Dead Battery After Towing - Fiberglass RV
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Old 11-14-2013, 10:58 AM   #1
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Name: Erik
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Dead Battery After Towing

Hey all,
Please bear with me as my wife and I are new to Scamping. Two days ago we had a new 7 pronged connector put on our 13' Scamp. Everything seemed to be working fine when we left the RV shop. We drove about 7 hours from Missouri to Tennessee and when we unplugged the 7 prong from the car non of the lights would work in the Scamp. I made sure all the battery wiring was connected and I checked the fuse on the battery line and the fuses in the converter box. I plugged in using the 110V converter and left it plugged in for about 2 hours. I went back out, unplugged and the lights all came on. In my novice assessment it would seem that there is something wrong with the new 7 pronged connector. It seems that the battery is not charging off of the car alternator. However, I am also concerned that the battery was dead since we did not use it unplugged from the car. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Erik
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Old 11-14-2013, 11:12 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Erik in Wisco View Post
Hey all,
Please bear with me as my wife and I are new to Scamping. Two days ago we had a new 7 pronged connector put on our 13' Scamp. Everything seemed to be working fine when we left the RV shop. We drove about 7 hours from Missouri to Tennessee and when we unplugged the 7 prong from the car non of the lights would work in the Scamp. I made sure all the battery wiring was connected and I checked the fuse on the battery line and the fuses in the converter box. I plugged in using the 110V converter and left it plugged in for about 2 hours. I went back out, unplugged and the lights all came on. In my novice assessment it would seem that there is something wrong with the new 7 pronged connector. It seems that the battery is not charging off of the car alternator. However, I am also concerned that the battery was dead since we did not use it unplugged from the car. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Erik
Did you have your refrigerator running on DC? That's the most likely problem.
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Old 11-14-2013, 11:14 AM   #3
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Did you have your refrigerator running on DC? That's the most likely problem.
Thanks for the response Bryon, but we had the fridge completely off.
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Old 11-14-2013, 11:15 AM   #4
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Get one of these to test your plugs also Amazon.com: Curt Manufacturing 58270 12V 7-Way Rv Round Circuit Tester: Automotive
it's possible you do not have a separate power line going to the 7 pin, some factory wiring harness do not.
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Old 11-14-2013, 11:24 AM   #5
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Take a voltmeter and check your voltage at the battery. then hook-up your trailer cord and start your car. then check the battery when the car is running. your voltage should be higher if not nothing is getting to the battery.
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Old 11-14-2013, 12:39 PM   #6
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or a combination of the power wire in the harness might not be appropriately sized and the battery was very low or dead.
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Old 11-14-2013, 01:24 PM   #7
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Jim's thought on a 7 pin connection dedicated tester is a simple way to check the tow vehicle's wiring. However the same thing can be accomplished with the drawing and a multimeter. The multimeter can be used for all electrical trouble shooting and verification.

Here the link to the drawing of the tow's 7 pin connection wiring.
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/d...Pin_CarEnd.pdf
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Old 11-14-2013, 01:30 PM   #8
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What's nice about the 7 pin connection dedicated tester is it eliminates problems with the tow vehicle with no mess, no fuss, and is very easy to understand. I've always been somewhat multimeter-challenged!

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Old 11-14-2013, 01:38 PM   #9
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Name: Erik
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Update - the connection does not seem to be the problem. The battery is fully charged and yet no power to the Scamp. It seems to be a wiring issue from the battery in to the Scamp. I checked the fuse under the front seat and tried to fiddle with the wires but still nothing.
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Old 11-14-2013, 01:49 PM   #10
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Erik, what voltage do you have at the convertor? Shore power off, test where your 12 volt wires feeding the battery. Should be a larger pair of black and white wires. If you have 12 volts your battery power is reaching the convertor. No power your problem is from there to the battery. You can trace back from there.
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Old 11-14-2013, 02:14 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Erik in Wisco View Post
Hey all,
I checked the fuse on the battery line
Erik
Erik in case you are not aware there are two inline fuses - one just off the battery and another just inside the trailer at the point the wire harness wires enter the trailer - its often hidden behind rat fur.
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Old 11-14-2013, 02:26 PM   #12
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Name: Erik
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UPDATE - there was a bad connector box that just needed a little fiddling with. Had to pull up a little rat fur but we got it. Thanks for all the advice!
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Old 11-15-2013, 09:44 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Erik in Wisco View Post
UPDATE - there was a bad connector box that just needed a little fiddling with. Had to pull up a little rat fur but we got it. Thanks for all the advice!
That hiding behind the rat fur fuse/box has befuddled a number of folks!

SUCCESS!
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