Posted 2006-09-26 11:30 AM (#49141) Subject: Did I mess up? Battery or fuse troubles, check it out...
Member
Posts: 38 Location: Montevallo AL
Have a trailer with LQ. The trailer stays plugged in at home, charging the battery. We went camping this weekend and somehow either drained the battery, or blew a fuse. Check this out- did we do something out of order, wrong, etc..., in pluggng it in wrong? We've used this trailer a lot and this hasn't happened before, and yes, we've been to the camp before w/o any issue.-Hauled trailer to horse camp. We've camped there before and it wasn't an issue.- I do know that the trailer was 'getting juice' all the way down there as the plug in cooler was working fine when we got there. (it plugs into a 12V battery supported by the trailer's battery)-I can't tell you if the master disconnect to the trailer battery was off/on when we plugged the trailer into the RV plug at the horse camp. Dunno.- the trailer stuff worked fine all weekend, running off of the power-cord/plug in.-I can't tell you if the master disconnect to the trailer battery was off/on when we UNplugged it from the RV plug at the horse camp. (My SO is all about switching it off every time I turn around, if the trailer is plugged in)What I DO know is that either we blew a fuse, or drained it dry. none of the stuff worked after we unplugged to pack up. I don't know which it is, simply because I haven't looked yet. I'm thinking fuse b/c the 3 hr drive home didn't recharge the battery.SO- LSS- if a LQ trailer has it's own marine-battery to run lights, alarms, 12v plug, etc: Is there a protocol for whether to turn that master disconnect to said battery should on or off when plugging the trailer in, unplugging the trailer, etc? Any Miss Manners tips to pass along? You could also place your bets on which one occured: drained battery dry somehow, or blew a fuse.I hope this makes sense to anyone, someone.
Posted 2006-09-26 1:18 PM (#49146 - in reply to #49141) Subject: RE: Did I mess up? Battery or fuse troubles, check it out...
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by kat on 2006-09-26 11:30 AM
Have a trailer with LQ. The trailer stays plugged in at home, charging the battery. We went camping this weekend and somehow either drained the battery, or blew a fuse. Check this out- did we do something out of order, wrong, etc..., in pluggng it in wrong? We've used this trailer a lot and this hasn't happened before, and yes, we've been to the camp before w/o any issue.-Hauled trailer to horse camp. We've camped there before and it wasn't an issue.- I do know that the trailer was 'getting juice' all the way down there as the plug in cooler was working fine when we got there. (it plugs into a 12V battery supported by the trailer's battery)-I can't tell you if the master disconnect to the trailer battery was off/on when we plugged the trailer into the RV plug at the horse camp. Dunno.- the trailer stuff worked fine all weekend, running off of the power-cord/plug in.-I can't tell you if the master disconnect to the trailer battery was off/on when we UNplugged it from the RV plug at the horse camp. (My SO is all about switching it off every time I turn around, if the trailer is plugged in)What I DO know is that either we blew a fuse, or drained it dry. none of the stuff worked after we unplugged to pack up. I don't know which it is, simply because I haven't looked yet. I'm thinking fuse b/c the 3 hr drive home didn't recharge the battery.SO- LSS- if a LQ trailer has it's own marine-battery to run lights, alarms, 12v plug, etc: Is there a protocol for whether to turn that master disconnect to said battery should on or off when plugging the trailer in, unplugging the trailer, etc? Any Miss Manners tips to pass along? You could also place your bets on which one occured: drained battery dry somehow, or blew a fuse.I hope this makes sense to anyone, someone.
Yes, no and it doesn't matter.
A switch is a switch, a plug is a plug, each makes/breaks circuits, though switches are designed to do so more efficiently, i.e. with less arcing and sparking.
Fuse(s) ? Maybe. IF you had everything switched to ON position and suddenly plugged in, or made the main connection - it is POSSIBLE that a fuse blew. Pull 'em, check 'em.
Protocol ?
I s'pose there is a case for connect plug/socket first, then throw main switch, then switch on individual things one at a time.
BTW, A/Cs and fridges both have significant start-up current, if both of THOSE are in the ON position and "warm" when you connect the chance of blowing fuses is probably higher.
Posted 2006-09-26 2:03 PM (#49149 - in reply to #49141) Subject: RE: Did I mess up? Battery or fuse troubles, check it out...
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 366 Location: Albany, Oregon
My experience with RV type battery chargers is not good....The ones I have had tend to boil the battery off. If you leave it plugged in while not in use it will do this...they are not a trickle or a battery maintence type charger! Correct me if I'm wrong...But I used to leave mine plugged in (in a RV) in the winter and it would cook a battery(cheap charger). I am betting it is your battery! Just a educated guess...You need a battery maintanier or small solar panel when not in use to get a long battery life! Let us know what you find out!
Posted 2006-09-27 2:59 PM (#49232 - in reply to #49215) Subject: RE: Did I mess up? Battery or fuse troubles, check it out...
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by kat on 2006-09-27 11:49 AM
It's a blown fuse, that's all. xyzer it wasn't plugged into a battery charger. I'm referring to plugging the trailer in at the horse camp.
I think in your original post you had said that the trailer stays plugged into a charger when at home. xyzer's entry made sense, still does. If you have overcharged your battery it is (now) a likely cause of blown fuses.
Posted 2006-09-27 8:12 PM (#49250 - in reply to #49232) Subject: RE: Did I mess up? Battery or fuse troubles, check it out...
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 366 Location: Albany, Oregon
I didn't reread the post myself Reg I just figured I screwd up! But I'm glad it it was apparently an easy fix!...So like Reg pointed out the next question should be why did it blow the fuse?
Did I mess up? Battery or fuse troubles, check it out...
What I DO know is that either we blew a fuse, or drained it dry. none of the stuff worked after we unplugged to pack up. I don't know which it is, simply because I haven't looked yet. I'm thinking fuse b/c the 3 hr drive home didn't recharge the battery.
SO- LSS- if a LQ trailer has it's own marine-battery to run lights, alarms, 12v plug, etc: Is there a protocol for whether to turn that master disconnect to said battery should on or off when plugging the trailer in, unplugging the trailer, etc? Any Miss Manners tips to pass along? You could also place your bets on which one occured: drained battery dry somehow, or blew a fuse.I hope this makes sense to anyone, someone.
