Bad Batteries or?

bennydog · 08-29-2011, 07:36 PM

Puzzled mostly by ignorance so hopeful that somebody can educate me.
Nothing 12volt in the trailer works for very long. I have one of those fancy 12volt alarms to help me and I'm more confused then ever. Starting from the batteries of which there are 2 12volts and when I put a meter on them they measure 12.45 steady. Next there are a couple of silver thingies (don't know what they are or their purpose) mounted to the A frame of the trailer. From ground to the "top" or input post of the second one I measure 12.45 volts. From ground to be bottom or output post to the trailer the voltage may be 12.45 or something as low as 3.00. Second bit of data...the electric tongue jack which is connect before these silver thingies seems to work fine. Third bit of data, inside the trailer after turning on more than a couple of lights the voltage inside the trailer drops, first light down to 11 volts second light down to 10 third light...lights out. Question...Are my batteries in need of replacement or is the silver thingy bad. I must admit that I do not care for the batteries as I should, but when I put them on the charger they come to "charged" quickly but don't seem to have much "deep cycle" left in them. We leave for a 8 day dry camp trip in a couple of weeks and I'd really like to figure this out. If new batteries then so be it but I would hate to spend a couple of hundred on batteries only to discover the issue is someplace else.

Thanks in advance.

Bob

Festus2 · 08-29-2011, 07:49 PM

If you have a battery hydrometer you can check the Specific Gravity of each cell of both batteries. Without applying any load to them, charge them up and leave them sit for several hours, then conduct this test and check their voltage. Next, apply some kind of load (turn a light on or something like that) then retest the S.G. and check voltage again.
If the S.G. readings are low each time , then you are probably looking at replacing your batteries.
If there is a battery place nearby, take them in and ask for them to be tested under load. Those results will tell you if your batteries are "toast".

jason · 08-30-2011, 05:52 AM

You could bring them into a garage and they will test it for you, if it is a place that sells batteries they will usually do it for free.

THedges · 08-30-2011, 05:55 AM

It sounds like a battery problem. If you get new batteries you might want to use a battery maintainer when they are being stored. Also only add distilled water to the batteries. Those 2 things will greatly improve the life and performance of the batteries.

bennydog · 08-30-2011, 03:07 PM

thanks for all your thoughts.
So I'm still curious about the function of the little silver thing that screwed to the frame. Are they a fuse or an isolator or what?
Second question is if I replace the batteries do I do 2 12volt or 2 6volt?

Festus2 · 08-30-2011, 03:25 PM

I would opt for 2 6v golf cart-types. Bigger, heavier, costlier but give you more amp hours. Numerous brands out there but my preference is Trojan.
If you have a pic of that "silvery thingy", it might make it easier for the members to identify what it is and what it does.

THedges · 08-30-2011, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Festus2

I would opt for 2 6v golf cart-types. Bigger, heavier, costlier but give you more amp hours. Numerous brands out there but my preference is Trojan.
If you have a pic of that "silvery thingy", it might make it easier for the members to identify what it is and what it does.

X2 except I have interstate batteries.

bennydog · 08-30-2011, 04:16 PM

os in the picture they have their red rubbers on. The positive lead from the battery connects to the bottom of the one on the right and then there is a short cable from the top right post to the top left post and the be bottom of the left one heads into the trailer.

Rowdy51 · 08-30-2011, 04:29 PM

Isn't that your battery disconnect? Viewing this on
my iPhone and couldn't see the picture very well.

bennydog · 08-30-2011, 04:44 PM

only if you have a wrench.

No it has to be a fuse or some kind if isolator. there are basically 2 in series.

Rowdy51 · 08-30-2011, 05:56 PM

The only other thing I could think of would be a circuit breaker like these
http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...reaker-12v.htm

It looks like one has a silver label but I cannot zoom in close enough to make it out. Good luck trying to correct the problem.

THedges · 08-30-2011, 06:11 PM

That is just a junction block. Rather than running all those cables to the battery they just run one from the battery to the block and then everything else connects to the block.

bennydog · 08-30-2011, 06:54 PM

I think Rowdy51 named it. Now my next question is how does it really work.
When I think of a circuit breaker in my house panel when the draw exceeds the rating of the breaker it "trips" and I'm supposed to figure out why fix it and then reset the breaker. So do these have a reset button (I'm not able to locate) or do they just cool off and reconnect all on their own. they are not very expensive (especially when you compare them to new batteries) so I wonder if I have one that is failing an needs to be replaced. May try and source locally though I'm really looking for a reason to replace the batteries with 6 volt.

Again thanks for all the comments.

Bob

**JRTJH** · 08-31-2011, 05:36 AM

On my Springdale, there are two circuit breakers in parallel. One is for the main 12 VDC circuit, and there is a second breaker that runs off that one which supplies power to the front jacks. (There is an additional fuse in the jack supply line, not sure why). Both of these circuit breakers have a red rubbery jacket that they sit in which has a fold over cover. They are in the circuit to protect your trailer wiring. Here's a picture of what they look like without the red jacket.

bennydog · 09-03-2011, 06:59 PM

Turn out my problem was a failed circuit breaker. Most likely caused by corroded connections. there is now a new one on the trailer and a spare one in the tool box. As luck would have it the place I was able to find them was also the local Interstate Battery distributor who just happened to have some HD 6 volt batteries (those things are heavy) As I was not sure if the cause of the circuit breaker failing could have been an issue with the batteries I just happened to have them with me. Upgrade Complete. Looking forward to test them out as we are headed for Crater Lake NP to dry camp for a week. Sure hope my back ordered LED lights so up before we leave. I'll report back when we return.

Thanks for all the input

Bob

SteveC7010 · 09-04-2011, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennydog

os in the picture they have their red rubbers on. The positive lead from the battery connects to the bottom of the one on the right and then there is a short cable from the top right post to the top left post and the be bottom of the left one heads into the trailer.

The pic is kind of small, but I am quite certain that they are circuit breakers. There should be two of them and both 30 amp. One is inline from the TV pigtail, and the other protects the convertor or charger system. If you completely remove the red rubber covers, they probably look like this:

They should not affect the quality of the charging of your battery.

Rowdy51 · 09-05-2011, 05:28 AM

Glad you found and fixed your problem. Hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip.

jgavin · 09-14-2011, 01:28 PM

They should be your main post that y's to your hydraulics (sliders) and the other to convertor.

Johnnyfry · 09-14-2011, 07:40 PM

The device in the picture is a circuit breaker. There are probably 2 of them.
Otherwise the advice regarding the SG measurement and battery test is right on.

What are you using to charge the batteries?

John

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