TV picture cuts out after a few minutes on battery

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Bradusf

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Jan 15, 2017
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Hello, we arexpect running off the battery this weekend and the TV picture cuts out after about 3-5 minutes.  The sound is still on, but the pic goes out.  The 12 volt plug is reading a full 12 volts when I test it.  Any help would be appreciated!
 
I'll ask an obvious question.  Is this a 12-volt TV?  There are many of them around these days.  Most are 110-volt.

ArdraF
 
How are you measuring battery voltage? A reading of 12.0 volts means your battery is more than 50% discharged.
 
Ditto last replies. Especially if it's an older CRT type TV. Sounds like lack of battery amperage available. I had the same problem once with a small 13" CRT TV before I added to the battery bank.
But it also could be your battery is starting to get weak. Assuming the charging system is working properly. How old is it and in what condition? Did the TV work fine before under similar circumstances?
And don't forget...maybe the TV is going south on ya.

Just a couple of things to consider.
 
Thanks for all the comments.  The TV is a 16 inch about three years old.  I bought a 12 volt plug after market and it works fine when we are plugged in. The battery is two years old.  I have not checked the amps.  But I will watch how to video right now!  The camper meter shows it ato 1/3 power.
 
TV being only 3 years old, I'm assuming a flat screen. A two year old, well maintained battery should be ok. But If I am reading your post correctly, and you are only seeing one third battery power available, it still sounds like lack of battery power (amperage). You sure the charging side of your converter is working properly? If it isn't, that could explain why the TV works fine when plugged into shore power.
I am just wondering if your battery is a good one and doing all it can do. But it's not getting charged back up when plugged in and your TV is giving you the first clue.

What you could do is hook up an external automotive type battery charger up to the RV battery and charge it up. Then see if the TV works properly. That would help narrow down the possibilities of your problem. 
 
Will do, all led lights work fine, fans run everything works, but the TV.  Trying to find out how to check amps using a military meter.
 
I bought a 12 volt plug after market and it works fine when we are plugged in.

I'm guessing this "12v plug" is a small inverter and the tv has a standard wall plug power cord. If so, what you are seeing is the result of voltage drop in the battery, which in turn causes the inverter output voltage to drop and it probably gets well below 110v. I suspect the tv is unable to maintain the video once the voltage begins to fall. The audio portion is less demanding.

I don't see much value in attempting to measure the amps flowing to that 12v outlet. That exact information doesn't seem helpful to me. The inverter needs to pull about 11x the DC amperage that the tv needs as AC amperage. That's the basic arithmetic of inverting - it takes 10x as many 12v amps as the inverter produces in 120v amps, plus about 10% overhead for conversion losses.  A tv that size probably needs about 1A @ 120v, so the inverter is sucking around 11A through the outlet from the battery. That's stretching the capability of a typical 12v outlet and associated wiring, and also causes the battery voltage to drop fairly quickly. 
 
Think he is using a brick adapter, Gary? Which was my next guess of possible failure.
I am under the impression that his TV worked fine until now. Suggesting a failure of some sort.
 
Think he is using a brick adapter, Gary? Which was my next guess of possible failure.
Could be, but it wasn't clear. Without knowing more about the tv power cord and the "12v plug", it's all conjecture.

I am under the impression that his TV worked fine until now.
My impression is that this is the first attempt using the 12v outlet, but I could easily be misreading him.
 
My 12 volt TV in my convention van does that when the batterie is low....... If the battery is good check and titen all wire connection. 
 

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