battery and outlet issues
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Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4279
Printed Date: 08 Jun 2025 at 12:50am
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Topic: battery and outlet issues
Posted By: bodie55
Subject: battery and outlet issues
Date Posted: 23 Dec 2013 at 12:23am
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Headed out for the winter break adventure today down to the Central Coast (CA). We hooked the battery back up to the pod, checked it, and the meter inside said 'E'. Drove 6 hours, still empty. Arrived after dark, so will investigate more tomorrow. The battery had been on a trickle charger at home. Any thoughts? My search phrases didn't produce quick results. On a side note, we've found two outlets tonight that don't seem to be working and will check all tomorrow. Maybe a fuse issue. The converter was making noise once we hooked up to shore power. It's a factory installed tow package. We didn't have any of these problems this summer, but the poor pod didn't get any use all semester. The nice thing is the portable space heater has made the pod nice and toasty! It's chilly outside, but we look forward to warm enough days to enjoy the break between semesters! Thank you ahead of time - y'all always have the best suggestions!! Kristy ------------- Bay Area Crew 2013 178 Beach Pod F-150 SuperCrew ...sempre in viaggio sul mare... |
Replies:
Posted By: Sleepless
Date Posted: 23 Dec 2013 at 8:46am
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Three simple thoughts on your battery problem. Did you connect the battery properly? You might have reversed the polarity. Are the connections at the battery terminals clean and tight? And finally, do your lights and other 12 volt items work when shore power is disconnected? If so, perhaps your meter is faulty.
------------- 2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD) 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 23 Dec 2013 at 9:45am
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Sounds like you may have two problems. When you say two outlets don't work I assmume you mean 120V outlets. Check the circuit breakers (not fuses) and the GFCI. There should be at least one GFCI outlet in the POD. Also check that the microwave clock is lit when on shore power. It and the TV may be wired to the GFCI and the GFCI may have tripped. For the 12V problems it really sounds like the battery was/is hooked up backwards or the connections are poor. The converter has two big protection fuses to prevent damage in the case of battery reversal. These will blow immediately if the battery is reversed. Check the hookup. White is customerily the ground/negative side, but check it. In rare cases it has been found that the battery wiring in the POD has become loose, but try these other things first. Charlie ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: bodie55
Date Posted: 26 Dec 2013 at 3:30pm
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Outlet issue solved. Human (man) error. The battery was hooked with proper polarity. Not sure if the trickle charger DH was using at home was actually doing the job. Is it correct that if the battery is drained completely that it may not recharge? Everything was working fine in August when we used it last. I can't imagine the converter would crap out on a new trailer. ------------- Bay Area Crew 2013 178 Beach Pod F-150 SuperCrew ...sempre in viaggio sul mare... |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 26 Dec 2013 at 6:41pm
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If you had a fresh battery you may get it to recharge after a complete discharge, but you won't ever get as much back out as before. If it has been discharged for too long it may be dead for good.
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 26 Dec 2013 at 6:51pm
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And you need a real charger to do it. A trickle charger can't.
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Posted By: svskier
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2013 at 12:50pm
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I have my pod stored inside with electric for the winter. Is it a good idea to leave it plugged in even if I only check on things once a month or so? Thanks for your thoughts.
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Posted By: Podsible Dream
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2013 at 1:20pm
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I leave our pod plugged in year round with no ill effects. The electrical system maintains the battery(ies) nicely. You will need to top off the water in them regularly, and keep the level above the plates, especially if the temp is above outside ambient. I run the fan with the windows cracked a bit in warmer weather to keep it fresh inside. ------------- Chris and Walt '10 RP-171 'Free Spirit' '13 Dodge Durango Crew 5.7 L Hemi V8 |
Posted By: svskier
Date Posted: 27 Dec 2013 at 1:27pm
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Thanks Chris I'll check the water level next time I check on things
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Posted By: bodie55
Date Posted: 29 Dec 2013 at 11:16am
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We bought an inexpensive tester that checks the water (little floaty balls thing). Three cells dead, two cells full and one 3/4 alive. Guess we need a new battery for summer. As it is, there is enough juice to run the fridge brains and fan and one light at the same time. I thought that if the battery was totally dead, none of the 12V systems would function, as the inverter would not be charging the battery, but apparently a partially dead battery still kinda works? It did not have enough juice to pull in the slider with the shore power off.
