Hi my name is Bob Just got a Raindrop , I have been going through the systems and the battery crashed. the new one works fine. I have been keeping the system plugged in. My charger is charging but will not shut off . Can I get a hint Thank You Bob Terhune
Hi Bob, Congratulations on your "new" trailer and welcome to the forum. Are you saying you replaced the old, worn-out battery with a new one but the charging system (powered via 120 VAC shore power) will not stop applying voltage (beyond charge maintenance) when the battery reaches capacity? How are you measuring/confirming this? I am curious to learn what Camp-Inn says. They have only ever been extremely helpful. Thanks, --Ken
Modern smart chargers have 3 or 4 stages of charging. LEDs on the charger should indicate what step a charger is on. It’s normal for a smart charger to continue its last stage indefinitely, with an LED lit to match. ***edit*** This is a good thing. That last “maintenance” stage is designed to keep your battery healthy over weeks or months of storage, compensating for self-discharge, which otherwise can severely limit the life of a batt. It can be the difference between 2 years or 10 years of service... but there are other factors. Basically, you want to limit or eliminate resting in a deep discharge condition... and a normal discharge will turn into a deep discharge and continue to get deeper over time. Over enough time, a fully charged batt will go into deep discharge. Colder temps speed up this process... as in typical winter storage. Plug that trailer in! ********** This is kind of inconvenient for the stock CI charger, as it’s mounted down between the tanks where it’s hard to see what LED is lit and if there is a label next to it. IIRC, the LED status lights aren’t covered in the CI manual. If you can figure out which charger you have (there has been at least one change of brand), you can download the charger manual from the manufacturer’s website for reference on what the LEDs indicate.
Yes Ken I have replaced my old battery. I talked to Camp Inn and they said I may need a new charger. I left the new battery on this charger for a night . I measured the voltage the next day and it was very high I may plug this back in and try again just to see if it will shut off . If not I will get a new charger Bob T
Do you have one of the small voltage indicators that plugs into the DC port in the galley? It is a handy way to inadvertently monitor your voltage. Please keep us posted on your progress. I haven't had to deal with swapping a charge controller on this trailer and am just curious to learn from your experience if it comes to that. Thanks, --Ken
Ken With a new batteryI now have good power . My charger seemed damaged , it would not stop charging. I found a new one at battery s plus same model 12v 5amps . It is installed and should work . When I plug in the GFI breaker pops . The 110v Is wired correctly, no fuses have blown . If I take the 110v off the GFI the system works fine. Its a Battery Tender 12v 5 amp. Question ? I have wired the 12v side Black as ground Red as 12v is this right ? can you help? Thanks Bob153
Hi Bob, I am happy to try to help you. I will need to ask some questions to be sure I understand the details. I don't want to assume anything. What kind of battery did you buy? What was the DC voltage of your new battery? Did it change after you charged it (measuring it with the charger disconnected)? How high does the charger voltage go? What tool are you using to measure the voltage? The charger is the exact same model that was in the CI, i.e. direct replacement? Have or can you bench test the new charger and battery? Are you sure you installed the charger correctly? The GFI trips in the trailer or in your garage/110 source circuit? That is correct. If your multi-meter leads are wired correctly and you have the black lead on the black battery post "-" and the red lead on the red or "+" post, your meter should read 12.6 volts (give or take a bit). Have you seen this flow chart? View attachment upload_2019-7-17_20-3-0.png I'll try to be quicker about checking my email until this issue is resolved. Anyone else who wants to jump in, please do. Thanks, --Ken
Hi Bob, In this forum the members talk about internal leakage (electrical) or moisture being a possible cause of a charger tripping a GFI: Battery Charger is Blowing my GFI This forum suggests the GFI may be failing: Onboard charger started tripping gfci? Other forums echo these two points. Thanks, --Ken
Ken I found the problem . The GFI plug in the Kitchen is also a power dispersion point. The input 110 ac comes in and must be attached to a separet part of of the GFI , the lower half . The rest of the lines go to the caban section in side. This separation seems to keep the breaker from tripping. I Thank You for your assist. The new charger is working ,I can now leave the trailer plugged in. Thanks Bob153 t
