Panel says batteries 2/3 full but no power

MikeF · 03-24-2016, 01:07 AM

Brand new 2016 Denali. Worked fine last week.

Today I went to put stuff in it for my trip and no electrical works.

Control panel says that batteries are 2/3 full, but NOTHING works.

MikeF · 03-24-2016, 01:17 AM

Everything is working ok on my generator. Looks like my batteries were dead, no matter what the control panel said.

My fridge was the only thing on, but that was on propane.

Odd thing is that stopped working too, even though it still had gas.

donzinger · 03-24-2016, 07:48 AM

Mike,

Your fridge requires 12V to operate the circuitry while on gas mode.

**wahoonc** · 03-24-2016, 10:17 AM

Those factory indicator panels are all but worthless.

I am going to guess you didn't have your trailer plugged in?

How many batteries do you have and what type?

A single Group 24/27 battery won't last more than a few days on most modern trailers because of all the stuff that draws on them; CO detector, LP detector, fridge board, stereos, etc. Even if you have a factory battery disconnect they will get pulled down in less than 2 weeks due to parasitic loads.

Aaron

calewjohnson · 03-24-2016, 12:56 PM

Before adding a second battery, I found I might get two days out of mine with the fridge and the other parasitic loads. The fridge also has a 12v fan (like a computer tower fan) near the upper vent, I am guessing to help move heat up and out of the area.

My other TH, doesn't have a fan on the fridge and I wired the fridge to the battery (fused). When I pull the 12v power cutoff, only the genset, tongue jack, and fridge are available. I can get about 10 days on one full battery.

Make sure you check your battery fluids and even though these are supposed to be deep cycle batteries, I would not let them discharge completely, it is still hard on the batteries.

Cale

donzinger · 03-24-2016, 12:58 PM

Cale, that fan is to move air over those fins for cooling. More batteries are definitely a plus as is solar...

calewjohnson · 03-24-2016, 01:01 PM

The fan I speak of is on the exterior.. Remove the top exterior vent and look down. It is somewhat out of place and looks like an afterthought. I only found it because I heard a whining sound while sitting outside watching TV one day last summer...did some digging and found that. I have not installed one on the inside, always have too much food to sacrifice the space.

Cale

donzinger · 03-24-2016, 01:05 PM

Correct on exterior placement. My last RV did not have this fan either. After some reading, I installed one and used some plastic to direct the airflow across those fins at the top of the exterior of the unit - dramatic difference in efficiency in cooling. I plan to do some "directing of airflow" on this one this spring as well. Mine works great as is, but after seeing the results on my last one...

sundancer 87 · 03-24-2016, 01:06 PM

A 2/3 thirds full battery is only 8 volts. Those little LED indicators will burn with very little voltage and yours were showing you a surface voltage only.

OEM batteries aren't that great but they work when kept charged. Connect a real voltage meter so you'll know the actual voltage in the battery.

calewjohnson · 03-24-2016, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donzinger

Correct on exterior placement. My last RV did not have this fan either. After some reading, I installed one and used some plastic to direct the airflow across those fins at the top of the exterior of the unit - dramatic difference in efficiency in cooling. I plan to do some "directing of airflow" on this one this spring as well. Mine works great as is, but after seeing the results on my last one...

Thanks! Well, maybe I will add that to my last of things to install correctly...

Cale

MikeF · 03-24-2016, 01:30 PM

I have 2 batteries thatare brand newfrom the factory. Previously the trailer was fine for a couple of weeks.

I guess the difference is that I had my fridge on propane because it was full because my trip got delayed.

Rufus-R · 04-04-2016, 02:26 AM

Hello Everyone,
im stuck, sure hope someone can help.
got a '07 grand junction 37QSL. It has a Suburban SW12DE water heater in it.
the electric 120v works fine but no 12v on the gas side. i used a tone generator and found the blue and red wires behind the control panel not hooked up to
anything. The KIB Monitor Panel Model M25VWL has 12v to the htr switch but obviously nothing happens when you turn it on.. coming off the htr switch is a gray wire.. what goes where ?
think i read somewhere that the gray wire needs to be hooked up to the blue wire

thanks

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