Batteries drain when on shore power

[caberto]

Hi all,

I'd like to thank all of you for all the useful information on this forum.

After much searching, weight considerations and other things I've learned on this forum, we picked up our new 2010 Keystone Cougar 324RLB and went for our first outing on Wed - Sat. All was great, with the exception of the two marine batteries not charging when we were plugged into the campground's power. The other (non-12 volt) electrical components worked fine, but the lights, and other 12 volt items stopped working after a few hours. I had to connect to the truck for short periods (with engine on) to charge the batteries and get the 12 volt system working. Thankfully I got no complaints from our camping neighbors.

I have an appt tomorrow (Monday) at the dealer to get this rectified. After speaking with one of their service guys. He said there might be a battery by-pass lever, but all the places he indicated it might be had no lever. He suggested it may be the converter/charger/control panel/fuse box... it didn't come with "the two fuses for the converter in the fuse box" but I added fuses in those slots with his guidance, and still nothing.

We had our walk through before we took delivery, and everything worked fine then, but I guess the batteries were fresh and all was working at that time.

Anyway, I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions on this so I'm not totally ignorant on this matter ;-)

I'm hoping it's an easy fix that won't take long to resolve.

Aside from having to connect to the truck about 2-3 times a day, we did have a great time, and can see that we will enjoy our new 5th wheel!

Thanks!

[campingcpl]

We had that same problem happen to us on a week + trip out to the black hills in South Dakota this spring. On our secound stop on our trip we where sitting in the camper with some family and the lights kept getting dimmer and dimmer. Our converter had started to make some high pitched noises the day before but didn't really think much of it since it had only done it for a little bit then quit. I went out and pluged the truck in and everything was fine. Well for the rest of our trip I had to plug the truck in and charge the batteries at lease once a day. When we got back we had to replace the lower unit in the converter that controls the 12v. It's a fairly easy fix with just removing some screws and and a couple of wires. The lower unit just slides right out and the new one slide right back in. Just make sure you get the right replacement for your converter. From what you said I am assuming that is the problem. I hope this helps.

[Flyguy]

Here'sa link to a manual for the power converter that you might have, if not yours should be similar: http://eaa1358.com/Passport/Inverter%20Converter/wf8900.pdf maybe it would explain something that would shead some light on the situation.

[Terrydactile]

Sounds like the convertor is shot or has a loose connection, maybe a blown fuse or reverse polarity fuse blown.. One thing you can do if you are out on a trip and you have issues with convertor is to use a battery charger instead of running your truck.

Hope they find the problem quickly.

[caberto]

OK all - thank you for your replies! After a long hot day at the dealer, it ended up being the two converter fuses, which were actually behind the control panel in the hallway. They were both fried. The two fuses have been replaced and all seems well for now, the converter fan can be heard when plugged in... I hope this resolves it for good. At least I know where they are now.

As far as the battery disconnect, this model (Keystone Cougar) does not come with one, according to the service dept who said they called Keystone. That being the case, are there any adverse effects with not having a battery disconnect?

On a related note... I would like to disable the front legs switch from being able to retract/extend the landing gear when parked - has anyone done this? I just hate the idea that anyone can pass by and control the landing gear at will.

Thanks!

[Festus2]

If you look at today's post by Outbacker 47 ("Fuse Location - Front Electric Jacks"), you might try installating a circuit breaker similar to the one he has put in instead of a fuse. This way, all you have to do is throw the switch on the circuit breaker to "off" which will disconnect the power to the landing gear switch rendering it inoperable from the outside.

The circuit breaker switch would be located inside the front storage compartment which is more secure and it would be out of sight. You could also install locks on this compartment to make it even more difficult to access the switch to the landing gear.

Another option would be to install a battery disconnect switch but that would make everything running off the battery inoperable. You could also move the location of the landing gear control to the inside of the front storage compartment.

[caberto]

Thanks Festus... that's a great idea - I think I will put in a switch in the front compartment to control the power to the outside landing gear switch. The front compartment already has a built-in lock, so this should work great.