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Old 11-22-2014, 03:42 PM   #1
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Unhappy No Lights When On Battery Power

I did a forum search and didn’t find a match for my problem, but in case I missed it, sorry for the duplicate post ... here goes –

Our trailer no long runs on battery power when disconnected from utility power. Normally, I connect the battery and have all lights available (we have the LED lighting option) when we’re loading up for trips after dark and such.

The trailer works fine on utility power and the surge suppressor gives no error when connected on utility power. The reason I mention that is because the problem seems to have begun after a trip where the power at the park was either fluctuating or was low, thus causing the system to show an error code and do some weird things... the surge suppressor “ticked”, the fan would cycle on and off, lights would blink, etc. I don’t think the surge suppressor is part of the problem, but again, just mention it as the timing for failure seems to coincide with this trip.

I’ve checked fuses, no issues there. I keep the battery on a trickle charger when not installed on the trailer and know the battery is charged (even shows charged at the status panel in the trailer). Other data points are – I can set the refrigerator to battery power (toggle through the choices of AC / Batt / Propane), which I would think that if there was no battery power available, it would not let me select it?

So, was hoping there might be some recommendations for trouble shooting this issue. Fairly straightforward symptoms – AC power = LED lights work, DC power = lights don’t work.

Thanks in advance for help you can provide.

Regards,
Rb
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Old 11-22-2014, 04:32 PM   #2
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Is it just the LEDs, or everything? -- heater fan, water pump, etc. If it's everything, have you checked the master cut-off switch? If it's not everything, I'm clueless.

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Old 11-22-2014, 04:33 PM   #3
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This could be totally incorrect, and I don't mean to insult you, but have you checked the battery disconnect switch to make sure that it didn't get flipped down? The only reason I ask is that I managed to knock ours down once, and it took me a few minutes to figure it out. I don't know if you could still power LED lights when plugged in or not

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Old 11-22-2014, 04:37 PM   #4
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Also, check your fuses...
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Old 11-22-2014, 05:10 PM   #5
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This could be totally incorrect, and I don't mean to insult you, but have you checked the battery disconnect switch to make sure that it didn't get flipped down?
Exactly what I was thinking too, Lean.
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Old 11-22-2014, 05:18 PM   #6
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If the battery disconnect switch got flipped down (off), the refer wouldn't work under any circumstances.
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Old 11-22-2014, 05:52 PM   #7
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Does the fan work? Does the water pump work? Have you tried ALL the lights - do any work (including exterior)? Does the vent hood fan/light work? Fridge on 12V - does the interior light come on?

Does anything change when you connect the trailer plug to the car and the car ignition is on? Do the running, brake, and turn lights work.
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Old 11-22-2014, 07:08 PM   #8
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If the battery disconnect switch got flipped down (off), the refer wouldn't work under any circumstances.
I think it would work if plugged in to 120V, no?
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Old 11-22-2014, 07:13 PM   #9
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Have you checked the battery with a meter? what's the voltage? Check it at the disconnect switch too, one side should always be 13v+/- and the other will either be 0v or 13v depending on the switch position.
I think there is a small breaker in the battery + line somewhere too, not sure though as I can't get to the trailer.
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Old 11-22-2014, 07:16 PM   #10
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Unless his trailer is wired differently from mine, when the disconnect switch is off the monitor panel lights won't light. Since the indicator shows the battery fully charged, the disconnect must be on. I agree with Doug - check all the rest to the 12V stuff...
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Old 11-22-2014, 07:17 PM   #11
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I would probe around with a test light or voltmeter to see which DC circuits - if any - are live. Your willingness to do this may vary...

Quote:
Originally Posted by NorTexCamper View Post
I can set the refrigerator to battery power (toggle through the choices of AC / Batt / Propane), which I would think that if there was no battery power available, it would not let me select it?
That makes sense to me, but may not be true... what model of refrigerator is it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
I think it would work if plugged in to 120V, no?
I believe - but may be wrong - that some Dometic models power the controls only from the 12VDC source, so it is needed regardless of the power source available for heat to drive the cooling unit. In that case, of course, being able to do anything with the 'fridge controls would imply that at least that circuit has 12VDC power.
Again, what model of refrigerator is this?
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Old 11-23-2014, 07:04 PM   #12
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There is an in-line breaker between the battery switch and the converter. Check to make sure there is voltage showing on both posts of the breaker.

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Old 11-24-2014, 01:51 PM   #13
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There is an in-line breaker between the battery switch and the converter. Check to make sure there is voltage showing on both posts of the breaker.

Reace
What is the amperage the breaker is rated for ?
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Old 12-08-2014, 11:59 AM   #14
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Thanks all for the feedback and thought provoking questions ... days got busy and didn’t have a chance to post until now. I wasn’t able to troubleshoot the problem before our Thanksgiving camping trip (Tyler State Park), but because everything is fine on utility power, we had a great trip.

I’ll cut to the chase... the one thing I changed this trip was that didn’t select battery power for the refrigerator while traveling. The fridge was turned off. The evening we came back from the trip, in our driveway with the trailer disconnected from everything, I tried the lights and they worked... everything worked on DC power (water pump, status panel, etc.).

So, my theory is that in the several trips prior to this one, where I was attempting to “cool” the fridge while traveling, the battery would discharged to zero. I assumed the heavy-duty alternator, part of the Ford F-150 tow package, was able to recharge the battery sufficient enough to keep up with the electrical demands of the fridge.

The one caveat in this theory is that the day before leaving on the Thanksgiving trip, in our driveway with the trailer disconnected from everything, I connected a freshly charged battery (battery kept on trickle charger) to the camper and tried the lights... no joy. So, I don’t know if maybe there’s a period of time that has to pass before the DC voltage is switched on by the inverter or what.... but, I connected the battery, flipped the switch, and nada.

After we came home, the trailer stayed in our driveway for about 4 days while I took my time cleaning up and winterizing and the battery power was functional the entire time.
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