Electrical Gremlins

[Guido Gamil]

Hey y'alls,

I have tried searching threads to see if someone has had similar gremlins that I am currently experiencing but not finding it. We have a 2015 Glacier Peak 26CIS 5th wheel that we have had for about a year now. After winterizing this fall, I plugged in to shore power in a dry storage. I did not have anything on and did not turn the battery switch off. (that is how I stored it last winter without any issues).

About a month ago I went to check on her and found that nothing was coming on in the unit, no lights, nada! I was able to get the jacks to work but only plugged into my tow vehicle. I checked the batteries with a volt meter and both were dead, less than 1 volt. I took batteries out and tried to charge them fearing they were gone, got them charged but took them to auto zone and had them tested. They were fried so I replaced with two new batteries, installed, and everything seemed to come back. (I had read somewhere that if your batteries are dead the 120 system will not work).

After 3-4 weeks I checked again over Thanksgiving holiday to find my batteries were dead again after being plugged in to shore power. Fridge and heat are off, nothing was left on. (I found both of the 40amp fuses in fuse box had blown). In the mean time I slow charged the batteries, replaced both fuses and everything seemed to work except AC and heat as the thermostat does not come on. I have 12V power to the stat but the digital display does not come on thus the heater will not come on either. All fuses check out ok.

I suspect the core problem has something to do with the batteries not charging. Any one have any thoughts you can share?

[Bob_C]

Check batteries without it being plugged in, with a voltmeter, after letting it set for a bit, then plug back in again and see, using meter again, if voltage is being increased......if not, charger part of converter has quit......Boondockers have replacement units and you can change up to a 4 stage charger.......

[twinboat]

If its only the T stat not working now, does it have AA batteries in it ?

[Guido Gamil]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Check batteries without it being plugged in, with a voltmeter, after letting it set for a bit, then plug back in again and see, using meter again, if voltage is being increased......if not, charger part of converter has quit......Boondockers have replacement units and you can change up to a 4 stage charger.......

Good idea Bob, thank you. I hadn't thought of that but unfortunately I am back home and RV is in storage 2 and half hours away. I am trying to get some ideas on what to look for and hope to get back to it in a week or two. If charger part of converter has quit, what are options?

[Guido Gamil]

Originally Posted by twinboat

If its only the T stat not working now, does it have AA batteries in it ?

Twinboat, thank you, but on my T stat there is no battery to change. I checked voltage coming into it on the fuse, and on the red and white wires going to the circuit board, both are registering slightly over 12 volts with or without battery switch on. So I suspect the digital part of the T stat gets enough voltage from the 12v side to power the digital readout.

[egwilly]

In that year, when you fire up the converter/charger, you should see positive voltage flowing to the batteries. You should be hearing the charger fan running inside the trailer as well, especially if the batts are depleted.

I think you have a converter/charger issue.

Check all the fuses in the panel. Check both sides of everything in that panel with a volt meter. That will help isolate the problem. You want to see more than 12 volts. More like 13.2V when charging.

Check the batt disconnect switch as well.

If your batteries are just 12.0 Volts, they're dead. Any thoughts on the blown fuses you discovered? You could have a slow current to ground somewhere.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Guido Gamil

Hey y'alls,

I have tried searching threads to see if someone has had similar gremlins that I am currently experiencing but not finding it. We have a 2015 Glacier Peak 26CIS 5th wheel that we have had for about a year now. After winterizing this fall, I plugged in to shore power in a dry storage. I did not have anything on and did not turn the battery switch off. (that is how I stored it last winter without any issues).

About a month ago I went to check on her and found that nothing was coming on in the unit, no lights, nada! I was able to get the jacks to work but only plugged into my tow vehicle. I checked the batteries with a volt meter and both were dead, less than 1 volt. I took batteries out and tried to charge them fearing they were gone, got them charged but took them to auto zone and had them tested. They were fried so I replaced with two new batteries, installed, and everything seemed to come back. (I had read somewhere that if your batteries are dead the 120 system will not work).

After 3-4 weeks I checked again over Thanksgiving holiday to find my batteries were dead again after being plugged in to shore power. Fridge and heat are off, nothing was left on. (I found both of the 40amp fuses in fuse box had blown). In the mean time I slow charged the batteries, replaced both fuses and everything seemed to work except AC and heat as the thermostat does not come on. I have 12V power to the stat but the digital display does not come on thus the heater will not come on either. All fuses check out ok.

I suspect the core problem has something to do with the batteries not charging. Any one have any thoughts you can share?

You mentioned Two 40 amp breakers. They are reverse Polarity fuses. Your battery was hooked up backwards. Look for an inline reset-able fuse within 6' of the battery.

