Inverter Constantly Running

[Proudcdn]

I have a 2017 Jayco pop up that I bought brand new in 2016.

The inverter runs continually and it does not seem to charge the battery. When the camper is connected to the trailer it also does not charge the battery.


Ideas?

[Mustang65]

WELCOME TO JOF!!! The members here are GREAT!!! There is a lot of GREAT information to be found here. I am sure that you will have information and pictures to share with us... so please do!!

Is it possible that the battery is dead? What is the voltage of the battery? The main 30 amp fuse by the battery ok? Did you accidently hook up the battery backwards?

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR
Is it possible that the battery is dead? What is the voltage of the battery? The main 30 amp fuse by the battery ok? Did you accidently hook up the battery backwards?
Don

[Proudcdn]

Originally Posted by Mustang65

WELCOME TO JOF!!! The members here are GREAT!!! There is a lot of GREAT information to be found here. I am sure that you will have information and pictures to share with us... so please do!!

Is it possible that the battery is dead? What is the voltage of the battery? The main 30 amp fuse by the battery ok? Did you accidently hook up the battery backwards?

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR
Is it possible that the battery is dead? What is the voltage of the battery? The main 30 amp fuse by the battery ok? Did you accidently hook up the battery backwards?
Don

Brand new battery. Fully charged when we left. It was hooked up properly and tested by the mechanic. The 30 amp inline fuse seems fine.

[Grumpy]

Just to clarify it's a converter not inverter. An inverter produces 110v from a battery, converter produces 12v.

[Proudcdn]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Just to clarify it's a converter not inverter. An inverter produces 110v from a battery, converter produces 12v.

Yes, pardon me. It is the converter.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by Proudcdn

I have a 2017 Jayco pop up that I bought brand new in 2016.

The inverter runs continually and it does not seem to charge the battery. When the camper is connected to the trailer it also does not charge the battery.

Ideas?

No good ideas, but I do have some questions...

My converter runs continually when connected to shore power. I can tell because of the voltage shows my battery being 'trickle' charged. My converter fan doesn't usually run, however so I can't tell by sound if the converter is running. Are you hearing the converter fan? Is that what you mean by your converter runs continually?

How do you know the battery isn't being charged on shore power? Have you checked your battery with a voltmeter?

How do you know the battery isn't being charged by the tow vehicle? There is usually very little battery charging that occurs when being towed. The wiring is too small to allow sufficient current flow for battery charging.

[Proudcdn]

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

No good ideas, but I do have some questions...

My converter runs continually when connected to shore power. I can tell because of the voltage shows my battery being 'trickle' charged. My converter fan doesn't usually run, however so I can't tell by sound if the converter is running. Are you hearing the converter fan? Is that what you mean by your converter runs continually?

How do you know the battery isn't being charged on shore power? Have you checked your battery with a voltmeter?

How do you know the battery isn't being charged by the tow vehicle? There is usually very little battery charging that occurs when being towed. The wiring is too small to allow sufficient current flow for battery charging.

1) Yes the fan runs continually (it used to only be on occasionally).

2) The battery is dead (in fact many of the lights and radio do not work when plugged in to shore).


3) Battery is dead after being hooked up to the vehicle after a 5 hour drive.

[Grumpy]

Are you sure you connected the battery up correctly. Numerous people have made that mistake.

[Proudcdn]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Are you sure you connected the battery up correctly. Numerous people have made that mistake.

I am positive the battery is connected correctly. Even had a mechanic check it.

[stateboy]

I have a thought (question) because it isn't mentioned here. You said in Post #7, "Battery is dead after being hooked up to the vehicle after a 5 hour drive."

Do you have a 7-pin or 4-pin connection on your camper? I had a pop-up once (4-pin connection) and killed a new battery in a 4 hour trip by running the fridge on DC (rather than propane) on the road. The 4-pin won't trickle charge your battery or offer current of any sort to the camper while traveling down the road (it only operates exterior trailer lighting). Any appliances running during the trip that demands electricity are run entirely on battery. The longer the trip, the longer the battery drain.

My other thought is the converter won't stop running because of the dead battery it's trying to charge. My experience is the battery may have to charge on a battery charger to regain some of its life back before the converter in your camper can take over and finish that job.

[norty1]

Sounds like you need someone with a voltmeter and some troubleshooting experience on battery systems. Did the "mechanic" check anything except the battery?

It's hard to do this online without verifying some facts for one self.

[Proudcdn]

Originally Posted by 36fire412

I have a thought (question) because it isn't mentioned here. You said in Post #7, "Battery is dead after being hooked up to the vehicle after a 5 hour drive."

Do you have a 7-pin or 4-pin connection on your camper? I had a pop-up once (4-pin connection) and killed a new battery in a 4 hour trip by running the fridge on DC (rather than propane) on the road. The 4-pin won't trickle charge your battery or offer current of any sort to the camper while traveling down the road (it only operates exterior trailer lighting). Any appliances running during the trip that demands electricity are run entirely on battery. The longer the trip, the longer the battery drain.

My other thought is the converter won't stop running because of the dead battery it's trying to charge. My experience is the battery may have to charge on a battery charger to regain some of its life back before the converter in your camper can take over and finish that job.

