Hi everyone:
My wife & I just picked up our new 13' Scamp five days ago. Everything was working well while it was connected to our car and we were showing it off to our friends. Today I parked it in the yard temporarily until we can go camping (and separated it from the tow vehicle), and then tried to show it to family and none of the lights worked. I'm pretty sure it's because I'm a newbie at this, but do I need to switch something in order to run the electrical system when it is not attached to any power supply, and if so, where is the switch? In other words, can we use the Scamp's battery as the sole power supply in order to do something simple, like turn on lights? I'm pretty sure we can, I believe the conditions would be identical if we are boondocking.
THANKS!
Mike & Dodi Michaud
First off, you may have two issues and not just that your camper lights aren't working. You may also have an issue with your Tow Vehicle and how the 7 pin connector is wired. When everything was working while attached to your TV, was the ignition on, or off? I ask this because your tow vehicle should not be supplying power to the Scamp when the ignition is turned off. If your TV does allow power to be supplied to the Scamp with the ignition in the off position you run the risk of draining your start battery if the Scamp battery fails, or runs out of power while attached to the TV. So, check the 12v power pin on your TV to ensure that you only have power when the ignition is in the on position ( or accessory position ). If you have 12v power when the ignition is off you need to get your 7-pin connector re-wired so the 12v power comes from a switched source (i.e.: Ignition on or accessory on).
Okay, now onto why your lights don't work in the Scamp...
What is your battery voltage ( should be above 12.2 volts )?
Could you have left a light on or is your water (or shower) pump on?
Are the battery cables connected and tight (and corrosion free) at both ends?
Are there any blown fuses in your electrical panel or in/on your converter?
If these don't identify the problem, then, it is time to call the factory and have them figure it out ( I am assuming that your Scamp is in fact NEW as you stated above ).
If your Scamp is used, then, you have more trouble shooting to do. Attach your voltage meter to the negative side of your battery and start reading the voltages at every access point along the positive cable's path. At the point where you are no longer reading the 12.2 volts (+/-) is the point where the wiring is broken.
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!
THANKS for the great reply, this is very helpful!! Yes, we bought it brand new & it was hatched from the Backus factory on 1/26/16, then we stayed in Madison, WI with friends until we drove back to the east coast several days later; it was only detached from our TV after our return home (detached on 1/31/16). I will investigate the answers to your questions as soon as possible and get back to you; unfortunately now that my week's vacation is over my job might get in the way of checking things out as soon as I want to... I do know that the lights worked when the tow vehicle was completely turned off and the camper was still plugged in to the car (the lights worked while the car was off both when showing it to our friends at night, and again when staying overnight on our return trip home), this already points me towards the wiring of the 7-pin receptacle.
Thanks again for your help!!
There is also a fuse at your battery you may want to check.
Thanks, I'll check this out, too...
Make sure your refrigerator 12 volt switch is off when not connected to the TV. The frig will run the battery down real fast. Also on my 2015 13 Scamp the factory battery connections were very poorly crimped. I didn't have any 12 volt system while unhooked from the TV until I redid the battery connections.
When we bougt our new 13ft Scamp last year,the lights wouldnt work after a couple of days,we traced it down and found the converter was not plugged in under the dinette seat,check that out.Once hubby plugged it in,we didnt have any more problems,but it did unplug itself again after a road trip so it just became a thing we checked each time we camped somewhere.Hope your fix is as simple as ours was
Launey and Earlene
OK, so far the first winner is Enigma1083, but I also feel that ManWithaVan has tied (for suggesting multiple problems), and Earlene also deserves an honorable mention (for the converter plug suggestion - ours was slightly loose but not disconnected so I pushed it in all the way)...
I replaced the 20amp fuse near the battery, now (mostly) all of the lights work when it's unplugged from any external power source (as in the TV or house outlet). I say "mostly" because the external porch light just outside the door still doesn't work (except when getting power from the TV or house outlet; please see below...), I will try replacing its fuse to see if that does the trick. However, the second porch light over the battery/LP/hitch area does work.
Here's an updated recap... When the Scamp was purchased and either connected to an extension cord at the Backus/Scamp factory or to my car, all of the lights worked (including the porch light next to the door), even if my car was off (suggesting there might be a problem with the way the hitch is wired); plus I had not yet monkeyed around with the power source switches on the outside of the trailer - those have always been in the off position so far (oops, it's a good thing because those are the power supply controls for the refrigerator). After arriving home, and the night before disconnecting the trailer, this was the first time I noticed the porch light near the door didn't work (but all interior lights worked, and I hadn't checked the second exterior light near the battery). (Maybe this was when the battery's fuse blew?) After disconnecting the trailer, none of the lights worked (inside or outside). At this point I wrote my first post & received all of your VERY helpful suggestions, a couple days later I also called the Scamp factory where they suggested I start at the battery fuse. After plugging it in to a 120 outlet at my house (and before I had a chance to get replacement fuses), all of the lights worked, including the porch light by the door and the 2nd one near the battery. After unplugging it from the house, and replacing the 20amp fuse near the battery, all interior lights work, the fantastic fan and the bathroom vent fan work, and only the 2nd exterior light near the battery works, however the porch light near the door still does not work.
Just a thought but our front light quit working after we had been out in rain,which does not happen often living in the desert,Launey couldnt figure it out so he took the light apart and cleaned it all out and it started working,must have gotten some moisture in it somehow going down the highway in rain,you might want to just try cleaning the terminals in the light
Launey and Earlene