[CosmikDebris]

I thought about batteries wired backwards too, but using it for a year, then winterizing it, doesn't explain how they got that way.
Had they been removed or disconnected?

[cavie]

Originally Posted by CosmikDebris

I thought about batteries wired backwards too, but using it for a year, then winterizing it, doesn't explain how they got that way.
Had they been removed or disconnected?

Not getting the complete story.

[Guido Gamil]

Originally Posted by egwilly

In that year, when you fire up the converter/charger, you should see positive voltage flowing to the batteries. You should be hearing the charger fan running inside the trailer as well, especially if the batts are depleted.

I think you have a converter/charger issue.

Check all the fuses in the panel. Check both sides of everything in that panel with a volt meter. That will help isolate the problem. You want to see more than 12 volts. More like 13.2V when charging.

Check the batt disconnect switch as well.

If your batteries are just 12.0 Volts, they're dead. Any thoughts on the blown fuses you discovered? You could have a slow current to ground somewhere.

Thank you. I am hoping to take all of this info back with me and do all of these things. As I mentioned, I am currently living about 3 hours away from the RV so I want to take what I can glean from all of this and hopefully figure it out in the next couple of weeks.

Can you suggest how to check the bat disconnect switch? When stored on shore power, is it recommended to store with the bat switch on or off? I stored it all last winter winterized in dry storage, hooked up to shore power, with bat switch left in on position and had zero problems. This winter after winterizing I did the same only to discover the batteries completely dead.

All fuses in fuse box were fine except both of the 40amps were blown. When I get back to it in a couple of weeks I will try testing to see if batteries do charge while plugged in. Is there a definitive test I can run myself to see if converter/charger is bad? Thank you.

[Guido Gamil]

Originally Posted by cavie

You mentioned Two 40 amp breakers. They are reverse Polarity fuses. Your battery was hooked up backwards. Look for an inline reset-able fuse within 6' of the battery.

Originally Posted by CosmikDebris

I thought about batteries wired backwards too, but using it for a year, then winterizing it, doesn't explain how they got that way.
Had they been removed or disconnected?

Cavie and Cosmic thank you. The complete story is I have not touched any wiring from when I originally purchased this unit. I bought last winter in AZ spent a few nights in it on way back to Colorado, winterized it put inside my shop, hooked up to shore power and took it out on three trips this summer then repeat. I checked on it over Veterans weekend to find nothing in the unit worked so that is when I discovered the batteries dead as can be.

That is when I took the batteries out, had them checked to discover they were both dead. Then I replaced with two new ones and everything came back to life. Nothing was wired differently when they went back in, just plug and play. I failed to test the furnace at that time but when I checked on it over Thanksgiving nothing came on even plugged in so after reading thru RV threads I learned that if your batteries are dead then the 120v side won't work either. I disconnected both batteries to find them both dead.

I slow charged both of them overnite and they came back to about 12.1 so I then put them on trickle charges for another 24 hours, then put back on line and the 120v side of things came back. I decided to check the heater and AC and that is when I discovered both of the 40amp fuses blown and the digital display on T stat was not registering. I took the cover off expecting to find a replaceable battery but there is none. So I tested on voltage on both sides of the fuse in T stat and it was showing 12.3v. I replaced both 40 amp fuses and checked every single fuse in fuse box. T stat display will not come on.

Long story short, I had to head back to NM to work so I left RV plugged in to shore power with battery switch in off position hoping I might figure out what to look for when I go back in a few days. If anything was hooked up backwards I bought it that way. When I put the two new batteries in everything came back to life but again I failed to check the T stat at that time and also failed to see if batteries were charging. I made the assumption they were.

In a nutshell, two working batteries failed while plugged in to shore power after they worked flawlessly all summer. Then 2 new batteries were installed that completely decharged over a three week period with RV plugged in to shore power with nothing in the unit except battery switch being in on position. In between uses this summer, RV was stored in dry storage and plugged in the same way it was all winter and as it is now. That is the whole story, nothing but the story!

Thanks in advance for any further insight.

[egwilly]

Originally Posted by Guido Gamil

Thank you. I am hoping to take all of this info back with me and do all of these things. As I mentioned, I am currently living about 3 hours away from the RV so I want to take what I can glean from all of this and hopefully figure it out in the next couple of weeks.

Can you suggest how to check the bat disconnect switch? When stored on shore power, is it recommended to store with the bat switch on or off? I stored it all last winter winterized in dry storage, hooked up to shore power, with bat switch left in on position and had zero problems. This winter after winterizing I did the same only to discover the batteries completely dead.

