No 110 after salesman switches left on

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Fweezal

Fweezal

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 9, 2021
Posts
93
Location
Louisville, KY (for now)
I had occasion to take my '06 Thor Windsport in for service. After I got home, it occurred to me I didn't hit the salesman switch before I locked it up. Sure enough, I have no 110V. I managed to start the generator and I put on a trickle charge unit on it. Charger shows charging and the command center levels show things "normal". However, no 110v. Any ideas? Please bear in mind I am a COMPLETE newbie. I need SIMPLE instructions. If there is a breaker to check, please tell me the possible location of said breaker. NO ACRONYMS. Speak English.
 
Assuming you have an inverter? Probably turned off because of low voltage from from the house batteries.
 
With the generator running you should have 120V power, but there are two possibilities that come to mind. First there is a circuit breaker on the side of the generator, but exactly where that is would depend on what brand and model your generator is. If you tell us what you have we can point you to it.

The other thing that comes to mind is that you may have an outlet that you plug the shore power cord into for storage and that connects the cord to the generator in place of an automatic transfer device. If you have an outlet that looks something like this inside of the area where your power cord is stored, that is probably how you connect to the generator.
11461841.jpg
 
Kirk said:
With the generator running you should have 120V power, but there are two possibilities that come to mind. First there is a circuit breaker on the side of the generator, but exactly where that is would depend on what brand and model your generator is. If you tell us what you have we can point you to it.

The other thing that comes to mind is that you may have an outlet that you plug the shore power cord into for storage and that connects the cord to the generator in place of an automatic transfer device. If you have an outlet that looks something like this inside of the area where your power cord is stored, that is probably how you connect to the generator.
11461841.jpg
Click to expand...
I can't use shore power from my house. Service panel is WAY underrated. Therefore, I am running the generator. I'm located the breakers on the generator. They look to be untripped.
 
You certainly can run shore power from your house. Don't run the AC and you will be fine. (Personally I wouldn't run the microwave either). Get an adapter from standard 110 to whatever you have.. 30A or 50A. Walmart sells what you need, so does Amazon.

edit: your salesman switch simply disconnects any 12vDC stuff so that if you left a light on it will not drain the battery. It has nothing to do with your 110vAC appliances and outlets.
 
I found a manual that may not be your exact coach but it indicates that the shore plug needs to be plugged into a socket in the electrical bay.

As other's have said there should be no reason you can't plug into 120V in your house with a suitable adapter and simply not run the AC if you are concerned about overload.

If the generator is on, the inverter is on, and the shore plug is plugged into the generator the next thing to check is the electrical circuit breaker panel - It should simply look the same as a home panel. Check for popped breakers.

This stuff should not be hard to find. It should all be located in one basement bay.
 
Ex-Calif said:
I found a manual that may not be your exact coach but it indicates that the shore plug needs to be plugged into a socket in the electrical bay.

As other's have said there should be no reason you can't plug into 120V in your house with a suitable adapter and simply not run the AC if you are concerned about overload.

If the generator is on, the inverter is on, and the shore plug is plugged into the generator the next thing to check is the electrical circuit breaker panel - It should simply look the same as a home panel. Check for popped breakers.

This stuff should not be hard to find. It should all be located in one basement bay.
Click to expand...
I have the adapters. I've attempted to go to shore power once before and it tripped my circuit breaker. If someone/anyone can tell me what I'm doing wrong, it would be MUCH appreciated. Am I supposed to take this honkin' cable and plug it into a 110 source? I'm normally pretty good about this sort of stuff but I am COMPLETELY out of my element. Once I get this this working, I'm selling it. I didn't think I'd have to be a master electrician to own one of these things. It's shouldn't be this hard! I would really appreciate it if someone could provide a diagram of how to plug this thing into my house. It is 20 degrees outside and I don't want to spend a ton of time outside. Just a simple diagram. I appreciate the suggestions thusfar. I really do.
 
Your RV gets 120v power via that big shore power cord, and it probably has to plug into either an external outlet or the generator's dedicated outlet somewhere in the RV. Some coaches have automatic transfer (switching) from shore to generator, but yours may not.

The "salesman switch" battery disconnect affects the 12v DC power but not the 110/120vac outlets. However, some of the 110/120 appliances cannot work if the batteries are dead or disconnected.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Your RV gets 120v power via that big shore power cord, and it probably has to plug into either an external outlet or the generator's dedicated outlet somewhere in the RV. Some coaches have automatic transfer (switching) from shore to generator, but yours may not.