Not sure why the motorcycle batter tender failed us, but obviously we need something stronger for next time. The Battery Tender brand has one for motorcycles and 'bigger' batteries. Any thoughts on these products or suggestions for a something that will keep the battery alive? It wasn't the water level, because all the plates are covered, so they weren't fried. We can't plug it in to charge it, as the pod is stored/parked at a facility near our home with no plug available. Oh, the joys of pod ownership! ------------- Bay Area Crew 2013 178 Beach Pod F-150 SuperCrew ...sempre in viaggio sul mare... |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 29 Dec 2013 at 11:40am
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With that many dead cells I'm surprised anything works unless you are plugged in. Even if it is working at first the voltage will quickly crash so I wouldn't rely on it. Usually a battery tender will be fine, as long as you apply it to an already-charged battery. If you want to try something else one option is to put a regular battery charger on it once a month overnight. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: Goose
Date Posted: 29 Dec 2013 at 11:45am
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Just a thought, after you park your POD at the storage spot you may want to take out the battery and bring it home to put on the charger. You will have to take it back when you go to pick up the POD but it only takes a few minutes to reinstall it.
As for the motorcycle battery tender maybe one of the other folks that know more about electricity might be able to answer that for you. I have a small 6 volt/12 volt battery minder that my battery is on all winter in the garage, it keeps it up without overcharging it. Goose ------------- Mother Goose's Caboose..2011 RP171..07 Grand Cherokee 
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Posted By: hogone
Date Posted: 29 Dec 2013 at 12:41pm
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just had a call from a friend regarding this topic. is there a battery tender for the deap cells to leave plugged in thru the season? hogone ------------- Jon & Pam 2013 RP177 2010 F150 2017 HD Streetglide 2009 HD Lowrider CHEESEHEAD |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 29 Dec 2013 at 3:46pm
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Any battery tender is fine for deep cycle batts and can be left attached to the battery.
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: bodie55
Date Posted: 29 Dec 2013 at 5:23pm
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I'm sure now we killed it by not taking it off the pod soon enough and thinking the battery tender would recharge it vs maintain its charge, which was not full given that it sat on the pod for at least a few weeks after the last trip. Lesson learned!! Thanks for the good suggestions. Next time we'll leave it at home with the gear and a full charge:) ------------- Bay Area Crew 2013 178 Beach Pod F-150 SuperCrew ...sempre in viaggio sul mare... |
Posted By: Sleepless
Date Posted: 29 Dec 2013 at 5:36pm
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The best unit I have found is the Battery MINDer, which is used extensively here in Florida for prolonging the life of deep cycle batteries, both in recreational boats and RVs. I purchased mine about 10 years ago when my shrimping/trolling batteries were near the end of their useful life. The Battery MINDer is relatively expensive, around $50, but can actually rejuvenate badly sulfated cells. I have used it on Groups 27 and 24 deep cycle batteries that were supposedly dead and given to me to revitalize. I have had batteries that would no longer take a charge using a conventional charger, and brought them back to 13+ volts after a few days. This is more than just a battery charger/maintainer, it will actually desulfate and return a "dead" battery back into service. It will not work in all cases, but more often than not, it will revive batteries with problems. This is not a battery tender, it is much more sophisticated and versatile. "BatteryMINDER.com" has the full information on these units. ------------- 2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD) 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche |
Posted By: svskier
Date Posted: 29 Dec 2013 at 8:56pm
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Thanks everyone for your input on this issue I checked on my pod yesterday and everything was perfect. Can not wait till spring to get it out and hit the road. Until then please everyone pray for snow for us here in Idaho  |
Posted By: bodie55
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2014 at 1:47am
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Well, we took the battery to a local Interstate store. Turns out we had one of the few 'bad' batteries. It was under warranty, so it was replaced. The directions for charger we have 'says' it should work for our purposes, but I think we'll get a stonger device just to be safe.
Thanks, Sleepless, for the tip on the Battery Minder. It looks like a good product! Now, to wait until the next vacation to test out the new battery. Probably should hook it up this weekend just to make sure it functions and it is t another internal issue with the pod before our warranty on the inverter is up. Thanks All for your words of wisdom. It certainly is a learning process. ------------- Bay Area Crew 2013 178 Beach Pod F-150 SuperCrew ...sempre in viaggio sul mare... |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2014 at 8:27am
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Hook the battery up immediately to whatever charger you have on-hand. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: bodie55
Date Posted: 16 Jan 2014 at 9:04pm
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Just tested the new battery. All systems go! Now to get a new battery minder just in case our other device doesn't really do what it's directions say it does, although it did seem to have kept it fully charged. ------------- Bay Area Crew 2013 178 Beach Pod F-150 SuperCrew ...sempre in viaggio sul mare... |