I'm wondering if anyone is familiar with my battery situation. I have a new 2018 Cougar 25RES. I had my truck and wiring harness checked out so I don't think that is the problem. The Cougar battery is not charging while I'm towing. Also, the night before my first camping trip in it I connected the battery and turned the fridge on gas to cool it for the next day's trip. When I got to the lot I park it in, the battery was dead.
It seems to charge when I'm plugged in at the campground but I'm wondering if there is a connection issue or what the heck is going on! I test it with a multi-meter almost every weekend to make sure I have enough juice to raise & lower the jacks when I'm hooking up. It seems to hold the charge.
With your TV hooked up and detached from shore power you should read about 14 volts on the battery. If not then there is a problem with your connection. It could be on the TV side or the TT. The next step would be to verify TV battery at the connector of the TV. This will tell you if the issue is with TV or TT.
Keep in mind the wire from your truck to the trailer is really small. It will not charge your battery. Instead, it will at best be a trickle charge and will keep it topped off at best.
Have you used a voltmeter to check that you have electric from your TV? Is your battery disconnect on or off?
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Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Impact 312
2017 Silverado 3500HD SRW
X2 on limited charging power from the TV. With a stock alternator in the TV and traveling at night with lights on or with heater fan on, there will be limited power available to the charge the RV batteries. An aftermarket high power alternator will help, but you still just have a small wire providing a trickle charge to the RV. I always fully charge batteries in RV before traveling.
With your TV hooked up and detached from shore power you should read about 14 volts on the battery. If not then there is a problem with your connection. It could be on the TV side or the TT. The next step would be to verify TV battery at the connector of the TV. This will tell you if the issue is with TV or TT.
I don't quite undertstand "The next step would be to verify TV battery at the connector of the TV."
Check for a fuse under the hood of your TV. If this is the first RV the truck has pulled the fuse may never have been installed.
My truck is a 2018 Ford F 150 with the tow package. The 2016 models and later had the fuse installed before delivery. That was the first thing I checked.
Keep in mind the wire from your truck to the trailer is really small. It will not charge your battery. Instead, it will at best be a trickle charge and will keep it topped off at best.
Have you used a voltmeter to check that you have electric from your TV? Is your battery disconnect on or off?
My truck is a 2018 Ford F 150 with tow package. I have checked with voltmeter and the RV battery always reads around 12.4 volts regardless if the RV is connected to the truck with lights on, fridge on, etc. The battery disconnect is off (which in itself is confusing to explain). In other words the key to engage the battery is connected.
The Ford dealer checked the wiring harness and it is connected properly. Also, the dash in the truck verifys that the "Trailer is Connected".
Maybe the problem is that I have the battery disconnect engaged. I'll try removing the disconnect key and see if the truck indicates that the trailer battery is charging.
One more question: shouldn't I be able to connect the battery in the RV and then turn on the fridge on gas without killing the battery? Or do I connect the battery, turn on the fridge and then disconnect the battery?
The Ford dealer checked the wiring harness and it is connected properly. Also, the dash in the truck verifys that the "Trailer is Connected".
Maybe the problem is that I have the battery disconnect engaged. I'll try removing the disconnect key and see if the truck indicates that the trailer battery is charging.
One more question: shouldn't I be able to connect the battery in the RV and then turn on the fridge on gas without killing the battery? Or do I connect the battery, turn on the fridge and then disconnect the battery?
The battery has to stay connected or you need to be plugged in to house current. The fridge needs 12v power to keep it running on propane.
__________________
Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Impact 312
2017 Silverado 3500HD SRW
The Ford dealer checked the wiring harness and it is connected properly. Also, the dash in the truck verifys that the "Trailer is Connected".
Maybe the problem is that I have the battery disconnect engaged. I'll try removing the disconnect key and see if the truck indicates that the trailer battery is charging.
One more question: shouldn't I be able to connect the battery in the RV and then turn on the fridge on gas without killing the battery? Or do I connect the battery, turn on the fridge and then disconnect the battery?
The fridge needs 12 volts to operate. Leave the battery disconnect in the on "connected" position. You need to check the voltage while your truck is plugged in and see what it reads. I have the same truck and just because the truck says it's connected doesn't mean that your battery is charging.
There are always some small loads on the battery and if you are running the fridge it will deplete the battery in a few a week or so unless it gets charged somehow.
That's what I thought. However, I connected the disconnect battery key the night before a camping trip, turned the fridge on gas to cool it overnight and the next morning the battery was completely dead. I had the battery checked and it is good and holds a charge, so it's not the battery. Maybe you can see now why I'm am completely baffled with what is going on with the battery. I will not be able to boondock with this situation without a generator.
