Am I missing something ? Newbie questions - help please ...

Hi folks - and thanx in advance for any help you might be able to give.

I just got my 1st Class C Motor home - 1999 Fleetwood Jamboree 29ft

EVERYTHING works as it should .... except I am confused over a couple of things ....

When parked and the engine off and disconnected from shoreline power I seem to be completely 'dead in the water'.

No interior 12v lighting, no water pump, no refrigerator via propane or electric etc etc

If I have the vehicle engine running or at least the ignition full on ie. dash lights on then I do have interior 12v lighting, water pump, refrigerator via propane or electric etc etc

The generator works fine and powers everything when on.

I was under the impression that my 2 big back up Trojan batteries (new) would give me standby 12volt power .... without the need for the generator to be on or the vehicle running ???

Is there a switch I need to press somewhere or is something somewhere broken ?

If I'm 'boondocking it somewhere' overnight without hook ups I'd at least like water to flow to flush the toilet and lights WITHOUT the need to run the geni or switch the vehicle on ... !!

There is indeed an Aux Power switch - please see attached pic -

It is permanently set in the middle position (neither on or off) you can press it up for on or down for off but it does nothing , and when released it returns to the centre position.

I'm guessing this must be the source of the problem ...
time to pull it apart and test.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll49/AngliaUSA/IMG_2333.jpg

Your advice and suggestions would be most appreciated.
Thanx.

You have a battery disconnect switch somewhere that is off.  It could be a rocker type switch by the door, or a marine type switch in the battery compartment.  Hopefully someone with the same year a model motorhome will be along to tell you exactly where it is, if you don't find it first.

I am not familiar with your particular unit, however you are correct you should have 12v power when parked.  This makes me believe that your unit has a 12v cut off switch somewhere that isolates the house batteries.  If I were you I'd start by looking close to the batteries for a switch. another option would be to look in storage compartments. 

If you just got it you  might ask the previous owner, or the dealer where you got it.  Hopefully someone in the forum will have the same, or similar unit that can give you some clues on where to look.

Ok so I checked the aux power switch switch and there are 3 wires going to it Green(top),Black(centre)Blue (bottom), there is no current to any of these wires.

I have also double checked every fuse on the rig and there are all fine.

I'll start my search for the illusive 12v disconnect switch

Unless you have any other  suggestions ... thanx !

The Aux Power switch is used to bridge the house and chassis batteries in the event the chassis batteries are to discharged to start the engine.  Since you have no power to any of the leads on that switch, that confirms that the house batteries are disconnected.

AngliaUSA said:

...

I'll start my search for the illusive 12v disconnect switch

Unless you have any other  suggestions ... thanx !

Click to expand...

There actually may be a pair (often located together), one for house batteries and one for the chassis battery. They may also be momentary operation, disconnect one way and connect the other. On my unit they're labeled MAIN and AUX (MAIN is chassis).

You could have a popped circuit breaker and just not recognize is as such.  My 2000 Coachmen has a couple of automotive type circuit breakers in the battery compartment.  They are about 1" x 3/4" rectangular shaped and typically are mounted with 1 or 2 screws.  The wires connect to the top side.  Some of these devices are "auto-resetting".  That is to say, after a period of time (a few seconds), they rest themselves.  But others, like in my unit, have a tiny button on the side to reset it.  I got my unit back from a repair shop once with no 12V to the coach.  It was this circuit breaker.  It reset OK, so I suspect the repair shop boys accidentally shorted something while working on it.

Found the problem .... bad ground to the aux batteries and they were completely discharged.
Sorted it and they are now taking a charge ... so hopefully all will be well.
Thanx a million for all the advice and help.
Cheers James

Glad you found it.  Hope your batteries aren't ruined.