But, I will pull things apart to get a better look though my set up is different than Jack’s . I need to pull the top off the front couch to really get at the converter. I assume, though, if I have it plugged in and I disconnect the battery and the lights and fan work, then the converter works. I’ll be back.

JackandJanet · 09-21-2019, 11:25 PM

Rick, it MAY, or may not. As I posted in my thread on the converter, there are TWO 30 Amp fuses there. The last time, only one of them was blown. It's possible, if you have two also, that one of the fuses protects the charging circuit and the other possibly sends current to the DC appliances in the trailer. Now, I don't know if this is true, I'm just thinking out loud and I can't really see a need for two fuses if that's not the case.

If I'm right, you MAY get DC power in the trailer but still not have charging power.

- Jack

RichR · 09-22-2019, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

Rick, it MAY, or may not. As I posted in my thread on the converter, there are TWO 30 Amp fuses there. The last time, only one of them was blown. It's possible, if you have two also, that one of the fuses protects the charging circuit and the other possibly sends current to the DC appliances in the trailer. Now, I don't know if this is true, I'm just thinking out loud and I can't really see a need for two fuses if that's not the case.

If I'm right, you MAY get DC power in the trailer but still not have charging power.

- Jack

I believe those fuses also had something to do with protecting things from harm if the battery would be hooked up backwards. I've never had any experience with that.

If you can find the brand name and model of the converter, maybe we can track down a schematic of the circuitry if needed. I assume that your fuses are separated from the converter unlike the power centers in later model trailers.

JackandJanet · 09-22-2019, 08:13 AM

Rick - I think your last post was to me. My converter is the OEM Elixer brand. I know I've never hooked up the batteries backwards either.

- Jack

hilltool · 09-22-2019, 11:52 AM

What I have is this. No thirty amp

hilltool · 09-22-2019, 11:55 AM

Makes me wonder about breakers mounted on battery. Box. Was part of thread on this couple summers ago withspirited discussion between jack and rich. What I took from it was the converter ran through them somehow.

JackandJanet · 09-22-2019, 02:44 PM

Rick, the battery charging output of the converter DOES run through at least one of the CBs in the battery box in my trailer, but if it were defective, I wouldn't have DC accessories in the trailer either.

Yes, your converter is very different than mine. I'm not sure yours is OEM, I thought they were all Elixer brand. If you don't have the higher battery voltage when plugged into shore power, then I'd consider your converter charging circuit bad. If you can't find fuses in it, I guess I'd replace the converter.

- Jack

hilltool · 09-22-2019, 04:07 PM

Jack

Trailer is a 2001 and I think that was oem at the time but don’t ask me why I think that because I don’t remember. However, in this thread rich seems to imply that earlier models were different. If it’s not inside the converter housing I certainly don’t know where the fuse would be located.

That said, it has been raining all day and the trailer is in the driveway. I don’t like playing around with exposed stuff in the battery box with the shore power cord, and me, standing in puddles. I will do further investigating tomorrow and maybe check with original dealer to see how they were wired. Thanks for the additional tip on the battery box mounted breakers.

Rick

hilltool · 09-22-2019, 05:34 PM

Ok!! Always start at the beginning.

Got a chance to disconnect battery. Lights still worked,thus, converter works. So, as i was getting ready to reattach the negative I decided to check the the negative cable with multi meter. Ah hah! I was getting 13.5 . So something was throwing voltage at it and I am assuming it was the charger. I run two group 24s mounted in opposite directions so I can lift the flap and check voltage or jump without getting to back of battery compartment. In the past I cross Ed them with negative on one battery positive on the other. But this year I just connected both cables to one battery. So, when I was reading and not getting 13 plus I was doing that from the post on one battery to the post on the other. Right now, the “ other battery” is reading 12.6. So, tomorrow I will mess around and see if I can find where the other parallel connections are bad. I assume that is the issue, but making a simple assumption is what got me here. Still don’t know where fuses for converter might be. Thanks for hanging with me, guys!

Rick

JackandJanet · 09-22-2019, 10:45 PM

You MAY have a poor connection on one or more of the battery cables, Rick. You should read the same voltage if you take it from the battery terminals of one of the batteries or, if you read positive from one and negative from the other. I'd take the cables off and clean the terminals and cable connectors. Make sure they're tight when reinstalled.

Even if one battery is weak, the combined voltage HAS to be the same for both when they are connected in parallel. The weak battery will simply drop the combined voltage.
And, under charge, the combined voltage has to be the same also.

- Jack

hilltool · 09-23-2019, 08:29 AM

Cant disagree. But, it is confusing. I want to think that if the connections were bad then I wouldn't be getting what I need to raise and lower the top, though one battery is enough, I suppose. However, when I hooked up the battery minder it WAS registering across the two batteries. It doesn't seem it would do that if the connections were bad. So, that said, I guess I WILL start from the beginning and check it all and clean things up and see where I end up.

Rick

JackandJanet · 09-23-2019, 09:03 AM

Yes, Rick - My thoughts on the battery cables are a "stretch". I wonder if the wiring from your converter to the battery area is sound? If you DON'T get higher voltage from the converter at the battery, it certainly means something is amiss. Electrical problems can be difficult to track down, but they DO have straightforward reasons for existing.

- Jack

hilltool · 09-23-2019, 01:19 PM

Well- heres a puzzle for all of you and I assume there is a straightforward answer somewhere but it is hiding from me.

So this morning I disconnected all battery cable connections and made sure each was clean. Used sandpaper and a dremmel just to shine everything up. Cleaned all post and auxiliary connections also. Checked all 12 cells for water levels and electrolyte with one of those little bulb things with the floating dial. All good.

Reconnected everything but balanced cables this time. Battery #1 has positive attached. Battery #2 has negative attached. All connections tightened sufficiently. Plugged shore power back in. Took voltage reading. MOST combinations are reading 13.5 volts which is more or less what we want, EXCEPT, any combination that includes battery #1 negative post (and I used auxiliary posts for all these readings for consistency). Any reading utilizing battery #1 negative post read 12.82. battery # 1 pos to battery #1 neg read 12.82. battery #2 pos to battery #1 neg read 12.82. Everything else read 13.5.( i.e- battery #2 neg to pos, battery #2 neg to battery #1 pos). And, before we all guess it has something to do with battery #1 neg post- yesterday when I was just reading battery#1 across itself- I was getting the 13+ reading (yesterday battery #1 was the HOME battery with both main cables attached to it.)

So- its charging something and I am good with that. I will survive for now. The only thing I can now think of is the connecting cable for the parallel negative connection is not perfect, but it MUST be working somewhat to be getting any readings for the other cross combinations. However, I'm all ears for other suggestions.

off to clean things up. Rick

JackandJanet · 09-23-2019, 05:30 PM

Rick, that makes it sound to me like the conductor from the battery #1 negative post to the aux tap there is faulty. Can you take the voltage reading off the top of all the battery posts themselves to see if those are good?

And, I have my two batteries connected like yours. The trailer positive cable goes to one battery and the trailer negative cable goes to the other. Ideally, it shouldn't matter if you connected things this way or connected both cables to the same battery, but due to small resistance in the cables, it probably does.

- Jack

RichR · 09-24-2019, 10:12 PM

Fortron lives on and it probably was OEM in your trailer.
http://www.fortronpower.com/product/269.html