Power Distribution - Not Recharging Battery

Skip33BHBS · 09-16-2022, 07:07 AM

I have a 2015 33BHBS (50A) that is not recharging my battery. I have been using an external trickle charger to keep the battery charged, but if I remove my charger, the battery will go dead.

I have a brand new Battery.

I am looking for some guidance as to if this is a typical issue?

I am also looking to hear if anyone has replaced their own power center?

I googled it, but found 60A boxes but clearly want to have an exact replacement if possible...(assuming that it is the unit itself)

I am fairly good at this stuff, so changing it out is something I am capable of doing. Just not getting 14.2 V back to my battery!

RogerR · 09-16-2022, 08:25 AM

Before replacing anything I would go through the system and look for a bad fuse, breaker ,connection. In the past I found the ground bar behind my converter had never been tightened. Another time I found the battery terminal wire was corroded black enough to only let a little trickle of voltage. Others have found battery shutoff switches, etc. that have failed.

Does power work inside off charged battery? If so, look at the converter itself and it's connections to see if that is the problem.

Skip33BHBS · 09-16-2022, 08:55 AM

That makes total sense. I will dig into this and look for specifics on what you mentioned. And yes...all 12 volt systems work properly when the battery is fully charged. So, I fell like the power converter portion works fine. I just am just not getting the 14.2 Volts back to the battery.

thanks for your response!

Randel J · 09-16-2022, 07:25 PM

Could the trouble with charging be with your towing vehicle?

When we first bought our new 2019 Jayco, the battery went dead the first time out camping. I had to buy a new battery just so we could finish our first week of camping. Even when we drove home, the battery did not charge and was almost dead by the time we got home. Turned out my truck did not have the "charge-line" capacitor installed that supply's power to the 7-pin receptacle, and hence power to the battery. I bought the proper capacitor and plugged it in to my truck and voila, the 7-pin trailer receptacle had power and my battery began charging.

Skip33BHBS · 09-17-2022, 05:02 AM

Randel J, (sorry for misspelling in the header) thanks for your response, but when pulling the trailer I actually have not checked to see if the battery is receiving the charging levels needed. Because I seldom ever tow it over a 2 hour trip, honestly it is of little concern for me.

My issue is actually when it is disconnected from a vehicle, and connected to the 50A power.

I am certain the 50A is making it to my power panel as the distribution / circuit breakers and all outlets work properly.

I first noticed the issue when my A/C's would not kick in. Then I traced it to the battery where I had less than 12 Volts. With a new battery, the A/C's both worked great until the battery got less than 12 Volts.

So, Saturday is a good day for me for addiitional testing. I keep an external trickle charger on my battery and all is fine. I just don't really want to rely on that long term.

ARoamer · 09-17-2022, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randel J

Could the trouble with charging be with your towing vehicle?

When we first bought our new 2019 Jayco, the battery went dead the first time out camping. I had to buy a new battery just so we could finish our first week of camping. Even when we drove home, the battery did not charge and was almost dead by the time we got home. Turned out my truck did not have the "charge-line" capacitor installed that supply's power to the 7-pin receptacle, and hence power to the battery. I bought the proper capacitor and plugged it in to my truck and voila, the 7-pin trailer receptacle had power and my battery began charging.

I'm curious, educate me. What is this "Charge Line Capacitor" that you mentioned?
I have never heard of one, and can't find anything online.

skids · 09-17-2022, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randel J

Could the trouble with charging be with your towing vehicle?

When we first bought our new 2019 Jayco, the battery went dead the first time out camping. I had to buy a new battery just so we could finish our first week of camping. Even when we drove home, the battery did not charge and was almost dead by the time we got home. Turned out my truck did not have the "charge-line" capacitor installed that supply's power to the 7-pin receptacle, and hence power to the battery. I bought the proper capacitor and plugged it in to my truck and voila, the 7-pin trailer receptacle had power and my battery began charging.

