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Old 09-06-2018, 08:27 PM   #1
Ram Montana High Country
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RV Battery Charger

Thinking 12V battery charger is bad - hooked to shore power and the battery is usually dead. Terminals are clean and it's full of water.

Where is charger located and how what is test procedure to determine good or bad?
 
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Old 09-06-2018, 08:40 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ram Montana High Country View Post
Thinking 12V battery charger is bad - hooked to shore power and the battery is usually dead. Terminals are clean and it's full of water.

Where is charger located and how what is test procedure to determine good or bad?
The unit is called a converter. On my Montana it is co-located with the breaker panel. You will occasionally hear a fan running in that area.

I would start by
  • putting volt meter on the battery without the trailer plugged in, measure voltage
  • Next, plug the trailer in, measure voltage again. This will tell you if your converter is working

If it is not working, start trouble shooing from there.
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Old 09-06-2018, 11:34 PM   #3
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Also make sure your battery disconnect is turned on, so the red key doesn't come out. Your converter can't charge the batteries if this is off.
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Old 09-07-2018, 03:30 AM   #4
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If you have a multimeter, set it to volts and test the wires coming from the converter to the battery after disconnecting them at the battery. With it plugged in to shore power, you should have 13.4-13.6V on the cables.. If so, the converter is good.
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Old 09-07-2018, 05:08 AM   #5
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Good info - thank you - Saturdays project if it doesn't rain.

Should Breaker panel pull out from the inside? Will have to install the Progressive EMS at the same time.
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Old 09-07-2018, 05:33 AM   #6
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Is there a smart circuit in the converter to properly charge the battery or might it be better to get a "Battery Tender" to charge the battery?
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Old 09-07-2018, 06:21 AM   #7
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how to test a battery. Take it to a store that checks the quality of the battery.
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Old 09-07-2018, 07:04 AM   #8
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Two more things. First the modern converters, like a 2017 has, have a smart charger built in. Second, the battery disconnect does not disconnect a lot of things like the propane detector etc so if you park and don't totally disconnect the battery it will die within a short period of time and that in turn will kill the battery for good.
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Old 09-07-2018, 04:08 PM   #9
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but its plugged into shore power … hence my though on bad converter. Had the battery checked six months ago - good to go but can't imagine why as many times as it has been drained.
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Old 09-07-2018, 04:17 PM   #10
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If I convert to two 6v golf cart batteries in series, will the same charger be ok?
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Old 09-07-2018, 09:00 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ram Montana High Country View Post
If I convert to two 6v golf cart batteries in series, will the same charger be ok?
No need to change your converter as long as you stay with a lead acid or AGM battery.
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Old 09-07-2018, 09:28 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ram Montana High Country View Post
but its plugged into shore power … hence my though on bad converter. Had the battery checked six months ago - good to go but can't imagine why as many times as it has been drained.
When you had your battery checked 6 months ago did you disconnect it and remove it from the RV? If yes, is there a chance you might have hooked it up backwards, even if for only a second? Connecting a battery backwards will blow the polarity fuses in the converter and it won't charge. The fuses are easy to remove and replace. Performing the steps spelt out in post #4 will help answer the questions.
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Old 09-08-2018, 12:45 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by Ram Montana High Country View Post
Is there a smart circuit in the converter to properly charge the battery or might it be better to get a "Battery Tender" to charge the battery?
If you are hooked up to shore power then your converter should keep the battery charged. I don't keep my shore power plugged in so i use a Deltran 1.25 volt maintainer that you can purchase from Wal-mart. These are very good quality maintainers.
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Old 09-08-2018, 12:48 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by Ram Montana High Country View Post
If I convert to two 6v golf cart batteries in series, will the same charger be ok?
Yes. I changed to 2- 6volt Trojan batteries and my converter keeps the batteries charged with no problem.
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Old 09-08-2018, 07:52 PM   #15
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Appreciate ALL the input
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Old 09-08-2018, 09:21 PM   #16
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you're on shore power, do you have 12V in the trailer?
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Old 09-09-2018, 04:52 AM   #17
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Hi,

thats exactly why I have changed to lithium batteries.
Zero Maintenance and if disconnected they will hold the charge for ever.
No gassing, no watering ... its just time to jump on new technology I think.
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Old 09-09-2018, 05:57 AM   #18
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Ram, yes, there is a circuit in the conveter to properly charge the batteries. And to keep them charged......when ON shore power.



But, remember it takes a long time for the conveter to charge the batteries.


As for checking conveter:
Troubleshooting


With the RV power supply connected, check the voltage at the point it enters the converter. It should be between 108 to 130 volts. ...
  1. The next order of business is to check the voltage where it connects to the 12 volt DC breaker box. It should be 11-13 volts to operate satisfactorily.
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Old 09-09-2018, 06:26 AM   #19
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Hi,

thats exactly why I have changed to lithium batteries.
Zero Maintenance and if disconnected they will hold the charge for ever.
No gassing, no watering ... its just time to jump on new technology I think.
No doubt lithium is the best battery but also the most expensive by far.
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Old 09-09-2018, 06:38 AM   #20
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No doubt lithium is the best battery but also the most expensive by far.
Yes, but didn't your sales person tell you that you will need to make sure you have $10-15K for enhancements?
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