12V Electrical Help! Jay Feather 213 EXP

[chlinthi]

Need some help with the 2011 213 EXP I previously owned and sold to a friend.

The electrical in the travel trailer works fine when connected to the tow vehicle and when connected to shore power or to a standalone Honda Eu300is generator.

But if we are completely on battery power, we get nothing! When just getting power from the battery; the radio will try to run on for only a brief second and then immediately shut off. The green light is on for the C02 sensor, but if we turn on a single 12V pancake light, the light won't turn on and the light on the C02 sensor will actually turn off.

I have measure 12V power in 2 locations inside the trailer when under battery power only and it measures 12.4V so it seems we have power but as soon as we put any real load on the system it just shuts down.

There is a solar system on the trailer which has not caused any issues in the past, but i figure it is worth noting for any diagnosis help anyone can provide. I did measure the 12V terminals on the backside of the solar charge converter/controller and it also measured 12.4V.

The battery system is a dual 6V system. Both batteries are brand new (as of yesterday) and each measuring about 6.38V each.

Any help would be appreciated.

[fmichaels]

I would start by checking the ground connection to make sure it's clean.

[mike837go]

Definitely sounds like a poor connection. Ground or hot.


Take voltage readings across the connections while you have a load applied. A bad connection will show the voltage drop.

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by chlinthi

There is a solar system on the trailer which has not caused any issues in the past, but i figure it is worth noting for any diagnosis help anyone can provide. I did measure the 12V terminals on the backside of the solar charge converter/controller and it also measured 12.4V.

What solar package do you have? Does it have a solar charge controller or do the solar panels go directly to the batteries? If they go directly to the batteries with no solar charge controller, there may not be a blocking diode in the panels, so when the sun goes down at night the batteries discharge the batteries... Start with disconnecting the solar (will not hurt anything) and test your batteries, this will isolate on part of the electrical system.

Also as mentioned in an earlier post check your connections to insure that are CLEAN (wire battery cleaning brush is best),spray with battery terminal protective spray and make sure they are tight. Also check the water level of the battery cells.

Don

[iplumb]

Have you checked the 30a fuse up front?

[chlinthi]

Where is the 30A fuse? Is this one inline with the + line from the battery?

We have 12V measured in the trailer on battery power - so we're getting some power there - its just once I add any load it dies.

We'll check the grounds.

The solar system does have a charge controller. I can try taking it out of the picture too.

[fmichaels]

the 30 amp fuse should be in the battery box with the battery leads. from your earlier post, it would appear the fuse is good.

[tugboat95]

If still scratching your head, how much voltage do you have under load? How old are the batteries? Could be a bad cell. They can show up fine until a load hits it. If you have one put a battery tester on it or you can try swapping them out with a known good battery.

[exjay1]

^X2 tugboat.First thing I would do is borrow a battery for testing and see if the prob stays with the trailer or with the battery.

[us71na]

From time to time, I notice that our interior lights don't work or are dim. I found the cause to be corrosion on the fuse terminals inside the30 amp fuse holder in the battery compartment. Squeezing them closed slightly with needle nose pliers and cleaning the fuse tabs with Scotch Brite seems to cure the problem at least for a season.

[Jimw606]

I learned a long time ago, when odd things are happening on DC voltage, is check the grounds.

[Doncom]

12.4 volts indicates that your batteries are not fully charged. Turn the radio on and recheck the voltage again. A significant drop would indicate that something is amiss with your charging system.