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Old 04-10-2015, 10:49 AM   #1
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2009 Rockwood 8319 electrical problems

We used it for two years on a lot at the lake with no problem, had it plugged in full time. Then I moved it twenty feet from where it was and installed a 30' extention cord. Six months later things started to stop working, first was the light over the sink and a couple other lights. then the TV and the heat and air. Breakers and fuse panel have power but it keeps blowing the two 40amp fuses. HELP where do I start?

Thanks in advance
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Old 04-10-2015, 10:57 AM   #2
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Check your battery, might be defective and reason blowing 40 amps reversing fuses on converter......
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Old 04-10-2015, 11:02 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by butch413 View Post
We used it for two years on a lot at the lake with no problem, had it plugged in full time. Then I moved it twenty feet from where it was and installed a 30' extention cord. Six months later things started to stop working, first was the light over the sink and a couple other lights. then the TV and the heat and air. Breakers and fuse panel have power but it keeps blowing the two 40amp fuses. HELP where do I start?

Thanks in advance
Are you talking about the reverse polarity fuses. If so, then could be because the battery may be hooked up backwards. Have you recently disconnected or changed the battery?
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Old 04-10-2015, 11:03 AM   #4
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I changed the battery two months ago, how do you reverse fuses on converter?
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Old 04-10-2015, 11:06 AM   #5
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I thought I put the wires back the same way they came off. Red to poss and Black to neg right?
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Old 04-10-2015, 11:10 AM   #6
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I changed the battery two months ago, how do you reverse fuses on converter?
You actually don't reverse the fuses, you reverse the wires incorrectly on the battery.....which blows the reverse polarity fuses thus saving your converter. If the reverse polarity fuses didn't blow, then it would ruin your converter if you hooked the battery wires backwards. (which happens a lot)
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Old 04-10-2015, 11:11 AM   #7
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I thought I put the wires back the same way they came off. Red to poss and Black to neg right?
Are you sure your RV had a red and black wire...or was it a white and black wire?

Many RV's are wired kinda using a 120 volt wiring color scheme. If you have a white and black wire, then usually the black wire is the positive on the battery and the white is the negative.

If you do have the vehicle 12 volt wiring color scheme, then yes it's usually the red on the positive and the black on the negative.

You would think they would make it simple. The best way is to trace the wiring if you can and see.

However, if you have it hooked backwards it should be blowing the reverse polarity fuses almost instantly from when you put them in, as long as you are not utilizing a battery cutoff switch or something.
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Old 04-10-2015, 11:21 AM   #8
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One more question, you said you moved it several feet and now are running it off of an extension cord. What kind of cord are you using, and what kind of outlet are you plugged into now?

I hope you are not running the air conditioner while using an extension cord and plugged into a 15/20 amp regular household outlet.
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Old 04-10-2015, 11:31 AM   #9
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i have done the same on the batter cables lol
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Old 04-10-2015, 11:54 AM   #10
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wmtire, I don't remember what color the wires are but I will find out tonight, I very well may have them in reverse order. So the 40amp fuses are for if it was hooked up backwards? It is still plugged into the same 30 amp outlet and the exten. cord is a camper 30 amp cord. I will look tonight and make sure the red is on poss and the white is on neg. Thank you so much
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Old 04-10-2015, 12:05 PM   #11
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wmtire, I don't remember what color the wires are but I will find out tonight, I very well may have them in reverse order. So the 40amp fuses are for if it was hooked up backwards? It is still plugged into the same 30 amp outlet and the exten. cord is a camper 30 amp cord. I will look tonight and make sure the red is on poss and the white is on neg. Thank you so much
Yes, the reverse polarity fuses are there to protect the converter.

What the converter does it to take 120 volt AC shore power, and convert it to 12 volt DC power. It then powers the things in your RV that work off of 12 volt DC power (lights, furnace, fans, lp detectors, fridge on propane, thermostats, water pump, etc). The converters other function is to recharge your battery. When you are connected to a form of 120 volt AC shore power, then all of the aforementioned will run off of the converter and not the battery.

When you are not on shore power, then these things run off of the battery direct. This allows you to camp at places where 120 volt AC power may not be available...as in boondocking or dry camping.

If you have the battery hooked up backwards, then it blows the fuses to the converter, and thus the converter cannot provide power to the 12 volt stuff......nor recharge the battery.

Your air conditioner, microwave, and all the 120 volt outlets all operate off of 120 volt AC power only. However, the thermostat that controls the air conditioner works off of 12 volt power.....so if you have no 12 volt power, then the air conditioner cannot function.......and neither can the furnace, as it's 12 volt only

Does your microwave and any of the outlets in the RV currently work, so we can verify that your incoming 120 volt AC power is working thru the extension cord?

Mark Polk has some good articles that may help you understand your RV's electrical systems.

http://rvservices.koa.com/rvinformat...lectricity.asp

http://rvservices.koa.com/rvinformat...d-amp-draw.asp
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Old 04-10-2015, 01:23 PM   #12
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Yes microwave and outlets and a few lights work along with the slides
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Old 04-10-2015, 02:33 PM   #13
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Like wmtire said the wires are mostly white and black different from a car hookup. Follow the wire that attaches to the frame of the trailer whatever color it is. Make sure that one is hooked to the NEG side of the battery. Now follow the wires from the 40 amp fuse that one should go to the positive what ever color it is. Lets hear the out come. Good luck.
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Old 04-10-2015, 05:04 PM   #14
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Yes microwave and outlets and a few lights work along with the slides
Trying to get my head on this. If I recall correctly, your DC slide motors will work if you have the battery cables backwards, but will operate opposite of it's usual way. Say you pushed the top of the button to run the slide out, and the bottom of the button to run the slide in.................. it would now slide in when pushed the top of the button and out when you pushed the bottom of the button.

This is assuming it's operating totally off of the battery and your converter isn't doing anything (the blown fuses).

Does any of our other members know this to be true, and if the DC motors would operate backwards if connected to a battery backwards.?

Let us know if you have a red/black or black/white battery wire combination. Also, have you charged this battery since installing it a few months back?
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Old 04-10-2015, 05:43 PM   #15
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wmtire, all dc motors I've played with will reverse direction if the leads are switched.
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Old 04-10-2015, 06:22 PM   #16
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wmtire, all dc motors I've played with will reverse direction if the leads are switched.
That's what I was thinking, as the DPDT switch itself is just reversing the polarity, to turn the motor in different directions. Something just wasn't clicking in my head. It happens a lot.
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Old 04-12-2015, 09:44 AM   #17
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Thanks guys, wmtire you were right I turned the battery around and everything started working after changing a few fuses. You guys are the best, very friendly site.
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Old 04-12-2015, 09:53 AM   #18
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This year when I pull my batteries I'm gonna make sure I label the "+" and "-" in my battery box, just to make it easier.. Typically I forget which is which and end up metering them in the spring - battery disc switch OFF and meter to the frame.. Only one (on mine) has continuity, which would be the negative..
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Old 04-12-2015, 01:58 PM   #19
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Thanks guys, wmtire you were right I turned the battery around and everything started working after changing a few fuses. You guys are the best, very friendly site.
Great to hear that you got it all working and it was something simple. It does happen a lot, especially when the battery wires are color coded with the black being positive and the white being negative.

It kinda runs counter-intuitive since most people are used to automotive batteries having the black wire as the negative.
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