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Old 06-04-2018, 10:53 AM   #1
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12V issues

OK friends,

Starting some trouble shooting this morning.

After being in an RV park for a couple of months, we disconnected to spend a few days at a state park.

Upon disconnecting from shore power, I noticed that fridge was having issues switching to propane. It did not take long to lose all 12V in the trailer.

However, when I turned on the TV, 12V returned to the trailer and fridge came on propane.

Arrived at state park, connected to shore power, all seems well.

Summary: while not on shore power, TV provides 12V DC, trailer has 12V power...TV turned off, trailer has no 12V power.

Gonna start by checking the two 6V batteries, but any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Fred M.
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Old 06-04-2018, 12:46 PM   #2
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Fred: Starting simple...did your battery isolation switch get mistakenly turned off? If you are on shore power you would never know until you unplug. Power from tow vehicle would serve items directly even if this switch is off.
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Old 06-04-2018, 01:43 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by rubicon327 View Post
Power from tow vehicle would serve items directly even if this switch is off.
I think that varies - the 15A for which Steve (St3v3) traced the wiring and provided a diagram had the power from the tow vehicle going to the battery side of the isolation switch. Still, in Fred's case, it does seem likely that tow vehicle power goes to the power centre side of the isolation switch, and the switch is accidentally off (or in the "storage" position).

If the battery is isolated from the power centre by that switch, it's not going to be charging back up even when on shore power, except by solar (if so equipped). If there's no solar charging, it will take some time to recover the battery charge before there will be usable 12 volt power without the tow vehicle.
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Old 06-04-2018, 02:13 PM   #4
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12V issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon327 View Post
Fred: Starting simple...did your battery isolation switch get mistakenly turned off? If you are on shore power you would never know until you unplug. Power from tow vehicle would serve items directly even if this switch is off.


Good thought. Battery isolation switch was checked and was never turned off.
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Old 06-04-2018, 02:18 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
I think that varies - the 15A for which Steve (St3v3) traced the wiring and provided a diagram had the power from the tow vehicle going to the battery side of the isolation switch. Still, in Fred's case, it does seem likely that tow vehicle power goes to the power centre side of the isolation switch, and the switch is accidentally off (or in the "storage" position).

If the battery is isolated from the power centre by that switch, it's not going to be charging back up even when on shore power, except by solar (if so equipped). If there's no solar charging, it will take some time to recover the battery charge before there will be usable 12 volt power without the tow vehicle.

I will also check to make sure the connections behind isolation switch did not come off
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Old 06-04-2018, 02:26 PM   #6
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I had this same power issue once with an old Scamp where 12V power was dead until plugged into the tow vehicle. It ended up being corrosion on the trailer battery terminals. This would be another simple check. I think there is also a fuse on the Escape 12V system. That should be checked too.
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Old 06-04-2018, 02:51 PM   #7
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I had this same power issue once with an old Scamp where 12V power was dead until plugged into the tow vehicle. It ended up being corrosion on the trailer battery terminals. This would be another simple check. I think there is also a fuse on the Escape 12V system. That should be checked too.


I am all over it, as soon as I finish my brewski!
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Old 06-04-2018, 03:03 PM   #8
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Old 06-04-2018, 07:10 PM   #9
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Fred has his priorities set right.......






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Old 06-05-2018, 12:10 AM   #10
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Found the problem! It was a 30 Amp fuse.

The question now becomes. Why did it blow.?

I had this happen one month after picking up our new trailer and now, 16 months later, it happens again.

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Old 06-05-2018, 06:20 AM   #11
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Reason?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Dog View Post
Found the problem! It was a 30 Amp fuse.

The question now becomes. Why did it blow.?

I had this happen one month after picking up our new trailer and now, 16 months later, it happens again.

Attachment 31920

Fred M.
Hi Fred
You broke the same rule twice. Now to figure out the rule. Glad I could help.
Iowa Dave
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Old 06-05-2018, 08:27 AM   #12
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Fred - that happened to me once with our Scamp when I forgot to disconnect from the tow when I plugged into the site's power. Not sure why that blew it but it did.
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Old 06-05-2018, 08:46 AM   #13
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The question now becomes. Why did it blow.?
Could it be the big draw of Lola's cabinet lights?
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Old 06-05-2018, 08:58 AM   #14
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Fred - that happened to me once with our Scamp when I forgot to disconnect from the tow when I plugged into the site's power. Not sure why that blew it but it did.


Dora (Lola) and I were discussing your comments, and that might have been what caused our situation.

Brilliant!
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Old 06-05-2018, 08:59 AM   #15
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Could it be the big draw of Lola's cabinet lights?


Lola says NO!!!
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Old 06-05-2018, 09:07 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Dog View Post
Found the problem! It was a 30 Amp fuse.

The question now becomes. Why did it blow.?

I had this happen one month after picking up our new trailer and now, 16 months later, it happens again. They would let you troubleshoot why the power was out quicker.

Attachment 31920

Fred M.
Until you can trace down why the 30 amp is blowing, maybe using these would be a good idea.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002VGCCE8..._t3_B0000TX800
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Indicating Fuses.jpg  
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Old 06-05-2018, 04:05 PM   #17
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Until you can trace down why the 30 amp is blowing, maybe using these would be a good idea.
[/url]

That is a good idea, Tom.

This particular fuse happens to be located in the sealed battery compartment.
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Old 06-05-2018, 06:06 PM   #18
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where does that fused red wire go? mine only has the main red and black wires from the battery box to the power center.
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Old 06-05-2018, 06:18 PM   #19
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where does that fused red wire go? mine only has the main red and black wires from the battery box to the power center.
There are two fused red wires:

The smaller fused red wire goes to the battery disconnect switch. It is the main +12v supply to the trailer from the battery.

The smaller black wire goes to the common ground lug on the converter.

The large red and black wires supply the inverter. The red +12v inverter supply connects to the battery post through a 200 amp fuse.
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Old 06-05-2018, 09:46 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by Red Dog View Post
This particular fuse happens to be located in the sealed battery compartment...
Quote:
Originally Posted by tdf-texas View Post
The smaller fused red wire goes to the battery disconnect switch. It is the main +12v supply to the trailer from the battery.
That's the problem - more than 30 amps used (in total for all circuits) with only 30 amp capacity. Why would the main supply from the battery to all 12 V DC circuits have only 30 amp capacity? I suppose it makes sense for only 10 gauge wire, but it seems like an unnecessary restriction, given the loads which could be connected.
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