Battery Question

[krattie]

When connecting the batteries we get a spark when making the final connection. Yes, we are hooking the battery up correctly, white to negative, black to positive, before that gets asked. Battery works fine for the electric jack. Is there something on that's drawing power that would cause the spark. Or has something shorted?

[Jmooney]

Unless you have a battery cut off switch, then typically, inside the TT the radio and propane/ CO2 detectors are always on and begin drawing current as soon as you make contact .

If you are connected to shore power, then the spark may be the other direction, as charging voltage becomes active to the battery.

A small spark is not a problem and is pretty typical

My .02

[Jagiven]

Fairly normal. I like to remove my in line fuse when dis/connecting.

[WrenZ71]

There is a proper sequence for connecting and disconnecting battery's.Give this a try.

Disconnecting:
Disconnect negative
Disconnect positive

Reconnecting:
Connect positive
Connect negative

[krattie]

Thanks! We'll try it again. We don't remember seeing a spark before so we got concerned that something maybe wrong. We camp with shore power all the time but there could be a time when we decide to do something different.

[krattie]

OK, we tried it again still got a small spark but left it connected. Lights are on, con on, slide out moves and radio works. All good. We have an electric awning, does that only work on shore power? That was the only thing that was not working.

[bucko]

The spark you see is most likely due to the smoke/C02 detectors being "energized". Check also to see if you perhaps left an interior light on.

You should have an inline fuse near the positive battery connection. Some folks remove this as well, but you'll still see a small spark if you attach the positive/negative leads to the battery first, then plug the fuse in.

[RVhiker]

Originally Posted by krattie

.... We have an electric awning, does that only work on shore power? ....

The awning should work on battery power alone or when plugged into shore power. If yours is not working, the problem could be insufficient power available from the battery, a blown fuse, bad switch, bad connection to or from the switch, or a defective motor.

[krattie]

All the lights were on when we connected the battery, hence the spark. Awning works with shore power but not with battery. Will check the fuses to see if that's the culprit. Thanks all for your help! I guess the downside to always camping with shore power is you forget how things are supposed to work with the battery.

[RVhiker]

Since the awning operates on 12 volts DC, the circuitry to the awning is exactly the same whether the trailer is connected to shore power or disconnected from shore power. So your awning works on shore power, but not battery power alone. Likely that means that there is some lack of power coming from your battery. It could be a bad connection or a badly undercharged battery.

But,

Originally Posted by krattie

Battery works fine for the electric jack.

So it seems like the battery is fine. Maybe the battery has since discharged? Maybe there is a poor - but not broken - connection in the switches and wiring to the awning, so that it will work when connected to shore power (and maybe 13+ volts) but not on battery power (and maybe 12 volts).

I'd suggest starting with checking the state of charge of the battery, and then checking the wiring, switch, and connections to the awning motor.

Others will likely post other ideas. Stay tuned, and good luck.

By the way, when your power jack worked properly when not connected to shore power, was your trailer still connected to the tow vehicle? Since there is a charge wire connected to your tow vehicle battery when the umbilical is plugged in, it could be that your tow vehicle battery operated the jack, and not the battery in your trailer.

[krattie]

When using the jack it's not connected to tow vehicle. But it could be the battery. It fully discharged this winter and we've had some problems with it. Obviously. And I guess some forgetfulness on how things work on our part because we don't use the battery except for the jack.

Awning worked in April with shore power. Have not tried again since we got it out of storage for this trip, so possible that it's the fuse. We'll troubleshoot more this afternoon when we get home from work. Of course it decided to rain today, so we'll have to be a little more careful.

We are planning a few more trips this year and want the option of going without shore power.

[krattie]

Quick update. Awning is working on both shore and battery power. Could have been operator error.

[Jmooney]

Meanwhile the rest of the campground is wondering why your outside scare light keeps tuning on and off... Lol.

[arkhillbilly]

Good luck with that "fully discharged" battery. They have been known to never recover fully from that. Before I depended on it, I would go to a local auto store, and have them check it out.

[krattie]

Originally Posted by RVhiker

The awning should work on battery power alone or when plugged into shore power. If yours is not working, the problem could be insufficient power available from the battery, a blown fuse, bad switch, bad connection to or from the switch, or a defective motor.

Definitely operator error. DH pressing in instead of out.

[krattie]

That's why we check these thing at home first.

[krattie]

Originally Posted by arkhillbilly

Good luck with that "fully discharged" battery. They have been known to never recover fully from that. Before I depended on it, I would go to a local auto store, and have them check it out.

Had battery check all OK fully discharged was not the case.

[Mustang65]

GREAT!!!
Happy CAMPING!!
Don