I just got back from a weeklong trip to the beach and parked the 8317SS in the driveway. I could not get my power jack to operate so i manually woound it to unhook. Even once the shoreline cord was hooked, i noticed no power inside. I know the battery is dead on the front of the camper. when we pulled away from the campsite the last thing i unhooked was the cord so i could use the power jack. I drove all night with no stops and now cant get power to work. Hwere is what i have done in troubleshooting.
I changed the Male end of the cord ( just in case)
I checked all fuses inside
I swapped the Main Breaker with the GFI breaker to test the breakers ( because the the microwave clock comes on with the main) and i believe these are fine as well.
I changed the extension cords i always use.
I bought a new adapter plug as well
I have also disconnected the dead battry to trry with and without that in play.
So I have done all that i can to trouble shoot. I cant get the power to work.
So, Is it the dead battery causing the issue? Is the inverter?
I cant get the slide out to ghget the camper cleaned and the kids bike from the bunk house.
Your battery is dead. Dead batteries WILL NOT charge off the converter. There is a circuit that opens to prevent overloading the converter.
The truck alternator will also not recharge a totally dead battery enough to use a high current appliance and trying to do so will make the battery "dead again."
Remove the battery from the camper and use a dedicated charger and try to bring it back to life. Just HOPE you did not destroy it.
NEVER discharge a deep cycle battery below 50% capacity.
To do so risks permanent damage to the plates.
"Discharge to Dead" under the BEST circumstances will reduce the life of the battery to a hundred or so cycles of charge/discharge. Your experience may differ, but the laws of physics will catch up to you.
In the clip below a "DEEPLY DISCHARGED" cycle is to 60% of capacity.
A 100 amp hour battery should not be discharged below 60 amp hours remaining to get the designed number of cycles.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Thanks....I went ahead and replaced the battery as it was 6 yrs old. I plugged the camper back in to the shoreline. I was able to get the lights to come on, the slide out. However, the power jack is not working and i think i might have fried that. I am still unsure if if have solved any issues if there were any. By replacing the battery i cant tell if that simply was enough "fresh Juice". I am puzzled by the power jack not working. it also appears that when i took a fuse out no red light came on as it normaly would do. I so i dont know if the battery is powering all of this or if the shore power and convertwer still have a problem.
Sometimes the red light won't come on till you try to use power on that circuit.
Get a volt meter and check power at your switch . You may have a resetable circuit breaker under your tongue that has tripped.
Ok..So i just got home from work and the problem stuil exists. The new battery was powering the slide and the lights. I believe i am not getting power from the shore cord or the inverter is bad. I plan to get a volt meter but unsure what kind to get, what to check, how i read it, how i tell if the converter is bad ( where will i touch it to see? any guidance is much appreciated.
So i found a new Sperry SP-5A multitester in a tool box my dad gave me. I read the little booklet that it came with and well, its as clear as mud. How can i check the cord? the Inverter? where do I touch the leads?how do i read this thing?
Herk..Thank you so much...Of course it started raining here so I will wait until the am...Stupid question--Even though i dont think i am getting power from the shore line...should I unplug it anyway or does it need to be plugged in to tell me what i need to know?
Herk..Thank you so much...Of course it started raining here so I will wait until the am...Stupid question--Even though i dont think i am getting power from the shore line...should I unplug it anyway or does it need to be plugged in to tell me what i need to know?
Well, the camper will not get any AC at all without shore power.
The shore power comes in and goes directly to the "MAIN" breaker in the power center. Mine is the 30 amp breaker. ALL other breakers come off that. The converter is on one of them. Mine is labeled "CONV" but it also controls the outside outlet by the door AND all the entertainment center outlets.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Herk...Thank you a TON for you insightful help. I did check the continuity today as per your thumbnail. before getting into the entire testing of each peice of the converter. It showed good. so, I went and bought 2 new 40 AMP ATC fuses. They blew when i put them in. So, I went out front switched the wires on the battery terminals ( which on the new battery are opposite of how they were --i am pretty sure) and then put 2 40A ATC in the panel. Not only is all working but my power jack is as well. I am still uinsure what happened in the first place, to be honest, but i am happy all is working and for only the cost of a battery and fuses, and a probably unnecessary male end change on the shore line cord. When we pulled out of the camp site the last thing i disconnected was the power cord ( so it could power the jack) i do rememebr the AC was on and because it was late at night and i had 300 miles to go i also just unplugged the cord without sghutting the pedastal power off. so, perhaps this blew the 40A ATC's?? I am unsure. I checked them both originally in diagnosing the problem and they didnt seem blown. I for sure blew them with reverse polarity on the new battery. At any rate, as of this morning i have my camper working and I AM VERY APPRECIATIVE FOR YOUR HELP!!!
Those 40 amp fuses are your ONLY reverse battery protection.
Most DC stuff will work with a reversed battery (lights don't care for example); HOWEVER, some things care A LOT; like your heater, fridge, LEDs, anything solid state, etc.
Be VERY happy if you were just inconvenienced. I accidently reversed the battery cables in my Yamaha generator when I replaced it and is cost me almost a 5 hundred dollars to fix it.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
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