Hello Everyone, I am in way over my head but trying to catch on quickly(before I drown, lol)

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
R

RV-Rookie-gal

New member
Joined
Jan 23, 2022
Posts
1
Location
Spring Hill, Florida
Not to get into a long drawn out story let me just say some bad investments, really bad decisions, and Covid led to my being given a 1984 Fleetwood Southwind to restore and live in.. Luckily this baby is in excellent condition as the previous two owners had both garaged it. Spoiler alert, I am a 52 year old female with no prior RV experience and the mechanical abilities of a rock. Interior design is my forte but I am smart, willing to get my hands dirty and learn, and have been steadily watching You Tube tutorials on RV maintenance. After success with multiple minor repairs I have come up against a problem bigger than my meager ability. So, even though I am hooked up to shore power my charging sentinel light's have gone out completely. Since the charging station has gone dark, so have my lights. The interior dome lights have dimmed, the Atwood water heater has stopped heating water, the microwave is at half strength and I am at a complete loss. I will most likely have to call in a pro but I had really hoped to do as much of the work as possible. Learning as I go so before I make that call, I would love some suggestions. Thank you all so much.
 

Attachments

  • 20220123_215502.jpg
    20220123_215502.jpg
    128.7 KB · Views: 27
I think my response got deleted. I don't know much, but it sounds as if something is wrong with either your batteries or the converter that is supposed to be charging them. (I am also not very mechanically inclined, but I have learned a few things the hard way over the years.) Here are some suggestions:
  • Apparently, you have this plugged into an electrical power connection. Are you sure the source really is providing power? Can you test the source plug? And are both ends of the electrical cord firmly plugged in?
  • Also, check the 12 volt fuse panel to make sure your converter fuse has not blown. If it has, replace it. It might not be charging your batteries properly.
  • ANother possibility is that your batteries are bad and can no longer be charged. Might want to see if someone can check them for you.
  • Also, what happens when you run the engine. It should charge your batteries. Do you have a generator that also might charge your batteries?
I found this article and video that might be helpful: Understanding an RV Electrical System - How Does It Work?
 
Welcome to The RV Forum!

Judy has linked to a good article.

At first glance it sounds like you have a problem with the converter (Charge Sentinel light being out) and it's let the house battery run down. Everything you're having problems with uses 12 volts either to operate or run a control board.

Except for one thing - the microwave operating at half power. The microwave isn't connected to the 12 volt system, it only uses 120 volts. If it's browning out, this suggests low voltage on the incoming 120 volt power which can prevent the converter from producing enough voltage to keep the house battery charged. I'd start there - are you using a long extension cord that's losing too much voltage or is there a problem with the outlet you're plugged into?

The easiest way to see if you have a problem with the incoming 120 volt power is to measure the voltage at one of the AC outlets inside the RV. If it's low there, backtrack and check the outlet the RV is plugged into.
 
Also, where are you parked? If you are in a campground or RV park, you might want to ask for help from a friendly neighbor.

Note, obviously Lou, above, has more knowledge than I do, but I also wondered if you are really getting power from whatever you are plugged into!!
 
Check your fuses.

Inverters do go bad. I had to replace one in my last RV
You can buy them on line, they cost about $100. If you get the same unit it's pretty simple.
 
Oh, just one quick thought. Are you using a 30 amp extension cord to connect your rig to power??? Anything smaller may not provide enough power.

Also, it is a good idea to buy a couple of fuses in each size you have in your rig. Put them in a plastic bag and tuck them away for whenever. I once had a slide that kept blowing fuses every time i put it out or in. I went through a couple of fuses each day until I could get to someplace to get it fixed. Was glad to have a bunch of extras.
 
Welcome to the RV Forum, everyone above has great advise. I will only add, if things get too difficult, there are mobile RV mechanics that often are life savers that come to your location and are pretty good at their trade. Certainly most always beat taking it to a RV shop. Simple Google RV mobile mechanic and your zip code, read the reviews and go from there. Good luck, don't be worried about being female with mechanical abilities of a rock. We see some men at times that have much less than that (although they think differently) Just a joke, chin up, you will survive.
 
The microwave is a telling clue. If you're serious about "hands dirty and learn" this is a great "opportunity" to do both. Are you game? If your 120V input is wonky it will cause all the problems you describe. You will need a voltmeter to check your shore power input, with the microwave on and off at the pedestal, then the breaker box/power center. If the voltage is actually dipping to a level the microwave is at "half power" it won't take long to find the issue wherever it is.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
All good advise above. First thing I would do is reset the breaker associated with the shore power circuit you are plugged into. To reset you have to toggle it off then back on.
 
Agree with the others about converter (not inverter) and battery power, so I won't repeat their suggestions. I do, however, have questions about the microwave. The microwave at "half strength" is an anomaly that is either a very important clue or a red herring. Could you please explain that a bit? What does it actually do (or not do) and how did you determine"half strength". Microwaves typically run fine as long as it has usable input power but simply quits otherwise. They generally don't run at half of anything. If it is being affected by external power, then the same power issue is probably affecting the converter/charger as well.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Microwaves typically run fine as long as it has usable input power but simply quits otherwise. They generally don't run at half of anything. If it is being affected by external power, then the same power issue is probably affecting the converter/charger as well.
Click to expand...
I once tried to run a microwave from a 2KW MSW inverter. I tested by heating a cup of water. It really did take almost twice as long to boil the water as it did from shore power.

Joel
 
Yeah, but that's most likely the effect of the MSW vs PSW. Your inverter was getting an OK RMS voltage, but microwaves are sensitive to the wave shape. However, I'll grant that the microwave will tolerate some amount of reduced voltage and still produce some lesser amount of microwave power. But beyond some point the controls inside the micro give up and it shuts down.
 
Last edited:
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Microwaves typically run fine as long as it has usable input power but simply quits otherwise. They generally don't run at half of anything. If it is being affected by external power, then the same power issue is probably affecting the converter/charger as well.
Click to expand...
My Dometic microwave definitely takes longer to cook food with even moderately low AC voltage and operates albeit at ridiculously low power at least as low as 90 VAC. The high voltage supply to the magnetron tube is unregulated and it's output follows the supply voltage. I suspect her 1984 converter is likely also unregulated and is doing the same.
 
JudyJB shame on you. Gary has forgotten more than I'll never know. This is not a competition :love::love::LOL::LOL::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::cool:
 
It is winter time, are you running electric space heaters? If you only have 30 amp power you may be using too much electricity inside the RV.
 
I guess the GE Adventiums that I had in my last two coaches worked better. The controls were flaky on MSW power but they didn't seem much affected by voltage variation. But I never experimented with it either
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,110 (members: 26, guests: 1,084)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,932
Posts
1,387,731
Members
137,682
Latest member
duckyw7528
Back
Top Bottom