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richck
06-28-2020, 11:22 AM
First time user hope I am doing this right. Went camping last weekend and the slide would go about 12 inches then turn off. Wait about 5 seconds then would go out again. Kept doing this until fully out. Did the same thing coming in. Got home and tried to raise electric tongue to disconnect and it does the same thing. I did hear a click by the battery when using the tongue. All repair shops are too busy to look at it, so booked in for August but have another trip in July. Any thoughts a on what it could be would be appreciated.

Thanks

JRTJH
06-28-2020, 11:35 AM
Check your battery. A weak or discharged battery will cause exactly what you're seeing. As the voltage goes down, the amperage goes up. That causes the mini-breaker on the tongue (the clicking you heard by the battery) to open, remove power, cool down after a few minutes and reconnect, only to open again after a couple inches of slide movement or hitch raising....

My guess is you've got a GP24 "hybrid" battery ???

richck
06-28-2020, 11:43 AM
I have it plugged into power at home and the slide still works the same. I didn't try the tongue while plugged to power. I have two 6 volt batteries that I bought new in 2017.

Customer1
06-28-2020, 03:47 PM
Either a weak circuit breaker or incorrect size circuit breaker. Look on the tongue near the batteries. Start by being certain all connections are clean and tight.

richck
06-28-2020, 03:59 PM
Thank you. Will try

richck
06-29-2020, 01:32 PM
I believe that the circuit breaker on the frame at the front keeps popping. It works again after I hear a click. There are 2 circuit breakers there, a 50 and 30 amp. Sounds like the 30 amp, does anyone know for sure?

JRTJH
06-29-2020, 05:23 PM
You can put your finger on the 30 amp breaker to feel "when it clicks". My guess is that's the one that is tripping. It will trip from being overloaded which can occur if the battery is partially discharged or if the motor is drawing too many amps for some other reason. Verify that your battery is producing at least 12.6 VDC when the trailer is not plugged into shore power. If you test the battery when plugged into shore power, you'll always get 13.6 VDC which is the output of the converter in the power center. Testing with the trailer plugged in will give you a "false good reading" at the battery terminals.

richck
06-29-2020, 07:03 PM
I got a reading of 12.45 volts at the battery. Will charge tonight and check tomorrow. Thanks for your help. I was just wondering if I am plugged in does the circuit not receive enough voltage to use the slide and jack even if the battery is a little low. Thanks again!

MarkEHansen
06-30-2020, 04:35 AM
The battery is the primary power source for running the slides, awning, tongue jack, etc. as these are high current items. Having the trailer on shore power will add to the available power, but the battery must be in good condition and (reasonably) fully charged.

Note that when the battery is going bad (due to age and/or misuse), it can read a high voltage when there is no load, but read very low when under load. You can place your volt meter on the battery terminals as you test the slide and see what the voltage drops to. I think it should not drop below (I think?) around 12.2V

There's a lot to learn about the care and use of RV batteries. Please ask questions if you have any.

richck
06-30-2020, 02:23 PM
Thanks for your input. I charged the battery overnight and it read 13.4 volts. When using the tongue it dropped to 13.4 and the circuit breaker popped within 5 seconds. Thinking the circuit breaker is faulty?

richck
06-30-2020, 02:23 PM
Sorry I meant to say it dropped to 13.3 volts from 13.4

MarkEHansen
06-30-2020, 02:36 PM
Were you still on shore power? I'm guessing yes. In that case, you aren't reading the battery voltage but rather reading the voltage being applied to the battery by the converter/charger.

You need to disconnect the shore power first (or trip the REC/CON circuit breaker).

flybouy
06-30-2020, 02:43 PM
To check the battery with a volt meter disconnect the battery, wait 45 - 60 min then check it again. The best way is to take it to an auto parts store and have it load tested.

richck
06-30-2020, 03:03 PM
No Mark I had disconnected shore power about half an hour earlier. Just tested again after it has been unhooked from shore power for at least 1.5 hours. Battery read 13.1 volts so I went to raise the tongue, battery dropped to 13.0 volts until breaker kicked and then voltage went back up to 13.1 volts

flybouy
06-30-2020, 04:09 PM
Replace the auto reset breaker. They are inexpensive and readily available.

richck
06-30-2020, 05:13 PM
It's fixed!!!! Want to thank everybody who helped me with this repair. Turned out being the auto reset breaker. $10 and everything is good. Once again thanks and this site is great.