Unable to figure out how to turn on or run power from Battery

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neptune1 said:
- what does the distribution panel look like and am I needing to look for one?
- where is the 40a breaker, and what does that look like?
- what,where is the converter,charger and what do I look for?
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The distribution panel is typically a small plastic/metal door  down near the floor someplace in the RV. When you open it, you'll see 110 Volt AC circuit breakers and possibly 12 Volt DC fuses.

The 40 Amp breaker will typically look like the one provided in the picture. You're going to have to do a hand over hand inspection of the Positive cable starting at the battery and go all the way to the converter. Check every inch.

The converter will be somewhere typically near your distribution panel.  It may be wired directly to the panel or it may be plugged into a standard electrical outlet behind the panel. There may be a circuit breaker in the distribution panel labeled "converter".
 
The 40 amp breaker looks like that little silver thing in the pic that was attached in an earlier post. This is the one myself and others have said that should be on the positive cable leading from the battery.

The distribution panel is where your 120 volt breakers and 12 volt fuses are located. It has a flat cover that releases when you press it in at the top to reveal the breakers and fuses.

The converter is usually located behind the distribution panel. If all your 12 volt stuff works when plugged in, your converter is working fine.

You still haven't answered how you checked the battery voltage, and whether you were plugged in when you checked it. This is important for us to know.

Rene beat me again. ;D
 
Hi, I have not done any battery electric voltage testing.i don't know how to do that.

I have checked every inch of the front of the trailer yesterday and have not found any switches or fuses near or around the battery or front of trailer. The only fuses I have found are inside where the breaker panel is.

I plugged the trailer in to see if shore power works and it does.

The only device that seems to work off the battery is the electric Jack on the lounge.

The batter is fully charged
 
AGAIN, PLEASE PLEASE READ THE POSTS ABOVE AND LOOK AT THE PICTURES.
There will be either a inline fuse, likely 30A or may e 40A, or a resettwble circuit breaket.  If you do as I suggested and start at the battery and follow the wires.  The negative will be screwed to the trailer frame.  The positive will go back under the trailer.  Where is disappears you likely will find a small panel screwed to the floor.  Take it off.  Continue following the wire.  When you get to something that looks like a mini tictac box shart checking for voltage.  It is possible it is a resettable or non resettable breaker.  Check for 12VDC on both sides.  Very likely you will find no voltage on one side.  Push the very small reset button or go buy a new one.
 
If jacks work then generally battery is good.
If battery is front mounted. then usually in the front compartment there will be one of several types of fuses or curcuit breakers. I've seen some strange ones. one has both a lever and a button, one or the other is pushed to get 1/2 of the systems working I never did figure how to get em both working.

THere may be a switch often rotary.

And just inside the door there is often a switch, May be mareked USE STORE or AUX.

alas. Hands on it's dang near an instant job in most cases and and only a couple minutes if there is a problem  Hands off not so easy .

One thing I use is a TEST LIGHT. this is a device you get at your Auto Parts store or Wall Mart of RV store.. It looks a bit like an old fashion ice pick with a clear or translucent handle, inside the handle is a light bulb and a wire comes out of the handle (or plugs into it) with a clip lead.> Ground the clip and probe for power. Start at the battery.
Then follow the positive lead to the first thing you come to and probe all big screws (if it has both big and small just the big ones, if two the same size both of 'em.)

Problem exists between BRIGHT and Dark .
 
I'm at a loss without being there to look at things myself. As I understand it, without being plugged in to shore power or tow vehicle, the tongue jack will work, but nothing else 12 volt will work. That brings me back to a breaker before the wiring hits the distribution panel, a problem with the connections between the battery and the converter, or a blown fuse at the converter. You said you didn't know how to test voltage at the battery. I recommend that you buy an inexpensive digital multimeter. One of the $10 Harbor Freight ones will suffice. It isn't hard to learn the basics of how to use one, and can save you a lot of aggravation on problems such as this one. You will be able to take voltage readings at the battery, do continuity tests on fuses, troubleshoot ailing appliances, test outlets at home and the campground, etc. Looking at a fuse to see if it is blown can be very misleading. The proper way is with a tester or multimeter.
 
Reading between the lines, electrical wiring is not your strong suit.  Fine.  That is why you come here.

The battery has two (or more) wires attached to it.  The NEG post should go to a nearby frame member and be screwed to it.

The red POS  + post may have one wire going directly to the jack and another to the brake break away switch.  It should have a big one going to the panel.  THIS is the wire you need to follow every inch of to find the fuse or whatever else is stopping the current flow.
 
I am still not convinced the battery is good. You said you have not done any battery voltage test but then say it is fully charged. How did you come to this conclusion? Not trying to be sarcastic we are here to help. We need to know for sure it is good. If you don't have a tester. Take it out and got to a battery store or Auto parts store they will check it for free. We are all assuming the battery is good trying to narrow down the problem.
 
Ghostman said:
I am still not convinced the battery is good. You said you have not done any battery voltage test but then say it is fully charged. How did you come to this conclusion? Not trying to be sarcastic we are here to help. We need to know for sure it is good. If you don't have a tester. Take it out and got to a battery store or Auto parts store they will check it for free. We are all assuming the battery is good trying to narrow down the problem.
Click to expand...

