reneedann
Pepperell MA
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I have a 2004 21sb Starcraft Travelstar and my sister has the same but it is a 2007 and we went dry camping this weekend (Thurs to Monday)We went with a fully charged battery and the battery was new from last season used once to dry camp. The battery only lasted one day and it was dead. During our investigation trying to figure out why this had happen, we checked the wiring and connection and even made sure that the fridge button on the inside for condensation was off. I Noticed that that GFI was tripped in the bathroom so I reset it then we hooked our backup battery. We had no Issue afterwards with the battery. My sister with the newer 21sb had the same issue and had to reset her tripped GFI and the battery was fine after that. I found nothing in the manual about this Switch. Has anyone heard of this happening? We are very conservative with our lights and pump and stuff. and I know both battery where fully charged.
Happy Camping
Renee & Rich
Pepperell MA
2004 21sb Starcraft Travelstar and loving it
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j2catfish
Newport, NC, U.S.of.A.
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It would suprise me that the GFI would be causing your problem because the GFI is for A/C circuit protection. Of course this consideres that you are only using the battery for power and not a battery powered inverter.
F350 Diesel; Teton 5er;
Native Texan - Transplanted Tar Heel
Retired USMC
Semper Fi !
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reneedann
Pepperell MA
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We were dry camping, and both battery's were fully placed on a home charger and had a full charge when we left. We only used the battery for running the pump and fridge and lights at night when needed.The first Battery was new last season and we used it dry camping for 4 night with out any issues and had plenty of juice left. and like I said we charged it the day before we left for this trip. and My sister who has the same camper had the same issue this weekend. once we reset the GFI in the bathroom we had no more issue with our battery's
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dougrainer
Carrolton
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The GFCI will NOT have any affect on 12 volt DC systems including the battery on a dry camped RV. The GFCI is a 120 volt line protection only and is only functional when 120 volts are available to the RV. Doug
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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I agree with others that a problem with your GFI (an 120 volt AC item) will not have anything to do with your 12 volt DC system unless you're running an inverter from your batteries. Lights, water pump and your fridge. It would be like having a flat tire keeping the engine from starting, just no relationship.
2004 F-150 HD 3,050 lb. payload
Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
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reneedann
Pepperell MA
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running no inverter. Also my sister has the same camper and had the same issue this weekend
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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The problem is simple... When they wired your rig they put the converter on the GFCI circuit... Why they would do this I don't know but they did (Some converters do not play nice with GFCI's.. appears yours does)
My rig the Converter has it's own line, it's own breaker and no GFCI. BUT
The GFCI line looks something like this
From breaker --->GFCI ---- Dining area----Kitchen-----Outside----Other bath
(NOTE: this is not excactly how they do it, but that's how it looks
Yours is likely like this
Breaker----GFCI----Kitchen----Outside----Converter
Or some such
Stupid way to do it, but that they did
Now that you know the problem.. You know the solution, AND you know where they put your GFCI.. So you are way better off than you were last time you set out.
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
John is Near Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
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Bob Landry
Austin, texas
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I guess all of the electrical experts here don't bother to read any of Doug's responses. GFCIs do not affect, nor or they affected by 12V operation. The GFCI is a protection device for the load side of the outlet, not the source, so for it to trip, it has to see a curent leak on the output side. Input current doesn't matter. You can run a compressor on a GFCI outlet. We do it all the time with icemakers that are installed on weather decks.
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Caseydon
Simonton, Texas
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We know the GFI trip had nothing to do with your battery's service, so we need to look elsewhere to find out why it died so soon.
First, knowing that it was just a year old is not very helpful. Is it a deep cycle battery similar in size to your sister's? How do you know yours was fully charged? Time on charge alone is not a reliable guide, especially if as wa8yxm suggests the charger was off part of the time. You have to check resting voltage, at least 12.7 volts, or specific gravity, at least 1.265, -and- know the battery hasn't been mistreated at some time in its life. Mistreatment can include charging for too long at too high a voltage, causing water loss to expose the plates. It can also include letting the battery go down flat and stay that way for a few days or weeks. Any chance either of those happened at some time?
There is something about your battery, its state of charge, its condition, or its use that isn't in the data here. I'd start with getting a load test performed on it.
Casey
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Hurricaner
Hurricane Utah
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I think John is probably correct in that the converter is on the GFI circuit which tripped so the batteries never got charged in the first place.
Sam
Sam & Kari
Hurricane, Utah
2004 34' Damon Challenger 315
Damon owners forum
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