Fridge, lights and furnace not working

[Roswell]

I have a 2007 select suite fifth wheel and the furnace, refrigerator and most of the lights is not working. I’ve checked the fuse panel. I’ve checked everything I could think of that might be wrong but I haven’t found anything. Does anybody have any ideas on what it could be? And how to fix it.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Did they ever work to your knowledge and, if so, what was the last thing you did in your RV before they quit working?

 

[Roswell]

Yes it worked. The last thing I remember was looking up at my kitchen light and it looked like my lights were burning out. The next thing I did was go look at my thermostat and there was nothing on it.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Welcome to The RV Forum!

Lights, refrigerator and furnace all operate on 12 volts, so you can use them without having to plug into 120 volt power. 12 volts comes from the trailer battery which is charged by the converter when you're plugged into power.

When you say your lights looked like they were burning out, do you mean they were getting dim? If so, it sounds like the converter isn't working and you've drained the battery.

Make sure you have 120 volt power getting into the trailer. Do you have something you can plug into a 120 volt outlet in the trailer to verify you have incoming power? Also check the connections on the batteries, make sure they aren't loose or battery acid hasn't caused corrosion to build up on them. Beyond that you'll need a voltmeter to track down where the 12 volts has gone missing.

 

[Rene T]

Welcome to the forum.
Have you checked the fluid level of all the battery cells if it’s a wet cell battery.

Did you by chance just install this battery?

Any idea how old this battery is?

Please try to answer all our questions.

 

[Roswell]

Welcome to the forum.
Have you checked the fluid level of all the battery cells if it’s a wet cell battery.

Did you by chance just install this battery?

Any idea how old this battery is?

Please try to answer all our questions.

The battery came with the trailer I don’t know how old it is and how do you check the fluid in the battery

 

[Roswell]

Welcome to The RV Forum!

Lights, refrigerator and furnace all operate on 12 volts, so you can use them without having to plug into 120 volt power. 12 volts comes from the trailer battery which is charged by the converter when you're plugged into power.

When you say your lights looked like they were burning out, do you mean they were getting dim? If so, it sounds like the converter isn't working and you've drained the battery.

Make sure you have 120 volt power getting into the trailer. Do you have something you can plug into a 120 volt outlet in the trailer to verify you have incoming power? Also check the connections on the batteries, make sure they aren't loose or battery acid hasn't caused corrosion to build up on them. Beyond that you'll need a voltmeter to track down where the 12 volts has gone missing.

Yes the lights were getting dimmer. Can I change the converter myself or do I need someone that works with electricity

 

[Rene T]

The battery came with the trailer I don’t know how old it is and how do you check the fluid in the battery

Does the top of the battery have caps you can unscrew or does it have a couple of rectangle blocks which can be pried up to to reveal the cells. Look down in each hole and you should see water. If you don’t see water you’ll see the top of the plates. You need to add distilled water. Enough to cover the plates for now.
To do anymore troubleshooting you’ll need a volt meter or someone who has one and knows how to use it

 

[Rene T]

Yes the lights were getting dimmer. Can I change the converter myself or do I need someone that works with electricity

You may not need a converter but may need a new battery. Do like I said above for now.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

No confirmation yet that the trailer is connected to 120VAC, or if the converter is receiving power. If the converter is operating everything will still work, even with a bad/disconnected battery. My bet is the converter lost power (breaker, fuse, GFI) and the battery predictably ran down.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[SpencerPJ]

how do you check the fluid in the battery

Your best option might be to have a mobile rv mechanic come and give you assistance and basic suggestions. Get on Google and type 'RV mobile mechanic and the zip code you are in' Good luck.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Since all those items are 12v powered, the mostly likely problem is a dead battery, but the question is "why?". Given Roswell's obvious lack of electrical skills, I'd say a mobile RV tech is the best bet to get power restored quickly.

