Surge protector not even lighting up

[Sally P]

I am/was loaning the trailer to a family to camp for a week. They are picking it up this afternoon. Trailer not plugged in, i used the inverter for the first time, then decided to plug in instead. Powered off the inverter, plugged the trailer in. There is no power to the trailer and the surge protector doesn't even light up. There is power to the plug. I hear a noise when i plug in. I checked all the circuit breakers in the fuse box. Is there another breaker connected to the surge protector? Is there a way to bypass the Protector?

[RWS]

Originally Posted by Sally P

I am/was loaning the trailer to a family to camp for a week. They are picking it up this afternoon. Trailer not plugged in, i used the inverter for the first time, then decided to plug in instead. Powered off the inverter, plugged the trailer in. There is no power to the trailer and the surge protector doesn't even light up. There is power to the plug. I hear a noise when i plug in. I checked all the circuit breakers in the fuse box. Is there another breaker connected to the surge protector? Is there a way to bypass the Protector?

It does take a few minutes for everything to kick in.

[Sally P]

Yes, but it needs to light up to show it is testing the connection. Not happening. Been an hour.

[rotateclockwise]

Locate the black surge protector box (likely under the seat) and check the gray cable which has an end like one you would connect into a wall telephone. I've found that mine comes loose on occasion. Remove the connection and reconnect. It should work again as the display should light up.

[Sally P]

Unplugged it, waited a bit, repluged it. No such luck. I have a feeling something's wrong with the surge protector itself. Feel so bad, no RV places open on Sat afternoon and this was going to be the big vacation for my gardener and his family. Solar and batteries are fine so they can cope, I hope. Just don't know if they will be able to conserve the energy.

[Sally P]

Oh, and i have that generator I've never used. Feel better.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Sally P

Oh, and i have that generator I've never used. Feel better.

Don't you plug the trailer into the generator? They will still need the surge protector to work, so it would still be good to find the problem. It should be the first device after the power cord, so I wouldn't suspect a transfer switch, main breaker, converter, etc.

When you are plugged in, do any of the AC devices (microwave, 120V receptacles, etc work? If so, it is just the display that isn't working - as Michael (rotateclockwise) suggested, check the plugs at both ends of the remote wiring.

If none of the AC stuff works, I agree that the surge protector has a problem. While probably a job for an electrician, it is possible to jump past the surge protector.

Br sure to unplug the trailer when checking the wiring to the surge protector...

[gbaglo]

Since you have a 17B and the battery is on the rear bumper, you might be able to use your generator to charge the battery direct. My Honda generator can be connected to the battery terminals with the supplied cord.

[Sally P]

Give me a giant 'Duh' about the generator. I have dual 6 volts, don't think there is a way to connect the generator to the terminals. There is no electric in the trailer, not just a lack of display. But I spoke to my friends and they will cope. It is scheduled to be fairly sunny and the solar should take care of things. When they come back i will take it into an RV place. Sure am grateful to this forum.

[gbaglo]

I'm guessing the fridge won't work either then, and they'll need a cooler and ice. No water pump? No flushing toilet. It all can be done and still be fairly comfortable. Good luck.

[phalaney]

You didn't trip the GFI in your garage did you? We have one under our back porch that shuts off the garage plugs.

[Marry]

Is your battery switch in the "ON" position?
The solar should be able to take care of the water pump, toilet, lights, fan, etc.
Fridge can be on propane.

[Sally P]

Fridge on gas, water pump on solar. No problem.

[padlin]

If you have the Progressive Industries HW30, which is what ETI put in my 2014.

When you 1st connect you should hear the relay in the surge protector click closed, sometimes it has a slight hum. I had one that chattered pretty bad and would not make enough contact to work. Talked to Progressive, who had me take open the unit and blow out the relay, thinking there was crap in it. Ended up where they sent me a new relay that I installed. I had to send back the original.

Not that you have time to do this if it's the case.

[PGDriver]

Sally if you take the outside fridge panel off you’ll see a 110 volt plug plugged into a receptacle, you could pull the plug and plug it into an extension cord which could be plugged directly into the power.


Cheers
Doug

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Since you have a 17B and the battery is on the rear bumper, you might be able to use your generator to charge the battery direct. My Honda generator can be connected to the battery terminals with the supplied cord.

Good point. It's not a sophisticated charger, but if you have the correct cord it works...

Even if the generator does not have a 12-volt charging output (not all do, not even all Honda models), a common battery charger (as used to charge car batteries) can be plugged into the generator, and used to charge the trailer's battery or batteries.

Originally Posted by Sally P

I have dual 6 volts, don't think there is a way to connect the generator to the terminals.

There is a way to connect a generator's 12 volt output, or a battery charger output. For this purpose, the dual 6 volt battery setup is no different from the single 12 volt battery setup: in the dual 6 V setup the charger cables would go to the positive terminal of one battery (where the fused cables go to the trailer's systems) and the negative terminal of the other battery (where the "ground" cables are attached).

[gbaglo]

The problem, I think, is that the six volt batteries are located either side of the spare tire, so you need enough cable. Got jumper cables, by chance? That might give you the length you need.

[wetzk]

If this is the HW30 if I remember right the manual mentions you can bypass the computer if it is dead so you can get power into the trailer. I think you had to open the box. Hopefully you have the manual so you can look for how to bypass it.

On the newer ones you simply flip a switch on the display to bypass it.

[wetzk]

Now I remember why I remembered that. I looked all over and finally found the manual online. It mentions moving a blue wire but never said said to where. Maybe when you open the box it shows you. I never tried it but remembered that odd instruction for some reason.
If you do not have it here is the manual.

https://www.rvsafety.net/Manuals/EMS-LCHW30.pdf

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Marry

Is your battery switch in the "ON" position?

A good question, and I haven't seen an answer.