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Old 11-11-2018, 04:17 PM   #1
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Outlets and tv are dead

I have a Sierra 372LOK and my outlets and TVs won’t work. And no microwave. Lights work. Built in stereo works. I can find 2 GFCI outlets (bathroom and outdoor kitchen) that have a reset button and have reset both several times. I’ve checked all breakers and fuses. Any other ideas? Thanks,
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:24 PM   #2
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r u plugged into shore power?
did it’s breaker trip?

GFCI circuits won’t reset without power

did your shore cord come loose from the trailer?
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:30 PM   #3
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Lights and Stereo are 12V operated devices so they are operating from your battery. The other items require 120VAC shore power from pedestal or a generator. Need a little more info.
Are you connected to shore power?
Are both plugs inserted well?
Do you have an EMS in line?
Is the breaker at the pedestal on?
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:32 PM   #4
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Lights and stereo are both 12 volts and run off of the battery. Everything else you listed is run by shore power.
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:35 PM   #5
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If you have an inverter, check that ...It might need to be reset. Mine has a switch that needed reset. Had all the same symptoms you are having.
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:36 PM   #6
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I am not. I leave my trailer in the country. Batteries are shot and instead of dragging out the gene I just hooked up to my truck battery since I’m only here for an hour or so. I wondered if I needed the gene to get enough power. Maybe that’s it?
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:38 PM   #7
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Sounds like I don’t really have a problem, just need to hook up the gene instead of my truck battery!! Thanks for all the help guys.
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:39 PM   #8
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if youre on the Inverter, then it probably drew down the batteries low enough that it cut ‘out’ to save them - they are designed that way - when the batteries are back to 12.0 volts, it will probably come back on
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:51 PM   #9
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Thank you additional info helps. Not sure how you have the Truck battery connected, but most likely the voltage the inverter is seeing is below the min for it to operate. If you need 120VAC, you are going to need to connect the battery. Also if you plan to leave the battery in for a while, you will need to fully charge it and then it or the parasitic currents will kill it in a few weeks.
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:54 PM   #10
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While I have y’all, since my batteries are shot I am planning to replace them. I have 2 12 volt batteries. Everything I read says 6 volt batteries are better. If I make that switch, do I need 2 or 4 6 volt batteries to replace the 2 12 volt batteries?
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:56 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OsageCityKamper View Post
I have a Sierra 372LOK and my outlets and TVs won’t work. And no microwave. Lights work. Built in stereo works. I can find 2 GFCI outlets (bathroom and outdoor kitchen) that have a reset button and have reset both several times. I’ve checked all breakers and fuses. Any other ideas? Thanks,
Does your Sierra even have an inverter? All RVs have CONverters but few come with INverters.
If it only has the converter, your outlets and microwave only work on shore power or a generator.
If it does have an INverter, your truck battery probably won't supply enough power to run them.
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Old 11-11-2018, 05:09 PM   #12
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While I have y’all, since my batteries are shot I am planning to replace them. I have 2 12 volt batteries. Everything I read says 6 volt batteries are better. If I make that switch, do I need 2 or 4 6 volt batteries to replace the 2 12 volt batteries?

Two 6v batteries will give you the same if not more amp hours that the two 12v did.
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Old 11-11-2018, 05:37 PM   #13
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most RVs with residential fridges and inverters come with two 6v deep-charge batteries, wired in SERIES, making them a 12v Battery Bank. Generally, two 6v batteries can handle load discharges many, many more times than 12v batteries, since they tend to be more for 'starting' power, than slow discharging, which is what RVs need.

my coach has 4) 6v batteries, wired in SERIES, then together in PARALLEL, for a 12v output with double the amp hours, since all my outlets in the coach are on the 2000w Inverter.

many newer 'all electric' larger motorcoaches are coming out of the factory with at least
8 6v batteries, and sometimes even TWO Inverters, and very large generators.
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Old 11-11-2018, 08:01 PM   #14
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Thanks for the battery advice. And it does have an inverter but I agree, the truck battery didn’t provide enough juice. Half way through pulling the slides in I ran out of power and had to wait a bit for more juice. Looks like the gene will have to be dragged back into service!!
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Old 11-11-2018, 08:12 PM   #15
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I don’t have much room in my battery compartment so I’ve been thinking about building a battery box to hold several 6 volt batteries. Mine came with 2 cheap cranking batteries and they are shot. Would 6-8 6 volt batteries wired together with an improved inverter run everything in my 5th wheel except the AC? We never move our camper so portability of the battery box isn’t an issue. Then I’d like to have a solar panel keep them all charged up when we are not there. We only go on weekends.
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Old 11-12-2018, 04:34 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by OsageCityKamper View Post
While I have y’all, since my batteries are shot I am planning to replace them. I have 2 12 volt batteries. Everything I read says 6 volt batteries are better. If I make that switch, do I need 2 or 4 6 volt batteries to replace the 2 12 volt batteries?

6+6=12. For every 12 volt battery you need two 6 volt. Don't know your needs so can't say if two or four is what you need.
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Old 11-13-2018, 05:39 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by OsageCityKamper View Post
I don’t have much room in my battery compartment so I’ve been thinking about building a battery box to hold several 6 volt batteries. Mine came with 2 cheap cranking batteries and they are shot. Would 6-8 6 volt batteries wired together with an improved inverter run everything in my 5th wheel except the AC? We never move our camper so portability of the battery box isn’t an issue. Then I’d like to have a solar panel keep them all charged up when we are not there. We only go on weekends.
Battery capacity is measured in amp-hours (AH). A Group 24 12V Deep Cycle is typically rated at about 80AH. Two of them combine in parallel for 160AH. Two 6V GC-2 batteries combine in series for about 210AH at 12V. The GC-2s are a little taller than the Group 24, but otherwise the batteries are about the same size.

With deep cycle batteries, you are expected to keep them above 50% state of charge for a reasonable life span. Drawing them down to 30-40% reduces the number of discharge/charge cycles the batteries will do.

You have to have enough solar panels (and sunshine) to replace the power you use, plus charging losses. Typically, a 100 watt panel in good sunshine for 6 hours is expected to deliver about 40AH over that 6 hours. Some panels and situations will do better than that. And panels that are tilted to face the sun will deliver much closer to rated power. Obviously, there is less solar power in winter.

The number of batteries and solar panels needed depend on how many AH you are using over your weekend. On my little A-frame (no inverter), and running pretty much only the heater or Fantastic Fan on a 50% duty cycle will use 25AH per day.

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Old 11-13-2018, 10:45 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OsageCityKamper View Post
I don’t have much room in my battery compartment so I’ve been thinking about building a battery box to hold several 6 volt batteries. Mine came with 2 cheap cranking batteries and they are shot. Would 6-8 6 volt batteries wired together with an improved inverter run everything in my 5th wheel except the AC? We never move our camper so portability of the battery box isn’t an issue. Then I’d like to have a solar panel keep them all charged up when we are not there. We only go on weekends.

You may want to read "The 12 Volt Side of Life". Page 6 shows how to connect multiple 6V batteries. I believe 4, 8, or 12 batteries will be better because the way they are connected will balance the charge/discharge more evenly than 6 batteries.
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