Electrical Problems on my 2000 Kit Companion Travel Trailer

I have read up on the basics of the RV electrical system but I am a bit stumped. Partially it is because I have lived in my RV inside a little old trailer park for the past 5 years and most articles don't address this scenario. I am always connected to 30 amp park power. Most articles I find on electrical are for people camping without any outside electrical power or by those who are boondocking. It may be important to note that all of my problems started after the park was being upgraded from 30 amp to 50 amp, although I am still on 30 amp which is fine. I am just wondering if the constant turning off and on of the electrical system at the park might be at least partly to blame? Or it could just be that I have an 18 year old travel trailer!

Initially, when the problems started I would hear clicking and see flickering of the lights and my propane alarm would beep. Then it would sound like the air conditioning was starting up and then it would shut off immediately. After that, it would be fine for weeks at a time with absolutely no problems.

Two days ago I kept hearing a motor going on and off, and it sounded like the noise an air compressor makes as it recharges. I read up on it and thought it must be the inverter due to the fact that it was constantly powering on every five minutes or so. Then I went to the fuse box and shut off all of the breakers. I slowly turned each one back on, and when I got to the air conditioning breaker the motor sound started right up. I am assuming the problem lies with the A/C and not the inverter? Now that I turned the fuse off to the A/C I hear the clicking noise coming from the intake for the A/C on the ceiling.

My inverter is an Intellipower 9100. I have no idea where the deep cycle batteries are, but I assume they are under the trailer?

I am terrified to leave my trailer with the power on because I am afraid of an electrical fire. I have never run my refrigerator on propane, but I think I will have to because that is the only thing I would want running when I am not home.

Does anyone have any ideas for me? Also, I live in San Jose and have never been able to find anyone locally who might be able to help me. Aside from companies who make home visits and want $200 just to show up and the cost goes up from there. I am on a limited income. I am hoping to find someone with lots of RV repair experience who is either retired and/or could use a little extra money.

My first thought is the converter.  The Intellipower 9100 is a good unit, but if is original...

A fully charged battery should read 12.6V.  A converter will put out at least 13.6V.  Normally, the converter is close to the breaker box / fuse panel and is connected to both the fuse panel and the battery.  (Normally on a TT, the battery is mounted on the tongue of the trailer.)

If you can read the voltage at the fuse panel, it will tell you if the converter is functioning.  Flickering lights and LP alarms are both symptoms offshore power losses.  Unfortunately, if it is intermittent, you must be looking at the voltage meter when it occurs to verify this is the issue.

Thanks for the reply. The battery that was on the tongue of my trailer blew up about a year after I bought it. It sounded like someone hit my trailer with their car, and the manager of the park pointed it out to me. I thought that was the only battery, but how could it be if the inverter works with the battery?

I don't see anything at the fuse box that looks like an inverter. I have seen pictures of other people's fuse boxes with the inverter underneath it.  I didn't see any voltage readout at the breaker panel, but I can go back and look.

The Intellipower is the original unit. The only replacement I could find in the records was the water pump. Otherwise everything should be original.

To be accurate, you do not have an INverter.  The 9100 is a CONverter/charger and it supplies 12vdc by converting 120vac to 12vdc.  As long as you have shore power, is substitutes for the battery. And if the battery is installed, it charges it as well.  An inverter is a different electrical device.

The battery(s) for your trailer was in the box on the tongue, so you apparently no longer have one installed. No problem, as long as you have shore power and the 9100 is working.  However, with the park power switching off & on, you would certainly be aware of it because the 9100 goes off & on with the shore power, causing loss of 12v as well.


The air conditioner is powered direct from shore power, not via the converter. However, if your trailer has a wall thermostat for a/c control, that is also 12v powered and the a/c won't run without it.

The refrigerator also uses a small amount of 12v power, regardless of whether it is running in AC mode or LP gas mode.


If the park power changes have been completed and you are still hearing clicking or motor noises from the roof a/c, my guess is the control circuit board in the a/c is failing.  Obviously it should not be turning on by itself.

This question is for Gary...But it concerns this situation.
With the battery removed, Should the positive cable be protected to prevent grounding to the frame?

Gary RV_Wizard said:

To be accurate, you do not have an INverter.  The 9100 is a CONverter/charger and it supplies 12vdc by converting 120vac to 12vdc.  As long as you have shore power, is substitutes for the battery. And if the battery is installed, it charges it as well.  An inverter is a different electrical device.

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That explains why it says "converter" on my fuse box I am guessing inverters are more important to people who go where there is no shore power?

The air conditioner is powered direct from shore power, not via the converter. However, if your trailer has a wall thermostat for a/c control, that is also 12v powered and the a/c won't run without it.

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I do have a wall thermostat for my A/C.

If the park power changes have been completed and you are still hearing clicking or motor noises from the roof a/c, my guess is the control circuit board in the a/c is failing.  Obviously it should not be turning on by itself.

