Lack or 12 Volt Power

2012HW276 · 03-12-2012, 09:07 PM

Purchased a new HW276 at a dealer about 300 miles away. I went through the set up at delivery and all went well and worked. Except (and this may have nothing to do with the issue) the radio. A new radio was installed while I was in Finance. A week later I set the camper up at home. When flushing the water system I tried to use the pump. No power. Nothing worked - lights etc. Battery is fine - raised the camper with the winch. I didn't have an adapter so I could no connect the the 110V. I used tried every switch and combination - nothing. I look at the fuse /c converter. I didn't notice anything. Tonight I did find a spare (fuse" in the envelope with my manual. What am I missing? THKS..

RRkevin · 03-12-2012, 09:42 PM

Did you set up your sink/galley in order to release the 12 volt kill switch?

-kevin

RRkevin · 03-12-2012, 09:45 PM

Sorry - just realized you have a high wall and probably no galley switch. There should be an overall kill switch for 12v somewhere for your pup.

JMackay · 03-20-2012, 09:11 PM

Same issue right now with Flagstaff 425D. Just got home from 4000 miles of touring. Towed great and functioned wonderfully.
Popped it up with electric winch to unpack... suddenly no power. One fuse was blown, replaced, but no power. No lights, no external light by door, and no more winch control. 120 V conection does not supply power either.
Fuse near battery is fine. 12 volt kill switch is depressed with open galley ( external light should work regardless.)
I'm going to go out again and test my battery ( brand new during trip) then try plugging in to vehicle to see if there is life.
All ground wires seem intact.
2012HW276, have you had any resolution? That might shed light on my lack of it!

JMackay · 03-20-2012, 11:42 PM

Okay. With a volt meter, my battery initially read 0... no output at all.
I tinkered with the posts as I decided to put my charger on it and, surprize, it came to life. So perhaps a short in the battery. I'll clean all the connections as well as all the terminal ends that attach to them. I'm still not sure that this should have interfered with the 110V though. Are both the 12V and 110V systems dependant on my battery continuity? Perhaps the battery must supply the juice for the converter to work allowing the 110 to override. Who can understand these things....

Triguy · 03-21-2012, 06:29 AM

The battery is an integral part of the 120-volt AC system. It supposedly helps to smooth things out by absorbing voltage spikes. But having said that, if your converter is operating correctly you should not need the battery when you are on shore power.

Here are a few steps to help diagnose the power failures reported above...

In general, any electrical circuit is a circle: Power source (12V battery or 120V AC), a load (lights, pump, jack, etc), the wiring running throughout the trailer and the controls (switches, fuses and circuit breakers). The failure is in one or more of these components.

Check if there is a battery selector switch and make sure its on. Check the kill switch as found in popups.

Check battery terminals for corrosion and clean with baking soda. Check the electrolyte level and water as needed.

Make sure all connections are tight. Start at the battery and torque the terminal connections as needed. Follow the wiring from the battery to an inline fuse and make sure its not blown. Replace fuse or reset breaker (depends on what you have). Look for bare wires or metal touching wires that can cause a short (sometimes trailers are wired poorly in such a way that they rub against the frame and cause a short over time).

Check the converter that the fuses are not blown. Check the AC breakers under shore power, as well.

Check the batteries for voltage. Are you sure its charged? Above 12.6v is fully charged. 10.5 is full discharged. You may want to use a hydrometer to check individual cells as that will also tell you if there is a bad cell.

If you have a multimeter and are familiar with it, you can then go on to checking for an open circuit somewhere.

cfsoistman · 03-21-2012, 06:57 AM

One other thing to check is the ground wire connection to the frame. In my case there wasn't a good connections due to the use of a self-tapping aluminum screw and the steel frame. No paint was removed in order for the terminal end to physically contact the frame. The only connection was the threads of the screw which oxidised and lost contact. I replaced the screw with a nut and bolt as well as wire wheeled some piant off the frame. Once connected I sprayed battery terminal protectant on the connection. Just something else that may be a potential future problem?

2012HW276 · 03-21-2012, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMackay

Same issue right now with Flagstaff 425D. Just got home from 4000 miles of touring. Towed great and functioned wonderfully.
Popped it up with electric winch to unpack... suddenly no power. One fuse was blown, replaced, but no power. No lights, no external light by door, and no more winch control. 120 V conection does not supply power either.
Fuse near battery is fine. 12 volt kill switch is depressed with open galley ( external light should work regardless.)
I'm going to go out again and test my battery ( brand new during trip) then try plugging in to vehicle to see if there is life.
All ground wires seem intact.
2012HW276, have you had any resolution? That might shed light on my lack of it!

I have not found the issue with the HW276 yet. I had the camper set up for the first time when I had this issue. Since it has been down and in the garage. It may be Easter weekend before I set back up to install the screen room and try again. I appreciate the feedback and I'm make my list of thing to look at.

kingranch · 03-25-2012, 11:02 AM

Ok my 2009 I had a switch that got stuck. Do Iu have lights

2012HW276 · 03-25-2012, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingranch

Ok my 2009 I had a switch that got stuck. Do Iu have lights

The running lights worked driving the unit from the dealer in Indiana to PA. Camper went in the garage and came out two weeks later. At the end of the day I found the 12 volt did not work. I had to put it down and back in the garage. Easter weekend I will be trying again. The winch and jack motor work fine. So the battery is fine. There are 3 connections to the positive and two to the negative. So the winch and jack are 2 going to the positive. The jack appears to ground to the frame through the post it's attached to.. I will be looking at fuses, any resets and the ground for the trailer 12 volt side. The switch on the lid seems to be clicking and OK.. Thanks for commenting. All are appreciated.

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