Hey y'all. I'm having an issue with my trailer electric system. It started as the lights dimming while we were camping, well most of them. Then the fridge started blinking. The control panel (Dometic Classic 2010) "auto, gas/AC" lights started blinking and the fridge lost cooling. We ended up using a cooler and ice for the trip. A few things of note. When I looked at the trailer electric control box connections under the street side dinette the ground was disconnected. Also, the AC and florescent light above the stove both worked throughout the trip with no issue. When I checked the battery when we got home it was pretty much dead. I've reconnected the ground and it still doesn't charge the battery. In reading the literature on the fridge it looks like it should've gone into "limp" mode and it didn't for some reason. It looks like the fridge requires 12v regardless of if your are on 30A or gas so a battery or charging issue and not a fridge issue is. I also think the fact that the AC and florescent work (both run directly through as 30A and don't us 12v at all) supports this. Could it still be that the fridge is causing other system problems? How would I test the electric converter to see if its sending to the battery? I know electrical stuff is complex and finding a fault can be hard. I'm looking for some guidance on where to start looking and how I can eliminate some things. Thanks for any and all advice.
To test the converter measure the battery voltage with the 110 volt 30 amp unplugged. Then plug the 110 volt 30 amp in. the battery voltage should go up 1 or 2 volts. You can do the same with your tow vehicle to see if it is charging the battery. That is, measure volt with and without the TV plugged in. The voltage should go up slightly when the TV is plugged in (and engine is running).
We all learn from things like this. In the end it may just be a bad connection. Wire nut, crimp, or a rusty ground?
I f you do not have a volt meter, Harbor freight gives them away with purchase and coupon.
Check the 30a fuses on the converter, one is the AC side of things and one for DC side of things.
Check fuse out near the battery, but this one is probably OK from ur description.
Take multimeter reading across battery terminals without trailer plugged in, then plug in trailer and take reading. It should jump up over 13v when plugged in, if not no juice is getting through converter. This is usually the 30a fuse on the 12v side of the converter or there is a cable that plugs into the converter that loves to become disconnected. If you see any cable around the converter that has fallen out, it will be the easy fix.
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On our used 16 Greg hit it right on the nail head. The cable that plugs into the converter that loves to unplug. The cable looks just like a three prong cord you plug into your house 110 wall outlet, It plugs into the converter. You have to lay on the floor and look up into the door opening for the converter. You may be able to see it. I solved the problem by screwing in a small eye screw into the board above the door access on the inside and used 2 electrical ties, one loosely around the plug and another from the eye to the loop of the first tie. Then tighten the first tie. This prevented it from backing out of the converter. Does this make sense? Sometimes it is hard to put into words. Good luck
Doug
Thank you all for your feedback. I have a volt meter and tested the battery before and after plugging in the 30A. No change which I take to mean that the battery isn't getting juice from the converter. I opened the cover on the 30A side of the converter and checked all the connections. Best I can tell they look good. I had to redo a couple as I pulled them out to check and they inadvertently came undone. I've got them all pulled out now and they look good with wire nuts firmly attached. Side note, should the little fan (looks like a computer fan) on the converter be running at all because it hasn't budged the whole time I've been testing this and that. Have tested the battery several times after making small changes and there hasn't been any change in charge. Actually, the charge has gone down in the hour that I worked on it even though I'm not using anything electric in the trailer. Could there be a short somewhere? Would that cause the problem? Where do I go from here? Thanks again.
Call and ask for Randy at http://www.bestconverter.com/Contact-Us_ep_5.html
Sounds possibly like the converter is bad. He can help you with how to test it.
Since you don’t seem to be getting 12v past the converter, use your multimeter on the 12v out on the converter and see if you are getting a reading. If not and the 30a fuse for that side is good then most likely converter is shot. Randy can help you determine that and recommend a replacement if needed.
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
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Greg and DPS echoed the situation that I had. The power plug that provides AC power to the DC converter had fallen out. DC powered appliances stopped working and my battery went dead. This happened on the trip home from purchasing it, and I knew nothing about the systems. I was able to hook a fairly powerful automotive battery charger to the battery, which then provided constant DC power, along with our AC shore power.
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