Battery charge issue

[annhudtx]

Picked up the new-to-me X17Z last night in Waco - seller pointed out the battery had 1/3 charge per the battery indicator. Asked why only a 1/3 charge since he'd just driven it 2 hours to meet me and he said he'd be running the lights on it for a few days without charging.

Drove home, running lights good running off the 7 pin connector. Got home and electric lift turned for a split-second and ran out of juice. Interior lights dead. Thank goodness I figured out the hand crank or my TV and TT would still be connected!

Wouldn't the battery have charged up more on my way home?

Best advice I have so far is to disconnect the battery and take to AutoZone, who will test it and charge it in the process. But that will potentially leave me with the same problem. I do have a trickle charger.

Any other words of wisdom?

[farnik78]

Some vehicles don’t have the 7 pin set up to charge. If the 7 pin was connected it would have enough juice to run the lift.

Your running lights are on a different wire in the 7 pin than the battery charger. My guess is either the battery is completely shot or your vehicle isn’t set up to charge through the 7 pin.


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[annhudtx]

That makes sense. Uhaul set it up so it seems like they would have done it right but you never know... And I did try with the 7 pin connected and my TV running - the 4th pin is the battery one so it should have had power from the TV. You may be right - maybe that pin isn't set up right.

[curver900]

Originally Posted by annhudtx

That makes sense. Uhaul set it up so it seems like they would have done it right but you never know... And I did try with the 7 pin connected and my TV running - the 4th pin is the battery one so it should have had power from the TV. You may be right - maybe that pin isn't set up right.

a volt meter is your best friend...

[GrumpyDad]

Don't rely on the 7-pin connection to charge your batteries. Best practice is to charge from shore power before a trip, and if your trip is long enough, every couple of days at least either with a generator or with shore power.

[jasum]

Originally Posted by annhudtx

Picked up the new-to-me X17Z last night in Waco - seller pointed out the battery had 1/3 charge per the battery indicator. Asked why only a 1/3 charge since he'd just driven it 2 hours to meet me and he said he'd be running the lights on it for a few days without charging.

Drove home, running lights good running off the 7 pin connector. Got home and electric lift turned for a split-second and ran out of juice. Interior lights dead. Thank goodness I figured out the hand crank or my TV and TT would still be connected!

Wouldn't the battery have charged up more on my way home?

Best advice I have so far is to disconnect the battery and take to AutoZone, who will test it and charge it in the process. But that will potentially leave me with the same problem. I do have a trickle charger.

Any other words of wisdom?

Why don't you plug in to electric??

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by annhudtx

Picked up the new-to-me X17Z last night in Waco - seller pointed out the battery had 1/3 charge per the battery indicator. Asked why only a 1/3 charge since he'd just driven it 2 hours to meet me and he said he'd be running the lights on it for a few days without charging.

Drove home, running lights good running off the 7 pin connector. Got home and electric lift turned for a split-second and ran out of juice. Interior lights dead. Thank goodness I figured out the hand crank or my TV and TT would still be connected!

Wouldn't the battery have charged up more on my way home?

Best advice I have so far is to disconnect the battery and take to AutoZone, who will test it and charge it in the process. But that will potentially leave me with the same problem. I do have a trickle charger.

Any other words of wisdom?

A few...

Even if you have enough voltage at the trailer battery to charge it when driving, the current flow is too low to do much good with a discharged battery - even after driving for hours.

Have your battery checked and if it is good, then charge it fully.

When removing the battery, see which terminal goes to the trailer FRAME. USUALLY the 12v battery ground is WHITE in RV's. BE CAREFUL when reinstalling the battery! Even just touching the battery cables to the wrong terminals will blow reverse polarity fuses.

Also, as you probably suspect, those battery 'idiot lights' aren't very accurate. At a minimum, get a 12v digital voltmeter and read online about batteries and the state of charge.

[ScottyLast]

If the battery has been poorly maintained; ie run down too low, neglected /low electrolyte fluids it may be toast. You may have to invest in a good quality new battery for a fresh start and peace of mind.

[Iraqvet05]

I can tell you some GM trucks will only energize that 12v charge wire IF you install a certain fuse and you used the tow/haul button. You may want to refer to your owners manual to see if there's any info on that charging circuit.

[justman]

Do yourself a favor and go get a new battery. Once the charge gets down that low, especially for a non-deep cycle battery, they're pretty much toast. You'll save yourself some trouble if you go pick one up.

