Not getting 12vdc to trailer from battery

jbarefoot · 03-19-2011, 05:41 PM

Hello. I am brand new to the forum and need some technical help. I have a Forest River 16UL I just recently picked up used. Everything works fine when hooked up to 110vac, but when not hooked up to 110vac, I am not getting the 12vdc battery power back to the trailer for lights or anything. The trailer manual says lights, bed rail, water pump and other should run off the battery 12vdc when not hooked up to 110VAC.

There is a plastic molded two terminal connector under the front A-Frame. One large red wire is connected to one terminal from the battery. A second large red wire is connected to the other terminal and runs to the trailer. I am getting 12vdc on the battery side but I am not getting 12vdc (or any voltage) on the other side. Should I be getting 12vdc on both sides? The terminals are not connected unless there is a metal bar encased in the plastic between the terminals.

The trailer manual says lights, bed rail, water pump and other should run off the battery 12vdc when not hooked up to 110VAC.

Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Jerry.

brentnrobin · 03-19-2011, 05:54 PM

Welcome to the forum Jerry! Is the metal bar in plastic a fuse and is it broken?

SaskCampers · 03-19-2011, 06:12 PM

Disconnect the battery and set your meter to Ohms then meter across the 2 terminals. If it reads "0" then it is ok if the meter reads a high number there is something wrong with the block. And yes you should have voltage on both sides. Chances are it is a fuesable link.

**Herk7769** · 03-19-2011, 06:48 PM

This item is a resettable fuse. It should have a small button on it somewhere to press. The issue is what caused it to blow?

rthrbelsewhere · 03-19-2011, 10:25 PM

Not all of them are resettable as I found on my Roo. A quick trip to the local auto parts store to replace it and voila, good to go. Mine was blown because I didn't think about what I was doing when I plugged the RV into the garage while the battery charger was on the battery. Oopss...

jbarefoot · 03-20-2011, 10:26 AM

Thank you everyone for your help. I could not see a reset button until I disconnected the wiring, removed it from the trailer and cleaned it up. It is now back on the trailer, wired, and everything is now working as it should. Not sure what tripped it as it was like this when I got the trailer. Thanks again everyone.

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