7-pin.


It is a brand new deep cycle battery. I will be putting it on a charger tonight and testing the voltage.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by Proudcdn

I am positive the battery is connected correctly. Even had a mechanic check it.

We are talking about a PUP, so the electrical system is pretty straight forward. Since the battery is not being charged by the converter or the TV, the most likely problem is a bad battery. Take the battery to a shop and have it tested. OR connect a different battery and see how that works. Use a multimeter and test for voltage at the battery with the PUP disconnected from shore power or the tv. Then start the tv and plug in the PUP to the 7-pin outlet and recheck the battery voltage. It should test higher with the tv connected and engine running. Then disconnect the tv and plug the PUP into shorepower and retest the voltage at the battery. It should show an increase over the unconnected battery.

I'm betting on a bad battery but it could be a bad converter circuit and a missing charge relay on the tv. That would result in neither affecting a charge into the battery. Wish you would follow some of the forum's suggestion and you would be able to isolate the problem quickly.

A multimeter is an inexpensive and absolutely vital tool for checking an electrical problem.

[Wooodyii2]

Another thing to check would be the amp draw with everything off.

[ScottB1957]

I recently found the 30A fuse located by the battery had corroded terminals such that when i disconnected from shore or Tow Vehicle power, the trailer went dead, even though the battery had 12.3 volts. check that fuse. Start simple!

[DustyMojave]

What is your converter switch set at? Do you switch it from "Bat. to "Convert." or the other way when you unplug the trailer and go to using the battery? Or is yours automatic? Mine requires that switch to be changed. If you leave it on "Convert." it won't charge while towing, nor will the lights come on when it's unplugged.

[WeRJuliian]

Keep in mind that your converter is a battery "maintainer"... not a heavy-duty "charger", such as you might have in your garage at home. It's designed to keep a healthy battery in a good state of charge.

If the battery is "dead" then the converter is working hard to charge it, and that may be kicking the converter cooling fan on. In many cases, the converter just isn't up to the task of restoring a seriously discharged battery- and your vehicle connection certainly isn't.

If you disconnect the battery, and don't turn on any of your 12v loads, does the fan stop running?

I'd suggest:

* Get your battery load-tested at a shop, or...

* Put it on a bench charger for a complete cycle, then disconnect and check the unconnected battery voltage. It should get up to a little over 12.6V, and remain pretty much constant, with no load on it.

If it's holding a charge, you should be able to put it back in place, and let the converter maintain it from there.

[RoyBraddy]

When you hook up your battery again a good tip is to look on the side of the battery case and find the words 'NEG' or the symbol '-'. You have to make sure this is the lead that goes to the trailer frame ground which will be real close to the battery.

In the RV WORLD the 12V cable colors are SOLID WHITE for GROUND and BLACK or any wires with color strips in the them for POSITIVE. If any fuse holder or circuit breaker is hooked this is most often in the POSITIVE side....

This flies in the eyes of the AUTOMOTIVE WORLD where batteries are used. They use RED for POSITIVE and BLACK FOR GROUND. So most of your mechanics that are not familiar with the RV COLOR SCHEME may go by the AUTOMOTIVE COLOR SCHEME around the batteries...

Even in my trailer where some of the items installed coming from the AUTOMOTIVE world like the 12VDC AF/FM radio for instance may have their 12V leads coming out of the radio unit to hookup. These will be RED FOR POSITIVE and BLACK for FRAME GROUND since they normally go into a Car/Truck vehicle. Here you will find a Red color wire probably installed on the top of a Black color wire hehe... Makes the old timers turn over their graves...

The RV Trailers follow the HOUSE WIRING color schemes even when working around the BATTERIES.

Just got to be careful here doing the REVERSE POLARITY connections on the battery. They do have two REVERSE POLARITY fuses somewhere near the CONVERTER unit as well as there is always a 30AMP Fuse in the positive lead for a single battery install. These should immediately blow if you do the REVERSE POLARITY. You will get a quick spark when you hookup and they have blown already... There should NOT be harm down to anything if this happens... Just need to replace the blown fuses after you have correctly hooked up the batteries.

I am always running around my batteries with an multimeter when camping both off-grid and at Electric camp sites. A charged battery will read 12.6-7VDC on the multimeter connected directly to the battery terminals when you are not on Shore Power or Generator. When you connect to Shore Power Or generator then you should read 13.6VDC or higher at the battery terminals depending what mode the converter is doing. This will tell you your battery is being charged. A very inexpensive (less than $20) Multimeter from WALMART, LOWES, AMAZON is GREAT tool to always have around your RV trailer.

Something like this

Googl image

If you get into multiple batteries this tool is also very handy to have around... AC/DC Clamp ON Ampmeter... AMAZON or SEARS


Google image

ALong this line your final PLAN B to get you going would be a BATTERY JUMP from your truck start battery. But being OFF-GRID somewhere this is one of my NEVER DO ITEMs unless absolutely necessary messing with the truck Start Battery setup. This is the only way to get you back home hehe...

We found out real quick you need to learn how to do these simple tests on your own and not have to depend on someone that may not be RV Smart... There is a slight difference in things for sure...

Roy Ken