On the other hand, if it is a true deep cycle battery, you could try charging it and see what it does. Doesn't cost anything...just your time.

[rodro123]

Sounds like you got screwed. Replace it with a true deep cell not starting/deep cell. More money but worth it in the long run.

[wabirch]

Sad to kick off the new to you this way, a new battery makes sense.

[JHerzog]

Originally Posted by annhudtx

Picked up the new-to-me X17Z last night in Waco - seller pointed out the battery had 1/3 charge per the battery indicator. Asked why only a 1/3 charge since he'd just driven it 2 hours to meet me and he said he'd be running the lights on it for a few days without charging.

Drove home, running lights good running off the 7 pin connector. Got home and electric lift turned for a split-second and ran out of juice. Interior lights dead. Thank goodness I figured out the hand crank or my TV and TT would still be connected!

Wouldn't the battery have charged up more on my way home?

Best advice I have so far is to disconnect the battery and take to AutoZone, who will test it and charge it in the process. But that will potentially leave me with the same problem. I do have a trickle charger.

Any other words of wisdom?

You did not say what make your TV is - on my 2013 F150 the fuse and relay for the battery charging circuit were in a bag in the glove compartment and I had to install them before it would charge the TT battery. Why Ford would do that no one knows.

[Wireman]

Is there a manufactured date on the battery?

Poor maint. will kill a year old battery, especially if it is run down and discharged completely.

Isolate your issue.

Verify charging voltage on the 7 pin.

Have the battery tested.

[29BHS ECO]

The 7 pin connectors have 1 wire connected to the main fuse box in the truck that is not live until you install the fuse for it. The mfg of truck does not install it for safety reasons, it will be in the glove compartment as stated above. That is the constant 12v to the tt which keeps everything charged when traveling. While my TT is sleeping for the winter I keep it plugged in to a 120v outlet via a 30 to 20a adaptor. Larry

[annhudtx]

Thanks for all the advice, you guys.

New clues:

Took the TV to Uhaul and they tested the 7 pin and said it was fine, but noticed the fuse was blown at the TV battery. Replaced the fuse.
Plugged the TT into the house power with an adapter and all the electrical stuff in the TT works fine.
Left it plugged in for a week, unplugged it from house, still no power in TT
Took the battery to get tested and it is good and has 56% charge

I'd say it's an issue between the battery and the TT. However, with the 7 pin connector connected to the TV and the TV running, it also does not have power. Does the 7 pin connector go to the battery and then to the TT or does the power from the TV go to the TT and bypasses the battery? Also remember the electrical stuff was working fine right off the battery when I picked the TT up so whatever happened happened on the one hour drive home. Loose wire? I checked the fuses in the TT and they were good.

The mystery continues!

[Wireman]

I'd check the fuse again at the TV.

What' there definition of the battery being "fine".

What kind of tests did they do on the battery?

Load test?

Voltage check?

56% charge is very low. They need to do a specific gravity check of the battery electrolyte if it was done already.

If you have a multimeter, measure your voltage at the TT battery with the wiring hooked up going to the TT. Fully charged it should be around 12.6 volts if I remember correctly.

Start your TV and measure the voltage at the TV's 7 pin plug. Hookup the 7 pin to the TT and measure the voltage at the TT battery with the TV running.

Charging voltage should be around 14 volts at the TT battery terminals.

My 23RLSW has a 12 volt fuse inline from the battery going into the TT. I believe it's along the A frame or close to the front chassis cross brace, can't remember for sure.

Might want to check that also. Isolating where you have 12 volts and where you don't is a process that takes time to troubleshoot.

A 12 volt test light is also handy to have to check for voltage when reading a precise voltage isn't necessary.

Maybe be more than 1 issue. Bad battery, blown 12 volt fuse at the TT.

[annhudtx]

I haven't hooked up the TV again - that seems irrelevant when the line from the house would charge the battery. I'll definitely check the fuses in the TT again - is there a fuse from the battery that is on a separate circuit from the line from the house?

Yeah, I need one of those fancy light testers - they had one at Uhaul and it was cool!

[farnik78]

Sounds like your 30 amp fuse is blown if the lights only work when plugged in to power.


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[annhudtx]

Originally Posted by farnik78

Sounds like your 30 amp fuse is blown if the lights only work when plugged in to power.

That's what it was! I didn't know there was a separate fuse on the hitch below the battery – I had only checked the fuses in the fuse box inside the TT. Problem solved!