Electrical Problems

[MistWolf]

Came home from work the other day and noticed the lights were rather dim in the RV. We're hooked up to shore power so it was rather puzzling. Turns out the shore power isn't being distributed through the RV and the lights were running off battery power. I verified the power pedestal outside was till working.

Fired up the engine, then fired up the generator. Something is preventing the generator from delivering power to the batteries. There is a switch on the dash labeled "Aux Start" and when selected, the lights would brighten up and you could hear the generator taking on a load. After a couple of minutes, the lights would dim and the generator disconnected from the batteries.

I checked all the fuses & circuit breakers I could find, including in the battery control center that's located under the hood.

After starting the generator, I turned off the engine. No need to burn that much fuel. After searching for the problem and finding nothing, I figured I'd better get gas and fill the propane tank. Turned the key and nothing- not even a click. I don't know if the two problems are related or not.

Our motorhome is a 32' 98 Southwind by Fleetwood with a Chevy 454 engine. Hook up is for a 30 amp system.

Would a bad invertor cause this problem? Is there a way to test to see if the invertor is working?

Is there some kind of relay someplace that might be failing that's keeping the generator from doing it's job? If so, any idea where it's located?

Will bad batteries cause this kind of problem?

I have only very basic knowledge of electrics and am stumped. I gotta get this beast running so I can go get propane at the least.

I've been looking for a wiring schematic but haven't found one yet.

Any help will be appreciated

 

[SargeW]

There are a couple of possibilities. One is that your battery is bad or dying. A low voltage battery may get so low that your on board charger will not kick in to charge them. That could explain why the momentary  holding of the Aux switch would get the  lights brighter. It bypassed the charger circuit all together. 

The other possibility is that the charger itself has quit working.  I would check the voltage of the batteries with a meter, and then a hydrometer to see if one or more of the cells in  the battery are bad. 

 

[MistWolf]

Thanks. I'll check them over first thing in the morning

 

[Just Lou]

Try disconnecting the house batteries with the battery disconnect switch by the entry door while plugged into shore power.  If the lights stay bright and the appliances work, then you know the power converter works.  If things don't work, then you have a converter problem or transfer switch problem.

If things work with the batteries disconnected, but not when they are in the circuit then you have a shorted battery problem.

 

[MistWolf]

The problem I'm having is that I'm getting NO shore power in the motorhome, only battery power

 

[John From Detroit]

If you have a pass through inverter/charger.. Then yes, a "Bad inverter" (Actually the charger module) could cause this

Or a bad converter

Or a bad transfer switch.. If you have no 120 volt power in the motor home at all then, in your case skip the first part of this:

Suspect list
part 1
Park, (You already checked, it's good)
Cord (I ecommend you skip this)
Outlet (Cord end that plugs into motorhome inlet) and inlet (Likewise on skipping)

Part 2
Automatic transfer switch.  IF you are comfortable working with live electrical circuits, open and meter CAREFULLY.  A nice pair of rubber kitchen gloves is helpful here.

Main breaker on Circuit breaker panel.. DO NOT TRUST eyes, Physically turn on and off.

Branch breakers  (See last)


FACT: I like to say many RVers have a few screws loose.. The following is a short list of SOME of the screws I have found that were loose.

Circuit breakers (The screw holding the black wire) one took over two full turns before I felt resistance.
White and Bare/Green bus bars in the same box
Power inlet on motor home
Power cord outlet end (two of them, on one it was the neutral that was loose, on the other there are six screws inside the hood.. all six were loose and the end came off in my hand.. The cord just fell out of it).

I have also had a wire fail (12 volt)  wires do not normally fail.. When you start searching for a failure on a wire you are scraping the very bottom of the list, in fact you are on the "Extended Kojack Hair cut" list (From pulling all your hair out)  One unbroken  continous wire run with a fault in it is very very very rare.. but I found one.

 

[Ernie n Tara]

You haven't mentioned whether you have AC to the MH. Does the microwave have power? If it does, then look to the converter, batteries, and 12 fuses or breakers as mentioned above.  If not, the transfer switch and AC circuit breakers become the prime suspects.

Ernie

 

[Just Lou]

As batteries start to die with no charging it's common to start chasing symptoms, rather than causes.  The "no response" when you attempted to start the engine could mean that your chassis battery disconnect has been activated.

Strange, but certainly not impossible, would be a transfer switch failure while simply connected to shore power, as the switch is in an 'inactive state' at that time.