All fuses in fuse box were fine except both of the 40amps were blown. When I get back to it in a couple of weeks I will try testing to see if batteries do charge while plugged in. Is there a definitive test I can run myself to see if converter/charger is bad? Thank you.

I would suggest you buy and install a battery monitor like the Trimetric unit.
Here is a video that shows the advantages of this. There are others available.
https://youtu.be/9pk3ycLK7_c Very easy to install, and it comes with a shunt for the battery box area.

Always store your rv with the switch off. The batteries will still receive a charge.

Do you have any thoughts as to why the 40 amp fuses were blown? Something serious occurred to cause this. They protect the 12v system in your trailer. Is it possible you reversed the battery cables? That would cause the fuse issue immediately in most cases.

If your batteries were completely discharged, and you had the main breaker and all the sub breakers on, plugged the shore cord in, then that could cause it as well.

I always turn off all the breakers in the trailer before connecting the shore power. then flip the main, and the rest one at a time. I have always done this since I can remember. I even repeat the sequence at the power pedestal. Prevents high loads from hitting the system all at once.

[egwilly]

Originally Posted by Guido Gamil

Thank you. I am hoping to take all of this info back with me and do all of these things. As I mentioned, I am currently living about 3 hours away from the RV so I want to take what I can glean from all of this and hopefully figure it out in the next couple of weeks.

Can you suggest how to check the bat disconnect switch? When stored on shore power, is it recommended to store with the bat switch on or off? I stored it all last winter winterized in dry storage, hooked up to shore power, with bat switch left in on position and had zero problems. This winter after winterizing I did the same only to discover the batteries completely dead.

All fuses in fuse box were fine except both of the 40amps were blown. When I get back to it in a couple of weeks I will try testing to see if batteries do charge while plugged in. Is there a definitive test I can run myself to see if converter/charger is bad? Thank you.

I would suggest you buy and install a battery monitor like the Trimetric unit.
Here is a video that shows the advantages of this. There are others available.
https://youtu.be/9pk3ycLK7_c

Always store your rv with the switch off. The batteries will still receive a charge.

Do you have any thoughts as to why the 40 amp fuses were blown? Something serious occurred to cause this. They protect the 12v system in your trailer. Is it possible you reversed the battery cables? That would cause the fuse issue immediately in most cases.

If your batteries were completely discharged, and you had the main breaker and all the sub breakers on, plugged the shore cord in, then that could cause it as well.

I always turn off all the breakers in the trailer before connecting the shore power. then flip the main, and the rest one at a time. I have always done this since I can remember. I even repeat the sequence at the power pedestal. Prevents high loads from hitting the system all at once.

Install a EMS power protection device as well. I have the Progressive 50 amp unit for our GP. Has saved me a couple times from bad pedestal wiring.

[Guido Gamil]

Originally Posted by egwilly

I would suggest you buy and install a battery monitor like the Trimetric unit.
Here is a video that shows the advantages of this. There are others available.
https://youtu.be/9pk3ycLK7_c

Always store your rv with the switch off. The batteries will still receive a charge.

Do you have any thoughts as to why the 40 amp fuses were blown? Something serious occurred to cause this. They protect the 12v system in your trailer. Is it possible you reversed the battery cables? That would cause the fuse issue immediately in most cases.

If your batteries were completely discharged, and you had the main breaker and all the sub breakers on, plugged the shore cord in, then that could cause it as well.

I always turn off all the breakers in the trailer before connecting the shore power. then flip the main, and the rest one at a time. I have always done this since I can remember. I even repeat the sequence at the power pedestal. Prevents high loads from hitting the system all at once.

Install a EMS power protection device as well. I have the Progressive 50 amp unit for our GP. Has saved me a couple times from bad pedestal wiring.

Thanks eg, this is all useful. I have looked into a battery monitor unit but that is as far as I got. I have also learned that batteries will not charge if those 40 amp fuses are blown but why were they blown is the question. When I park it, I have the fridge and hot water heater turned off, I have the ac and microwave breakers turned off and nothing in the unit turned on. Why the batteries drained without any load on them mystifies me. When I disconnected the lower battery to remove it I discovered the negative connection was looser than I would have liked (I could have loosened it with my fingers). I suspected that connection might have caused that battery not to charge shen subsequently taking the other battery out.

I didn't touch any wiring until I pulled the batteries out. Just to be on safe side I even took a picture of how they were wired in case someone else was going to work on it or as I disconnected them I found something I wasn't expecting. All I did there was disconnect them and then install new ones. It is pretty simple, red to positive and white to negative. There were no other wires I touched.