Some very basic diagnosis is needed to figure whether the likely culprit is the DC converter or the battery itself and whether the problem is a simple fix or requires something to be replaced.

1. Is the trailer plugged to shore power (120vac power)?
2. What have you checked so far? "everything" is much too vague to be helpful.
3. What is the voltage at the battery? The trailer surely has at least on indicator light on a panel somewhere inside. Better yet, measure with a voltmeter at the battery, once with shore power present and again without.
4. Photos of the 120v breaker panel and 12v fuse panel would help us figure out what is involved.

If the converter requires replacement, it can be fairly simple if it's a deck-mount configuration or fairly complex if the converter is integrated into a 120vac/12vdc power center.

 

[John From Detroit]

Ok you say the lights were getting dimmer and dimmer. There is a way a bad battery can cause that. To test disconnect the battery negative lead. if the lights brighten. Replace battery.

IF not re-conenct it also connect an "external" charger.... The one I have is a rather large Deltran Battery Tender model (There are many like it ) this unit has a very low current (like 2 amp max) Tender mode, a 20 amp "Bulk" mode and a 70 amp jump start mode (forget that one) took it 24 hours to re-charge my battery bank when the converter crapped out... I got a new, factory refurb, converter the next day..... FROM THE FACTORY (Ok I know here the factory is)

What model converter do you have.. if you have a hard time finding it and if both the 120 volt breakers and 12 volt fuses are behind the same door... What's the model of said door?

How hard is it to replace a converter?

Converters come in two types. "Intergerated" (See "Behind same door") these are part of the power panel and how hard they are to replace depends on if you can access the electronics without completely unwiring the panel.. Some you can. others not so easy.

The next type is a a/b "Stand alone" The A/B part is "Plug in or hard wired"

Mine was a plug in
Pull plug. Remove 4 screws, Turn unit so I could get to the 12 volt connections.. Loosen, remove wire and cap temporary.. Also a ground lead.. "Toss" in car. Drive to Factory (NOTE this is the area I grew up in so the way is well known) Walk in, get ask "how can I help you" Point to box and say "Dead" Told to go through door.. repeat of question. and answer. Put on desk.. Then came the hard part (paying for it) Back to RV. hook up 12 volt wires and ground lead. plug back in.

The hard wired you have to disconnect the 120 volt lead and protect it as well.

NOTE if yours is intergrated and a devil to access. .You can add a 2nd converter. (Stand alone)

That factory.. Progressive Dynamics.. if intergrated 4600 series.. if stand alone 9200 series (Unless you are replacing a 9100 with charge wizard.. then you re-use the wizard.. Bit cheaper)

Try to match the last two digits of the model as close as you can the original.

 

[Roswell]

I called the Rv repair guy and he thinks everyone is right about the converter which will cost $380 to replace. Thank you everyone for the advice

 

[Rene T]

Throwing parts at it without troubleshooting will eventually fix the issue. What I’m getting to is you need to have someone troubleshoot this problem. IMHO, I would not let that mobile repair guy change the converter unless he troubleshoots it and not over the phone. It may be just a blown $2.00 fuse.

 

[Domo]

Breaker to the converter has not been mentioned. Confirmation that OP is plugged in has not been mentioned.

 

[Rene T]

Breaker to the converter has not been mentioned. Confirmation that OP is plugged in has not been mentioned.

Mark mentioned the breaker in post #10 briefly

 

[Domo]

Mark mentioned the breaker in post #10 briefly

Sorry - I kinda meant that OP has not confirmed either major point. And, yes, others also had some of the same questions.

I remember my sister (new to TT) once texted me during her first trip down to FL with her (new to her) 20' TT. Seems she was boondocking and couldn't get the microwave to work... single 12 V battery, no genny, no inverter...

I can't help but think that OP is not plugged in, house battery has discharged and OP is confused between 12 VDC and 120 VAC systems - then again, my sis also didn't know there was a cord for plugging the TT into shore power - bless here heart and the closeness of text messaging!