12 volt troubles

[Catlady66]

I have a 2008 national Dolphin Lx. I have no light, hot water heater, radio, water pump, heat or air. The generator will not come on and it is plugged in to shore power. There is no lights on the control panel or on the battery disconnect switch.i have a brand new inverter 2000 and 4 brand new 6 volt batteries wired in series and parallel,which is how I was told it needed to be hooked up. I live in this motorhome full time and really could use some help

 

[ChasA]

Hi catlady. Purrrr. Welcome. Perhaps the aux battery switch is off. Also, please post a picture of your battery setup.

 

[Catlady66]

This is the house battery and the ones hooked up to inverter

 

[Catlady66]

Inverter batteries

 

[Catlady66]

This is the switch for the battery disconnect but I can't tell if it's on or off because nothing lights up on it.

 

[Catlady66]

This is the main control panel and I can't turn anything on on it because there isn't any power to it

 

[John From Detroit]

I see two issues. Well perhaps just one
IF the unit has/had a converter on teh HOUSE side of the disconnect switch it was likely disabled or removed when the big Inverter/charger was installed. Typically this type of device hooks direct to the battery (before the disconnect)

If that is the case as another said: Disconnect switch
Typically this is just inside the door and on a motor home labeled AUX or Use/Store On a Trailer they do not have a MAIN (Chassis battery) so they do not use the AUX label

Option 2. if they did not disable the converter when installing the inverter... tis toast

But I'm fairly sure they did.. Also depending on the inverter there may be a "Charger enable" IOr disable) that neds to be toggled

Ok the photos help one of the XANTREX panel (only part of it showed up)

Try pressing the DISCONNECT button You should hear a clunk I've never seen a push-push but I'm not a professional (I'vew seen 3 position spring return to neutral so also try both ends)

on the Xantrex panel look for a "Charger" switch.. also what model inverter?

 

[Catlady66]

Ok the inverter I bought was the same one that came out so not sure. I know the disconnect switch did work before I started having Murphy's Law on my motor home. Things have been going from worse to horrible for the last 4 months. Lol I used to be able to get to get the interior light and the panel that is the main control to work if I started the motor home, but now that won't even work now the leveling Jack's and radio won't work. And the generator won't start or even try.

 

[John From Detroit]

Too bad you are on the wrong side of the country.. There are some other things but Can you take a shot of the XANTREX panel and post it.... You caught just the name in the controls shot above.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I'm a little confused here. You show a "house" battery and inverter batteries, but those are usually the same. Could that house battery be the engine starting (chassis) battery?

In any case, loss of 12v power to the house would cause all your symptoms - even the a/c needs a bit of 12v power to function. There is almost surely a major fuse or 12v circuit breaker on the main power feed, so I'd start checking those for blown fuse or open breaker.

 

[Catlady66]

The model of inverter/charger is Xantrex Freedom 458 series

 

[John From Detroit]

That is a good one can you you take another photo This timne of the the Xantrex control panel and switches. The charge light must be lit for the thing to charge your batteries.
And the Battery disconnect should have the battery light lit.
I'm guessing charger is off and batteries are dead but fuses can also do it or manual reset circuit breakers.

Here is a link to the manual for your inverter

Xantrex 458 Series manual

 

[JayArr]

Hi Catlady

I repair the Freedom 458's for a living. Can you take a clear picture of the front of the inverter and a picture of the inside control panel so I can see which lights are on.

 

[cavie]

1st, you need a voltmeter and someone that knows how to use it! Verify if you have voltage on the disconnect or not. Also, Check the "Reverse Polarity Fuses."

 

[Ray-IN]

I see 4 6V batteries wired in series/parallel, these are the house/inverter batteries. I see 1 12V battery, that is the starting battery for the main engine.
The panel picture, I see a momentary rocker switch for the house battery disconnect. One side triggers the disconnect solenoid to on, the other side triggers that solenoid to off position.
The Xantrex 458 users manual explains its installation and operation in detail.
If you have access to a stand-alone battery charger, hook it to your house batteries to maintain 12volts charging to the battery bank for at least 8 hours.