I heard that about F150s. I bought a 2014 F150 3.5 Ecoboost (in 2016) and it seems to be charging the trailer battery fine. It is baffling that Ford wouldn't equip new trucks with a capacitor or diode or whatever when there are electrical trailer connectors installed. I would bet it pissed-off a few customers.

craigav · 09-17-2022, 09:01 AM

I suspect that the word got changed somewhere along the line and what was needed was a "Charge Line Controller" or connector. Many trucks over the years that I have seen do not have the 12v line connected to the truck's trailer harness connector.

skids · 09-17-2022, 09:05 AM

Here is "expert advice" from etrailer:

Ford service bulletin SSM 46257 for the 2017 F-350 indicates that the vehicles equipped with a factory trailer brake controller (TBC) utilize a trailer module (TRM) which initiates the trailer 12V charging system.

For trailer charging circuit to operate, the TRM must detect a trailer is connected and a brake pedal input before charging power will be present at the trailer connector. Some trailer simulator products may not work correctly in all situations so connect your trailer, apply the brake pedal then test the 12V circuit's contact with a circuit tester like # 40376 to verify that the 12V trailer charging circuit has been activated.

Randel J · 09-17-2022, 06:18 PM

At the time, I had a 2001 F150 with towing package and for years we pulled a little Starcraft tent trailer that did not have a battery or need charging. When we bought our Jayco 264BHW in 2019, it didn't dawn on me that the truck's towing package did not come complete and ready to go.

After our first camping trip with the new trailer that resulted in a dead battery, I took the TT to the local Jayco dealer thinking the problem was with the trailer. The first thing the Trailer Technician did was put a pin tester on the truck's 7-pin receptacle and immediately said there was no power to the pin that provides power to the trailer battery. In other words, it was my problem, not Jayco's.

As soon as I got home I Googled the problem and I got several YouTube hits of other F150 owners that experienced the same problem. The YouTubes explained that new trucks were delivered with no capacitor installed and showed where the capacitor was supposed to be located. So I went outside to my truck, popped the hood and sure enough, NO CAPACITOR! I went to a local Auto Zone store, bought the capacitor, plugged it in and the charge pin came to life.

Now the unanswered question is why Ford would sell a truck with a towing package and NOT install the capacitor?!? When I bought my 2020 F150, the first thing I did was make sure the truck properly charged the trailer battery when hooked up. Lesson learned the hard way

Jeff4310 · 09-17-2022, 07:04 PM

when we took ours out on first trip we lost power, it was buss bar main black wire loose, not tightened repaired, soldered and replaced reverse polarity fuses, and away we went..

ARoamer · 09-18-2022, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skids

It is baffling that Ford wouldn't equip new trucks with a capacitor or diode or whatever when there are electrical trailer connectors installed. I would bet it pissed-off a few customers.

All I could find after a quick search is a fuse and relay were not installed on some older Fords to power the 7 way plug's 12v pin.
I would think this would be a potential safety issue as that 12v line is supposed to keep my 12v battery charged enough to activate the trailer brake's emergency disconnect switch on both my RV and car hauler.

Ford marketing-
"Our trucks are equipped with a 7 way connector for towing!"
Ford engineer- (but we left a few parts out, don't expect it to be fully functional)

Keithb · 09-19-2022, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skip33BHBS

That makes total sense. I will dig into this and look for specifics on what you mentioned. And yes...all 12 volt systems work properly when the battery is fully charged. So, I fell like the power converter portion works fine. I just am just not getting the 14.2 Volts back to the battery.

thanks for your response!

Given that your rig is 7 years old, it could be that the converter is not producing enough power to charge the battery. I had it happen on a previous rig. The dc loads all worked but the battery did not charge.
If you are comfortable with a meter, you could check the output voltage of the converter going back to the battery. If it’s a 3 or 4 stage charger, you should see anywhere from 13.1 to over 14.0 volts. Check your converter manual to find the output connections.

Skip33BHBS · 09-19-2022, 08:11 PM

Guys, First of all I want to Thank you all for sharing your ideas...Then I want to say that the very 1st post reply was the problem. The Reverse Polarity fuse was the culprit. I swear I tested them, but only God knows why, how, whatever I came up with the solution that all 3 of them were good. In fact.... all 3 were now blown. Not sure what order they blew, but I am certain when I first had my issue, I did check the fuses. I am not a young guy, and have plenty of experience with automotive related repairs...but maybe that is just the problem.....I am too old to know what I have tested before. :-)

The good news is, replacing the 3 (25A) fuses for a whopping $4.99 plus Tax at O'Reilly Auto Parts solved my issue.

I apologize for simply being senile (in the most respectful way).

Happy Camping!

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