Electrical Question

[Jukebox64]

Originally Posted by 5picker

The 12v things work when plugged in (shore power) because your converter supplies 12v to the interior electrical system. Your converter converts 120v AC to 12v DC and ALSO charges your battery(ies) when plugged into shore power.

When you are NOT plugged into shore power, it is the battery(ies) responsibility to provide that 12v power.

You need to do some basic voltage tests starting at the battery (when not plugged into shore power) and follow the circuit from the battery(ies) back to the converter, The wires from the battery(ies) go to the converter and often have in their pathway a disconnect switch and 12v circuit breakers. You need to find where the current is not getting through.

12v circuit breakers are the small rectangular devices Herk posted photos of in Post # 12.

Well this is what my fuse/ breaker box looks like. Not sure where my converter is. It’s not in the same compartment with the generator.

[Scrapper]

The converter is usually behind that breaker/fuse panel. If the bottom of the panel face has vent louvers the converter is attached to the back of the panel. You may have a removable panel in an adjacent cabinet or room that allows access to the back side otherwise you will have to pull the breaker/fuse panel out to check for disconnected/loose wires.


Whoever installed and labeled the panel sure did a poor job, one or more of the 15 amp fuses powers the lights and could blow then you'll have to figure out which one it is. The 5amp fuse is for the stereo and the 30amp is for a high amperage appliance such as the furnace. The two 40amp fuses are the reverse polarity protection for the converter in the event the battery cables are connected wrong.

[Jukebox64]

I got this picture off the Internet to use as a reference, my actual fuse box looks even worse as far as the hand writing and labeling of everything. It is located under the refrigerator and in very good shape it is just hard to read what fuse is for what. The first thing I did was to check every fuse and breaker I could find.

[Jukebox64]

Well guys I checked every single breaker ,wire connection and voltage switch I could find underneath and inside my camper and still no lights inside even though I could find nothing wrong. Then I noticed two bare wires hanging down from the tongue of the trailer, I traced them up to the batteries and connected to a wire under the trailer. I’m no genius but I know a positive and a negative wire hanging from the battery should not have bare ends next to each other. I took the wires loose from the battery and disconnected it from the one wire it was attached to and went back to check the fuse box again. I found the 30 amp fuse almost melted. I am not sure what the previous owner had hooked to these wires but it was obviously too much. I replaced the 30 amp fuse and everything works perfect.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Jukebox64

Well guys I checked every single breaker ,wire connection and voltage switch I could find underneath and inside my camper and still no lights inside even though I could find nothing wrong. Then I noticed two bare wires hanging down from the tongue of the trailer, I traced them up to the batteries and connected to a wire under the trailer. I’m no genius but I know a positive and a negative wire hanging from the battery should not have bare ends next to each other. I took the wires loose from the battery and disconnected it from the one wire it was attached to and went back to check the fuse box again. I found the 30 amp fuse almost melted. I am not sure what the previous owner had hooked to these wires but it was obviously too much. I replaced the 30 amp fuse and everything works perfect.

Hopefully you are saying everything is working to your satisfaction.

I can't understand your description of what was wrong or what you did to fix it. Your explanation makes no sense to me.

You checked all breakers, wires and voltage switch (whatever that is?) and could find nothing wrong. Should we assume you checked the fuses to?

Then you found wires hanging down. (even though you said you checked wires and found nothing)

The wires went to the battery and to a wire underneath the trailer.

You disconnected the wires that went to the battery.

Then you checked the fuses again and found a 30a fuse almost melted.
(the photo you posted that is to be like your fuse box has no 30 amp fuses)

You replaced the 30a fuse and everything works perfect.

I must be missing something, sorry.

[Jukebox64]

So basically I found a near melted 30 amp fuse . I think the previous owner had something gerry rigged up from the battery to his vehicle and back to a wire under the trailer. I do not know what the wire led to going up into the trailer.