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It only turned on by itself once a few months ago. The electrical is finally complete. It dragged on for a year and a half because the company they hired were unreliable. We only have 32 spaces and only a fraction of them had to be updated to 50 amp. But the clicking is current and it comes and goes. I might not hear anything for an hour and then I hear it intermittently in short intervals. So if I have the breaker switch for the A/C turned off it can still make a clicking noise? I switched the breaker off yesterday.

The thing I am worried about most is if it is safe to leave my trailer with the power on. I have to at least leave the refrigerator on now that I know the 12V is involved I need the converter on too. I just looked at the breakers. 1 is the converter and 2 is the refrigerator. I can shut off the microwave, water heater, and A/C.  I have cats and could never forgive myself if my trailer caught fire.

Thanks for your help Gary.



Edit: Moderator fix/added quote tags to make the reply more clear

I just remembered one more thing Gary. So that sound of a motor going on and off was my air conditioner then? It did stop after I shut the A/C breaker off.

That "motor" was probably the a/c compressor, but I don't know why it would try to run on its own if the a/c is turned off.


It's difficult to guess what the problem(s) may be without many more specifics as to physically where the noise comes from and the conditions when it occurs.  If the clicks are up in the ceiling at the rooftop a/c unit that one set of possibilities, but if its down near the floor or under a cabinet, it's another.  Since the wall thermostat is 12v powered and triggers action at the a/c circuit board, yes it could click with the a/c breaker turned off. The a/c cannot run, but the controller board can still try to start it.  Does it happen if the thermostat is switched off?

Gary RV_Wizard said:

That "motor" was probably the a/c compressor, but I don't know why it would try to run on its own if the a/c is turned off.

It stopped running on it's own when I turned the breaker off.


It's difficult to guess what the problem(s) may be without many more specifics as to physically where the noise comes from and the conditions when it occurs.  If the clicks are up in the ceiling at the rooftop a/c unit that one set of possibilities, but if its down near the floor or under a cabinet, it's another.  Since the wall thermostat is 12v powered and triggers action at the a/c circuit board, yes it could click with the a/c breaker turned off. The a/c cannot run, but the controller board can still try to start it.  Does it happen if the thermostat is switched off?

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It is coming from the ceiling. There was a small gap near the A/C shroud on the roof. My neighbor put duct tape on it, but I have no idea what the repair looked like. Maybe some rain water leaked under the duct tape. I think I need a new shroud. The a/c worked for awhile after that.

When I turn the thermostat on I hear the clicking from the ceiling, and I still hear it occasionally when the thermostat is off as well. So on or off it clicks at the ceiling. That is the a/c intake correct?

For now the bottom line is that I don't need the A/C in the winter and I can deal with a repair later. I very rarely turn the A/C on anyway. I live under a 75 foot Ponderosa Pine so it doesn't get as hot in my trailer as those in the park without shade. I don't even turn it on until it's at least in the high 80's inside. I love the heat. It's the cold I can't stand.

I am only worried about an electrical fire if my converter and refrigerator are still on.

Your entire a/c unit is contained in the rooftop package, compressor and electronics outside, air intake and heat exchange inside at the ceiling.  The shroud is only cosmetic, hiding the machinery. It doesn't keep water out.  There is a gasket under the rooftop unit where it presses against the roof, surrounding the hole where it connects to the interior half of the unit.  If that piece of duct tape was on the shroud, it had no effect on a leak. If it is on the roof surface adjacent t the a/c, you probably have water damage in the ceiling and maybe the a/c components as well.  There are roof sealing tapes that are much more durable than duct tape.

I haven't seen anything in your description so far that indicates the converter/charger is bad, or that the fridge is suspect.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Your entire a/c unit is contained in the rooftop package, compressor and electronics outside, air intake and heat exchange inside at the ceiling.  The shroud is only cosmetic, hiding the machinery. It doesn't keep water out.  There is a gasket under the rooftop unit where it presses against the roof, surrounding the hole where it connects to the interior half of the unit.  If that piece of duct tape was on the shroud, it had no effect on a leak. If it is on the roof surface adjacent t the a/c, you probably have water damage in the ceiling and maybe the a/c components as well.  There are roof sealing tapes that are much more durable than duct tape.

I haven't seen anything in your description so far that indicates the converter/charger is bad, or that the fridge is suspect.

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I don't know what the repair looks like, but there is a mushy spot on the sub floor in the door frame of the bathroom. Maybe it is leaking from the roof? My bathroom is another story and a bit of a nightmare. I might have someone to help me with that though.

Gizmo100 said:

This question is for Gary...But it concerns this situation.
With the battery removed, Should the positive cable be protected to prevent grounding to the frame?

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Absolutely!  It will be energized with 12 volts with up to the full output current of the converter.  12 volts at 40 - 60 amps makes a dandy arc welder.

Lou Schneider said:

Absolutely!  It will be energized with 12 volts with up to the full output current of the converter.  12 volts at 40 - 60 amps makes a dandy arc welder.

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Thanks Lou...I was thinking along those same lines.