I'm taking it to a Keystone dealer later in the month for some warranty work and I will try to explain all of this to them. Maybe they can figure it out.
That's what I thought. However, I connected the disconnect battery key the night before a camping trip, turned the fridge on gas to cool it overnight and the next morning the battery was completely dead. I had the battery checked and it is good and holds a charge, so it's not the battery. Maybe you can see now why I'm am completely baffled with what is going on with the battery. I will not be able to boondock with this situation without a generator.
I'm taking it to a Keystone dealer later in the month for some warranty work and I will try to explain all of this to them. Maybe they can figure it out.
Do you have anything else on that is not necessary? Your battery with just the fridge on shouldn't drain in a single night.
That said, do you have an option to plug it in to your house current? I do that the night before on mine. Cools down the fridge and recharges the battery to full. Win-Win situation.
__________________
Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Impact 312
2017 Silverado 3500HD SRW
That's what I thought. However, I connected the disconnect battery key the night before a camping trip, turned the fridge on gas to cool it overnight and the next morning the battery was completely dead. I had the battery checked and it is good and holds a charge, so it's not the battery. Maybe you can see now why I'm am completely baffled with what is going on with the battery. I will not be able to boondock with this situation without a generator.
I'm taking it to a Keystone dealer later in the month for some warranty work and I will try to explain all of this to them. Maybe they can figure it out.
How are you charging the battery after it goes dead? At best you can make it two to three days boondocking with a good fully charged single 12 volt battery.
Do you have anything else on that is not necessary? Your battery with just the fridge on shouldn't drain in a single night.
That said, do you have an option to plug it in to your house current? I do that the night before on mine. Cools down the fridge and recharges the battery to full. Win-Win situation.
Both televisions are plugged in but off. They both have a display light only. The CD player has a time display. That is it. Again should not be enough to drain the battery overnight.
I do not have an option to plug into the house. The camper is stored in a RV & boat storage lot with no electricity. I do not have a driveway big enough to accomodate the camper.
How are you charging the battery after it goes dead? At best you can make it two to three days boondocking with a good fully charged single 12 volt battery.
I disconnected it and took it to a Batteries Plus to have it tested and charged. Then I bought another one to have as a backup that I keep charged with a trickle charger. This is why I think there is some issues with the connection wiring in the Cougar.
I have to assume that you're trailer is on shore power charging prior to your trip long enough to get to full charge? How old are the batteries? The first thing I'd do is load test them to see if their holding a charge. Just because they reach 12 volts after charging doesn't mean their good. You can take the trailer to a auto parts store to have them load tested or invest in one. Start there. After confirming the batteries are good keeping them connected turn off everything and do a system load test to see if there is a drain on them. With everything off there shouldn't be any drain. You'll need an amp meter for this test. If you have any substantial drain then it will cause them to fail. Think of it as a car with the interior light left on. That will kill the battery in a few days.
Not sure if I understand your problem completely. You hooked up your battery in preparation to go camping and the next day (I assume you came to pick up the Cougar to leave) and found the battery was dead.
So, somehow you loaded the Cougar and pulled it to the campground and the battery was still dead even after towing? But, it did charge while you were connected to shore power at the campground.
If that's the case, then here's my thoughts on what's happening:
1. The battery was in a less than full state of charge when you hooked it up the night before since it was disconnected. 12vdc batteries will discharge even when disconnected for extended periods of time. If you checked the battery and found it at 12.4 volts it's only at 80% charge. (check the attached volt chart) If you didn't check the voltage then it may have been less.
2. When you found the battery dead the next day, I'm guessing you connected to the truck in order to raise/lower the jacks to load the Cougar and travel to the campground. You don't say how far you drove or how many hours, but it takes hours to charge a dead battery even with a dedicated battery charger. Further the truck is supplying only trickle charge to the trailer battery 14 volts or so but at very low amperage. So, if you did connect the truck to use the jacks to load then the Aux 12v charging from the truck is working. Check the attached 7 pin connecter diagram. Note pin 4 is the Aux charging circuit. Turn the truck on and if you have 12+ volts there then you're OK
3. If your battery is charging when the cougar is plugged in to shore power then the battery disconnect is in the right position. The key will come out of the switch if it in the off or disconnect position. It cannot be removed if it's in the on position.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it works out.
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2017 Cougar 279RKSWE
2007.5 Dodge Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins
Retirement Training Completed
I think the little voices in my head have started a chat group.
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