07 Tiffin phaeton no house power with new batteries or being plugged in

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Brandydk73

Brandydk73

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2017
Posts
12
Location
Florida
Cat diesel-powered  2007 tiffon phaeton
Before going in to fix exterior damage everything worked and both the motor and generator were ran on a weekly bases. The day the rv was returned, the driver had to jump the house batteries to close the slide out. He drove it from Tampa to sanford with it open, which to me says the house batteries were working at one point while they were fixing the exterior damage.

We had a mechanic come look at it, the generator won't start and nothing inside will turn on except the engine. He jumped it using his truck but it seemed like the batteries weren't charging. That is the only way we can get the generator to run and get electricity inside.

We plugged the unit in, we bought 4 new house batteries, we have checked all fuses that we can find and all circuit breakers, we still have no electricity inside. I don't know if they disconnected the house batteries n reconnected them wrong. We just need help, please
 
If your mechanic had to jump start your generator from his truck, then it seems to me that the house batteries were dead. Did he check the house batteries with a voltage meter?  Other than just start the generator, what did he do? Is the battery disconnect switch for the house batteries in the on position? If you have a multi-meter, check the house batteries again. I would imagine that a motorhome like yours you would have a switch close to the steering wheel that would let you connect the engine battery to start the generator. Put an actual battery charger on the house batteries, not just a trickle charger.  Check the fluid levels before you do that. Once the house batteries have a full charge, there is no reason they should not crank the generator, unless something else has been disconnected, or they are unable to take a charge. Once you are able to crank the generator, you should be one step closer to solving the issue.
 
We actually went out and bought 4 new batteries and that didn't help. When we returned the old batteries for the core charge the people at the store checked the old ones and they still had a good charge.

Basically, we are not getting any power for the house. We plug the unit into our house and get nothing also.

The battery disconnect switch is on.

Our machinic only jumped the system, bypassing the batteries. I think the company that was doing the body work did something but they are saying it's not their problem.
 
OK, you have good batteries but no 12v battery power is reaching the coach electrical system. I gather, though, that once you get the genset running you have interior power, including the 12v lighting, fridge, etc.?  If so, you know the converter/charger is working.  That would suggest that there is a problem between the batteries and the power distribution panel (fuses). There is a battery disconnect relay in that path (operated by the disconnect switch) and probably a large fuse as well.  The converter/charger may have fuses for battery reverse polarity protection as well.  Please identify the make/model of converter/charger (or possibly inverter/charger) so that we can know switches and protection circuits it has.

The slide motor is typically connected more or less directly to the battery via its own fuse and circuit, so slide not working suggests a fundamental problem close to the batteries.
 
The inverter is a freedom 458. I took 3 pictures and I'm trying to get them to upload.

Edited to add....I'm on my tablet and cannot figure out how to upload pictures because they're 1mb and .8mb
 
Do you have (I assume you do) any GFI outlets in the coach?

If that is tripped lots of thinks don't work.  Just saying it's worth a look.  Hit the test button on the GFI and then the Reset button.
 
These are the fuses. I'm trying to get the inverter picture smaller.
 

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Ok, I turned off the inverter circuits, turned them back on,  then held in the inverter button for a few seconds and now it's finally on. That didn't help the problem, but I was messing with the house connect knob by turning on and off then when I pushed it in, while the engine was running, the a/c on the dash came on and the automatic steps came out.

We will be looking at the house disconnect knob later so any advice on that would be awesome.
 
The house disconnect knob is cracked and not connecting. Is there a place I can buy a new one and how do I replace it? I'm a chicken when it comes to electrical stuff ?
 

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Does your motorhome have an Automatic Transfer Switch?  This means that once the generator is up and running, 110  volt power is automatically transferred to the house without you having to connect the shore power cord into the receptacle. If not, then you have to physically plug it in in order to get power.

Did you also check the circuit breaker switch on the side of the generator. If this switch has been tripped, the generators runs, but does not provide 110 volts to the house.
 
It has an automatic transfer switch and we checked the circuit breaker on the generator. We had the generator serviced twice, in the last 2yrs, and the 1st mechanic showed everyone how to check the circuit breaker because that was the problem the 1st time.
 
That's appears to be a standard type mechanical battery switch, so you can pick up a replacement at most any auto parts store or RV center. Where is this switch located - it does not appear to be the usual remote switch placed near the entry door?  Those are small switches that trigger a relay somewhere else. This type of switch is often found in a compartment near the chassis and is more often used to switch chassis battery. In many later model rigs, the slides operate off the chassis battery rather than the house.

If only the knob is cracked, that is not likely the problem. It would need to be inside the switch body itself.
 
It's the house battery master switch right next to the house batteries. My boyfriend took it off and it fell to pieces in his hand. We went to a rv repair place and bought a new one, the only difference is it says chassis, now we have 2 chassis switches lol.

That was the problem. We connected the new switch, turned it and the inverter back on, and the gen set turned right on. Everything is working ??

Thank you everyone for the help!
 
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