Your best source of a wiring diagram is to call Fleetwood RV Customer Support, with your VIN & FIN, and request the electrical diagrams for your coach.  You may as well request the plumbing and heating diagrams as well.  Fleetwood will e-mail them to you very quickly.

In the mean time, if you suspect the transfer switch, it is located (mounted) on the back side of your main circuit breaker panel.

 

[John Hilley]

It seems to point to three possibilities in this order

1. Shore power receptacle doesn't have power (breaker in house load center)

2. Transfer switch not working

3. Motor home load center main breaker tripped.

My guess is it is the RV circuit breaker in the house

 

[MistWolf]

The tops of the two 6 volt batteries are swollen so I suspect they are on their last legs

Shore power receptacles are working

As I stated earlier, there is no AC power in the RV

I've checked all the circuit breakers I could find, both inside (is that what you mean by "in the house"?) and under the hood. I've also pulled every fuse I could find and checked to make sure they weren't blown.

I'm new at RVs so please forgive my ignorance. What and where is the transfer switch?

 

[John From Detroit]

John, normally I would suspect the shore outlet as well.. BUT.. The problem is there no matter if on shore power or generator power

AND he tested the shore outlet.

OH, I will add one more to the list... 12 volt symptoms......

From time to time I've had 12 volt issues. My main ham rig starts acting funny, people tell me Ive got "RF Feedback" (Which I do not) and other things are acting strange, all 12 volt items.

usually about 3am I figure it out.. Go out to the kitchen where the remote for converter #2 is and flip the ENABLE switch and all is well.

Converter #1 (A Progressive Industries Intella power 9180 with wizard I like better than the Prosine's charger module) has been unplugged.. Come morning I get dressed, go out to where it hides, plug it back in and disable teh Prosine's charger.


If the tops of the six volt batteries are swollen  Then is POSSIBLE you have one or more shorted cells, These may have caused either a fuse to blow (on/in the converter) and/or a breaker to trip (Battery control center if you hae one) ... Or they may just be sucking power that fast.

Fact: I have a bunch of batteries here (I think 4 12 volt if you count the six volt pair as one 12) and I have had two of them fail shorted.. When the 12 volt (Group 29) failed the inverter would hold in for like 10 seconds under load when I tripped the shore breaker (50 amp rig on 40 amps that is easy to do) when I isolated it (Later repaced) that went up quite a bit.

When the six volt batt shorted.. If the breaker tripped the inverter went to ALARM and shut down faster than I can type "ALARM" and I type fast>

I then isolated the six volt pair (They are going to be replaced soon, Funds happen in 2 weeks, finding a Sam's may take longer).  This week I've tripped the park breaker two or 3 times.. ONE Time I noticed it immed,  the other two it was some minutes before I caught on and noticed some indicator lights off, went out and re-set it, never lost power to the TVs.

 

[Just Lou]

[quote author=MistWolf]
I'm new at RVs so please forgive my ignorance. What and where is the transfer switch?
[/quote]

I put that info in my earlier reply.  Your transfer switch is attached to the backside of your main circuit breaker panel.

If you can't get to the back of it, try giving the whole panel a few good hits with something like a rubber mallet or an old shoe.

 

[MistWolf]

I put that info in my earlier reply.  Your transfer switch is attached to the backside of your main circuit breaker panel.

If you can't get to the back of it, try giving the whole panel a few good hits with something like a rubber mallet or an old shoe.

You did. In my frustration I didn't see it before. I'm gonna have a bit of lunch, take a breath and tackle it again

 

[MistWolf]

Just Lou, I cannot thank you and everyone else enough for the advice. I still think I'm going to need to get new batteries but for now, I was able to restore AC power to our motorhome. More importantly, the advice to pull the breaker panel and inspect everything inside lead me to find a wire that had had been shorting against another and was glowing red hot when power was passing through! If I hadn't found that, it could very well have resulted in a disastrous if not fatal fire. I'll post photos later.

I've got all power disconnected and I will be removing and replacing the defective wiring. Again, thank you all. If any of you are ever in Ogden Utah, look me up- I owe you a dinner

 

[Just Lou]

You are very welcome.  Stay safe and stay warm.

 

[MistWolf]

Replaced the burnt wires and both swollen batteries. Hooked everything up, reset the circuit breakers and everything is working correctly. The wires are not getting hot either. All is good.

Again, thanks to all!