Brand new 12V battery won't work in warm temps

[Wolfmoms]

I just bought a brand new Walmart Maxx 29 12v battery. Hooked it up and everything worked fine.

Took Ducky (teardrop) out for a weekend trip and discovered that first night that the battery did not work. Fuse switch did not light for my interior lights, therefore no lights!!

Got home the next morning, put everything away and decided to check the fuse / lights again and they worked!!

All this week I have gone out in the morning and the fuse / light works, but when I get home from work (and it's warm ... 80s), I check again and the fuse / lights DON'T work!

What gives???? HELP, Laura

[bobhenry]

I only have 2 guesses....

Recheck any and all connections to be sure nothing is loose.

The second would be when the battery warms the plate pack is seperating internally. Usually happens when they have been dropped or damaged in shipment. Take it to their auto center and ask to have it load checked. As the load check warms the battery it should blink out as it is doing now if the problem is internal.

[Wolfmoms]

thanks for the suggestion, I will have the battery load tested in the late afternoon, because by then it usually does not work. The wiring seems fine, I've checked that already.

[bobhenry]

Let us know we are curious ........... PLEASE !

[Wolfmoms]

Now I'm really baffled ... took the battery back to Walmart and they looked at me funny ... ... when I asked them to load test it. They did not/could not/would not, so gave me another battery. This one tested 12.5+ when I put it in and hooked it up .... NOTHING NADA ZIP ... the fuse light won't go on and therefore no lights anywhere in Ducky ... morning or afternoon ... What gives?

[bobhenry]

Sorry my best guess wasn't good enough.


And you have checked everything???

Is it fused ? did the fuse blow? Start disconnecting 1 at a time if needed , but you should have seen overheating or something if it is a short so you are just not making contact. Get a 12 volt tester and run a ground wire back to the battery to the ground and start probing you cut something in two or just your luck a defective wire , crimp or something. Be sure and let us know so other folks can avoid the trap. It is something real silly. When you find it you will laugh and learn a valuable lesson.

ARE you grounded back to the frame. If so clamp a jumper cable to the trailer frame and the car frame if your problems disappear I will apologize this is the very 1st thing I should have thought of. GROUNDS are 99% of the problem with trailer lights.

[Shadow Catcher]

I would suggest that you use a volt meter rather than just a test light, and as Bob Henry suggested start at the battery and probe your way out.

[Corwin C]

A few questions:
Is it just the lights or is all of your electrical having issues?
What is your battery voltage under load?
You keep mentioning that the "fuse switch / light" doesn't come on. What are you using for fuses? Are they actually circuit breakers? Some of these can trip and then reset on their own, causing recurring difficulties.

When I run into issues like this, I like to test each circuit individually. Remove all of the fuses except one. Make sure that the circuit with the fuse is working properly AND check for high amperage. If the amps are high, there is a potential short or a loose connection in that circuit and it could be robbing the available amps from your battery. Also, make sure that none of the circuits with the fuse removed have power. If there is a connection between different circuits there could be all kinds of strange results. Repeat for all of your circuits. It is rare, but sometimes excessive current in one circuit will drop the voltage enough that another circuit will stop working. The problem that you're seeing may not be directly related to the issue, just a symptom.

Bad grounds have been mentioned, but bear mentioning again. (#1 cause of problems)

Did you actually see both batteries at the same time when you exchanged it? I had a lazy employee (at a place other than Walmart) try to exchange a bad part for the same part once. They took it in the back, wiped it off and brought it back out. (This has made me suspicious of everyone it seems.)

These things can sometimes be a (insert favorite expletives) to trace down.

[dh]

Think about how Wal-Mart ships thier goods. An entire pallet of batteries may have toppled off the forklift. Try taking the battery to Auto Zone or O'Riley's and have them check it.

[Dale M.]

Now I'm really baffled ... took the battery back to Walmart and they looked at me funny ... ... when I asked them to load test it. They did not/could not/would not, so gave me another battery. This one tested 12.5+ when I put it in and hooked it up .... NOTHING NADA ZIP ... the fuse light won't go on and therefore no lights anywhere in Ducky ... morning or afternoon ... What gives?

I sincerely believe the problem is not the battery... Even with Walmart Neverstart batteries getting two that are are bad and in exactly same way is just way beyond all odd's and the power's of the gods that control the universe....

Check each connector and each leg of circuit.... IF whole system is dead, you problem is between battery and fuse panel (if you have one)...

IF lights fail, I''ll bet if you go directly across battery posts and you will have power (use volt meter) at battery....

Dale

[bobhenry]

where does the ground side of the battery physically attach?

where does each load ground to ?

When I ran my 12 volt circuits EACH light and other loads have a seperate dedicated ground wire that is hardwired back to a grounding bar. That grounding bar is then connected directly to the negative side of the battery.

You simply have to have a intermittant ground. If you are grounded back to the frame only , without disconnecting a thing take 1 side of the jumper cables and clamp on the negative terminal of the battery and then the other end of the same wire to the frame. This will give you an extra , solid ground from frame to battery.
If your problem disappears you have found your gremlin.



The white wires on the right in this picture are all 12 volt grounds returning from the cabin and galley loads and the ground bar connects directly to the negative side of the battery.

[bobhenry]

I just re read your post. I keep hearing "fuse light" . I am assuming this is an inline fuse with an indicator light. (it is grounded isn't it)

If this is the auto reset circuit breaker type is it kicking out due to a excessive load ( probably caused by a short from hot to ground) Take an ice pick type test light and check downstream of the breaker for juice.

What happens if temporarily you connect the hot side without the fuse assembly in the circuit. Will everything work ? Does it seem to spark excessively when you connect it ? ( generally indicates a short)
Have you tried a different type of master fuse ? I like the one in my post above (far left in picture) It has a manual shut off as well to avoid accidentally draining the battery with a light left on when stored. You will notice 4 little glass fuses downstream. These protect individual legs of the trailer wiring. I used real simple logic right, left, front, and rear areas so I can tell where the problem is , if it should ever develop one. 2 1/2 years to date and zero problems.

[Danno]

nowhere did i read that you tested the battery at the terminals in the afternoon. That's like making sure your computer is plugged in before calling tech support.

When the electrical isn't working, disconnect everything from the battery and test it at the terminals.

Others have eluded to this, but I just wanted to say it nice and clear.

[bobhenry]

In their 4/13 post it was reported that it was tested at 12.5 volts which would indicate to me it was fully charged.

[Danno]

In their 4/13 post it was reported that it was tested at 12.5 volts which would indicate to me it was fully charged.

I read

This one tested 12.5+ when I put it in and hooked it up .... NOTHING NADA ZIP

Which might imply what you are saying, but they did say "tested 12.5+ WHEN I put it in and hooked it up" not "tested 12.5+ THEN I put it in and hooked it up"

I know it's nitpicking, but just trying to make sure nothing is missed. It's tough trying to be an armchair electrician over the internet, and sometimes it's the easy things we miss.

although either case should indicate the battery is good. but, like said, you need to start at the battery and work away in a methodical manner in order to find the problem.