The "salesman switch" battery disconnect affects the 12v DC power but not the 110/120vac outlets. However, some of the 110/120 appliances cannot work if the batteries are dead or disconnected.
Click to expand...
OK. This helps. The batteries aren't dead. They are fully-charged having been charged overnight. The generator starts right up and runs fine. The engine starts right up and runs fine. I'm hesitant to plug into my house at this point because it seems if I look at this thing the wrong way, something else goes wrong.
 
Fweezal said:
I can't use shore power from my house. Service panel is WAY underrated. Therefore, I am running the generator. I'm located the breakers on the generator. They look to be untripped.
Click to expand...
Did you locate the power outlet in the power cord storage area and plug your big cord into it? That must be done to connect it to the generator.
Fweezal said:
I'm hesitant to plug into my house at this point because it seems if I look at this thing the wrong way, something else goes wrong.
Click to expand...
If you use an adapter to connect your power cord to the outlet you won't have anything go wrong. We have done so many times. Is your RV plug one with 4 pins or does it have only 3 pins? The proper adapter and you will be fine but limited in how much power that you will have.
61JEtc+fhNL._AC_SR360,240_QL70_.jpg
4 pin or 50a cords
71skfOTzuLL._AC_SR360,240_QL70_.jpg
3 pin or 30a power cord
 
Kirk said:
Did you locate the power outlet in the power cord storage area and plug your big cord into it? That must be done to connect it to the generator.

If you use an adapter to connect your power cord to the outlet you won't have anything go wrong. We have done so many times. Is your RV plug one with 4 pins or does it have only 3 pins? The proper adapter and you will be fine but limited in how much power that you will have.
61JEtc+fhNL._AC_SR360,240_QL70_.jpg
4 pin or 50a cords
71skfOTzuLL._AC_SR360,240_QL70_.jpg
3 pin or 30a power cord
Click to expand...
OK. I'm going to trust you on this. I don't care about the power limit. I don't have ANY as it stands.
 
Unbelieveably, I just went out and started things up (generator and engine) and I now have 110V!!! I did NOTHING but start things up. I still don't have power to the bedroom slide but I'll face that when the temps go up a little. Right now, I'm thrilled that it's got what it's got. I hate this thing.
 
The dog bone on the right is for a 30 amp system. For my 30 amp RV, I use the dog bone on the right to plug into a heavy duty (20 amp) extension cord from the house. Can't run the a/c and microwave at the same time. Other than that it works for me.
 
Last edited:
IBTripping said:
If those dog bones are the correct ones for your RV, then the RV has a 30 amp system. For my 30 amp RV, I use the dog bone on the right to plug into a heavy duty (20 amp) extension cord from the house. Can't run the a/c and microwave at the same time. Other than that it works for me.
Click to expand...
I have a 50 amp system. All this will be a moot point after 11am tomorrow. The RV goes on consignment to sell. It has robbed me of enough joy to last a lifetime.
 
I understand. Used RVs prices are high now (probably rise higher in the spring). Best wishes on a quick sale.
 
Fweezal said:
I have a 50 amp system. All this will be a moot point after 11am tomorrow. The RV goes on consignment to sell. It has robbed me of enough joy to last a lifetime.
Click to expand...
Sorry you are having a hard go of things. Maybe compounded because it's winter and it's no fun being outside.

You have to consider owning an RV to be somewhat like a pilot. You have to learn a lot of things to operate it properly. You can buy a dog bone that adapts from the 50amp male RV plug to a 120V house source.

As other's have indicated though, you are limited to the 20amps that the house can provide.

 

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Ex-Calif said:
Sorry you are having a hard go of things. Maybe compounded because it's winter and it's no fun being outside.

You have to consider owning an RV to be somewhat like a pilot. You have to learn a lot of things to operate it properly. You can buy a dog bone that adapts from the 50amp male RV plug to a 120V house source.

As other's have indicated though, you are limited to the 20amps that the house can provide.

Click to expand...
Thanks. We are about to drive it 2 hours 45 minutes to the ONE AND ONLY PLACE that will take it under consignment. I wish things would/could have worked out. I can honestly say I did MONTHS and MONTHS of researching, learning, watching videos, etc. before we made the purchase. It wasn't enough. As with many things, understanding the concept is WAY different than living in the reality.
 
Ex-Calif said:
Sorry you are having a hard go of things. Maybe compounded because it's winter and it's no fun being outside.

You have to consider owning an RV to be somewhat like a pilot. You have to learn a lot of things to operate it properly. You can buy a dog bone that adapts from the 50amp male RV plug to a 120V house source.

As other's have indicated though, you are limited to the 20amps that the house can provide.

Click to expand...
The 2 dog bones he has will do the same. Just connect them together.
 
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