Lunar Firefly
Member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2017
- Posts
- 10
Hello!
I'm completely new to this and a lot of learning has come from research into fixing things, and advice from RV goods retailers.
We got a 1990 Fleetwood Southwind 28ft RV that I'll be living in. Having no knowledge of RVs, we went by what we could find to determine if this seemed worthwhile, but as of yesterday we've learned it wasn't. We think the hot water heater is bad as the water has been ice cold despite it being on for a while, and the pilot light keeps going out then relighting a bit later, out, rinse, repeat.
After plugging in the 'shore' power, we realized the system wasn't getting any juice. I took a no contact voltage pen to the line from the electrical box into the RV and it was hot. Checked the wires in the box it connected to, which also read active. But when I got to the power converter under the fridge, not maybe six feet from the power cable, there was nothing. We managed to fire up the generator and realized there's nothing coming in from that either.
We checked EVERYWHERE for a switch to see if it was dead, or stuck, and couldn't find it. My friend also looked, and he was able to get into areas I couldn't and even he wasn't able to locate anything. He's familiar with RVs, but he's as baffled as we are on what the deal is.
I'm suppose to be moving into it Sunday as our lease here is up (my friend is going his own way).
Right now we're running a line in from the power box via extension cord and surge protector just to get the converter going, and power some basics up. Fridge is working on an external power cord as well for the moment.
Does anyone have ANY ideas where the switch could be, or to determine if there might be something else going on?
Water pump, heater, stove, and the like all work as they work off propane.
If it helps, the layout (as I understand this can change where things are) from the back to front - bedroom, full size bed positioned so the head and foot sit against the sides of the RV. Cabinets on either side of the head of the bed (drivers side) with another closer to the front in the bedroom, on the passenger side. Next is the bathroom on the drivers side; small toilet next to the sink against the side of the RV, and a shower with mini bath further up in the RV right up against the side of the sink. Next is the fridge, and couch/bed which extends up to the drivers seat.
Passenger side has two storage closets and drawers, then stove, sink and counter space before coming to the stairwell to the door. After the stairwell is a chair, and a table before the passenger seat.
Optional table hole in front of the couch.
I'm still familiarizing myself with all the external compartments but right around where the power plug feeds in, is the water line, water pump, external shower hookup, and sewage compartment. Further up on the drivers side is the hot water heater, and refrigerator, then the propane tank.
Passenger side on the far back is the generator, storage, heater, entry door, and then more storage.
And of course all the various cupboards inside the coach.
I hope this isn't too much information. Please let me know if there's anything more you need.
Thanks a bunch for all your help!
I'm completely new to this and a lot of learning has come from research into fixing things, and advice from RV goods retailers.
We got a 1990 Fleetwood Southwind 28ft RV that I'll be living in. Having no knowledge of RVs, we went by what we could find to determine if this seemed worthwhile, but as of yesterday we've learned it wasn't. We think the hot water heater is bad as the water has been ice cold despite it being on for a while, and the pilot light keeps going out then relighting a bit later, out, rinse, repeat.
After plugging in the 'shore' power, we realized the system wasn't getting any juice. I took a no contact voltage pen to the line from the electrical box into the RV and it was hot. Checked the wires in the box it connected to, which also read active. But when I got to the power converter under the fridge, not maybe six feet from the power cable, there was nothing. We managed to fire up the generator and realized there's nothing coming in from that either.
We checked EVERYWHERE for a switch to see if it was dead, or stuck, and couldn't find it. My friend also looked, and he was able to get into areas I couldn't and even he wasn't able to locate anything. He's familiar with RVs, but he's as baffled as we are on what the deal is.
I'm suppose to be moving into it Sunday as our lease here is up (my friend is going his own way).
Right now we're running a line in from the power box via extension cord and surge protector just to get the converter going, and power some basics up. Fridge is working on an external power cord as well for the moment.
Does anyone have ANY ideas where the switch could be, or to determine if there might be something else going on?
Water pump, heater, stove, and the like all work as they work off propane.
If it helps, the layout (as I understand this can change where things are) from the back to front - bedroom, full size bed positioned so the head and foot sit against the sides of the RV. Cabinets on either side of the head of the bed (drivers side) with another closer to the front in the bedroom, on the passenger side. Next is the bathroom on the drivers side; small toilet next to the sink against the side of the RV, and a shower with mini bath further up in the RV right up against the side of the sink. Next is the fridge, and couch/bed which extends up to the drivers seat.
Passenger side has two storage closets and drawers, then stove, sink and counter space before coming to the stairwell to the door. After the stairwell is a chair, and a table before the passenger seat.
Optional table hole in front of the couch.
I'm still familiarizing myself with all the external compartments but right around where the power plug feeds in, is the water line, water pump, external shower hookup, and sewage compartment. Further up on the drivers side is the hot water heater, and refrigerator, then the propane tank.
Passenger side on the far back is the generator, storage, heater, entry door, and then more storage.
And of course all the various cupboards inside the coach.
I hope this isn't too much information. Please let me know if there's anything more you need.
Thanks a bunch for all your help!