Power surges and ac and fans not working

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Kodydog23

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Apr 14, 2019
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Hi all, last year my camper started having power surges with the lights and fans, the lights would get dim then a couple minutes later back to bright continuously. We just camped this weekend for the first time this year and it continued doing it but this morning the ac or furnace won?t try to come on, the lights hardly light up and all and the one vent fan won?t work at all the one does slightly. I also noticed it drained my battery down to 1 bar, why would it drain the battery when it?s plugged in to a 30amp service? My battery is 4 years old and was corroded so I brought it home to clean up and charge, the refridgerator and outlets still work fine as well as the microwave so what could be causing this to only certain things?
 
Welcome to the RV Forum Kodydog23

Let's start with some more information.

Year make and model of RV

You are plugged into a 30 amp service...Is you camper a 30 amp system ( or a 50 amp)
 
Best guess is you have a bad battery. The rapid loss of charge and the age are pretty good indicators. Remove the battery and have it tested to be sure. Some auto part stores test for free. Update the forum of your results so we can continue to help if the problem persists.
 
It?s a 2007 prowler regal 270fqs, and I have the battery charging now and I have a load tester so I?ll check that after bit
 
But does it need a battery to work properly? When it?s plugged in I wouldn?t think so, and the microwave, outlets and refridgerator still work, but everything else has hardly any life and one fan, ac / heat doesn?t try to come on at all
 
After you confirm battery integrity, you can start looking at other things but first make sure that battery is good and if it isn't, replace it.
 
You should have more than one battery in the prowler. If not, let us know the size and type of the one you have and yes, your batteries are part of your overall electrical health.
 
Henry J Fate said:
You should have more than one battery in the prowler. If not, let us know the size and type of the one you have and yes, your batteries are part of your overall electrical health.
Click to expand...

I believe this is a travel trailer so why would there be more than one battery?

With the battery out and still plugged into shore power, check the voltage at the battery cables. The converter should be putting out somewhere around 13.5 volts or more.
 
To answer the "Why when on shore power?" question, a really bad battery will suck much of the 12v power from the converter. since it is acts much like a short circuit. Sophisticated converters manage the heavy load better and may even detect the bad battery and shut off charging, but the simpler ones just try their best and do strange things.

Do as Rene suggests - see how the system acts with the battery out and shore power active (make sure the battery cables aren't shorted).

Charging an internally shorted or badly sulfated battery won't achieve much more than a surface charge - it will still be "bad" battery.
 
X's 3 on what Rene said.

Mind the positive cable doesn't get grounded while it's disconnected.

 
Mine only has 1 battery and there is only 1 battery box, and okay I?ll try it before I put the battery back in and see what it does, the camper is an hour from me now on a seasonal site
 
I had thought he battery compartment has accommodations for 2 batteries but now you mention it, it may only take one. Doesn't matter in this case as any battery in a low use camper that's 4 years old and discharging quickly should be immediately ruled out.
 
Henry J Fate said:
Best guess is you have a bad battery. The rapid loss of charge and the age are pretty good indicators. Remove the battery and have it tested to be sure. Some auto part stores test for free. Update the forum of your results so we can continue to help if the problem persists.
Click to expand...

I too will second that.  I'm guessin teh battry will test shorted and what is happening is the circuit breaker between the converter and the battery is cycling.  This is causing the dim/bright/dim/bright.  The voltage in the system is low enough the A/C fans are not being told to TURN ON (you have wall mounted A/C controls or a Carrier Remote operated right?)

Even 120 volt stuff like Fridge, Water heater and A/C may need 12 volt for the controls.
 
I charged the battery most of today, let it sit for about an hour and load tested it and it says it?s good, I?ll put it back on the camper and see what it does Friday. Where is the circuit breaker between that you are talking about? And the battery was corroded a little and I had to add water to it
 
If the battery is good, looking at the converter charger output would be the next check. With a fully charged battery installed and plugged into shore power, you should find a charging voltage at the battery of about 13.5 volts continuous. If it is not there or you find it is intermittent, begin a wellness check on the electrical system starting at the pedestal out from the campground to where power comes into the RV. Use your meter. At the pedestal and unplugged, turn on the pedestal 30 amp breaker and check for proper power voltage there. Check the junction box in the RV (if you have one) for clean tight connections. From there the power should go to the 120 volt service panel. Check the panel to be sure things look good in there and all the breakers are on. Next find the converter charger and check for power to it. Take a look in that area to see if things look good. Try to take a photo of the model and serial number. On Friday, please post the results of the battery install. There are many things to look at. There is also very good help available on this forum. Good Luck.
 
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I just put the battery back in and everything is working as it should now, but on the battery bar in the camper it is showing it?s doen 1 level
 
Now the battery is down 2 bars already! Should I go for a new battery tomorrow or could it be the charger to the battery?
 
it is very possible you have a bad battery but you did load test it ? It may be that the load test was inaccurate and the battery is bad. The bar meter in the Prowler could be inaccurate also. Check the voltage across the battery while plugged in. you should find 13.6 volts or about. next, disconnect the battery and take another voltage reading. you should be at 12.5 or about.  If you are still unsure, have it tested at one of the auto stores. Should be a free test.
 
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