The OP said the front jack is working fine. I think those motors eat up a lot of juice so I'm assuming the battery is good.
 
John From Detroit said:
One thing I use is a TEST LIGHT. this is a device you get at your Auto Parts store or Wall Mart of RV store.. It looks a bit like an old fashion ice pick with a clear or translucent handle, inside the handle is a light bulb and a wire comes out of the handle (or plugs into it) with a clip lead.> Ground the clip and probe for power. Start at the battery.
Click to expand...

This is what John was talking about.  https://www.ebay.com/bhp/12-volt-test-light

If you get a test light one thing you can do is see if you have power coming from the converter and charging the battery. First, disconnect the negative cable from the battery then just disconnect the positive cable from the battery.  Disconnect in this order.  Then then plug in the RV to shore power. Then clip the alligator clip on the end of the positive cable and touch the ice pick end to a good ground. The light will go on if the converter is working which would mean that any fuse between the battery and the converter is fine. After you're done, reconnect the battery cables doing the positive cable first. 
 
I wondered how the OP determined the battery is fully charged. He did say the tongue jack works, so I assume the battery got charged by the tow vehicle. I am also assuming the tow vehicle electrical cord wasn't plugged in when the jack worked. If the trailer was plugged into the tow vehicle, the jack probably worked from the tow vehicle's battery. I asked the OP how it was determined that the battery was fully charged, but didn't get a definitive answer, he just repeated that it was fully charged.
 
I agree that a test light is a handy tool to have, but for someone with no electrical experience would be better off spending the $10 towards a multimeter.
 
kdbgoat said:
I wondered how the OP determined the battery is fully charged. He did say the tongue jack works, so I assume the battery got charged by the tow vehicle. I am also assuming the tow vehicle electrical cord wasn't plugged in when the jack worked. If the trailer was plugged into the tow vehicle, the jack probably worked from the tow vehicle's battery. I asked the OP how it was determined that the battery was fully charged, but didn't get a definitive answer, he just repeated that it was fully charged.
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This is a tough one but doesn't have to be.  :eek: ;)  We'll eventually find the problem.
 
But it sure is lengthy and frustrating troubleshooting online. I could have had it fixed by now if it was in my yard.
 
I plugged in the trailer using its plug cord and all power works fine. -  The battery is fully charged. I tried using it to operate the electric jack on the tounge.
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Does the tongue jack work when the trailer is disconnected from the AC?


I still suspect a disconnected or discharged battery.



 
Hi all,

I truly appreciate all the help, but at the same time, too many different directions from everyone. I work full time so can only look at this
after work.

To answer a couple questions:
1: Why do I think the battery works and is charged. The guy we bought it from had it on the Charger when we picked it up (I saw it and it was fully charged on his charger). Also, it is operating the jack in the front just fine, I have used it about 4-5 times to unhitch the trailer. Also, when I had it plugged into Shore, there is a meter/test on the wall, one for the battery, I checked it as well and it shows fully charged.

I just got back from crawling under the trailer. I found the line that goes back towards the fuse panel. I found absolutely no other switches or fuses. NONE!

I double checked around the front hitch area. No switches, no fuses at all.

My wife and I for the 3rd time, checked everywhere inside, no switches.

Here are a couple pictures I took. Could it be that there is a fuse inside the Power Connector box on the front?? Here are a couple pictures.
 

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neptune1 said:
Hi all,

I truly appreciate all the help, but at the same time, too many different directions from everyone. I work full time so can only look at this
after work.

To answer a couple questions:
1: Why do I think the battery works and is charged.  Also, when I had it plugged into Shore, there is a meter/test on the wall, one for the battery, I checked it as well and it shows fully charged.
Click to expand...

When plugged into shore power, you were reading the output of the converter, not battery voltage. Unplug from shore power and then get a reading.
 
Have you taken the cover off the 12 volt box in the second picture? The breaker or a bad connection could very well be in that box.
 
battery is fully charged. It was on a battery charger, tested etc. Seems everyone is hung up on whether its charged LOL. Should i buy a new battery to convince everyone? :) lol

I have not take that cover off the 12 volt box yet. Looks like its screwed on, will have to do that tomorrow when I get home from work. Once I take it off, what will I most likely see?

 
It's not that we're hung up on whether it's fully charged or not, it's how you determined that fact. As I said, pressing the battery button on the panel while plugged in does not read the battery, it will read the output of the converter. That's why I asked in the beginning if that is what you did. A simple yes or no answer to that question would have helped a lot. If you have hitched and unhitched 4 or 5 times, and the trailer wasn't connected to your tow vehicle, rest assured that battery is no longer fully charged. As I said while ago, your problem is most likely under that cover. That's where your battery hooks up to everything else. And there's a good chance that there is a circuit breaker in that box. You also stand a good chance of finding some corroded wiring there too. I know what you mean about working full time, I put in 10 1/2 hour days, and get called up or called in a lot on top of that.
 
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