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Old 07-29-2014, 10:36 PM   #1
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Battery not powering trailer

Perhaps it's something small I'm missing...but our trailer does not work on battery power alone. Just replaced the battery... Tested it and it has a full charge. Checked all the fuses in the box and they are all good. Checked the fuse on the outside (for the charging system?) and it was corroded, so I used electrical spray cleaner and replaced the fuse (it may still need to be cleaned more)...

What am I missing? This is driving me crazy!


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Old 07-29-2014, 11:02 PM   #2
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Only my lights and slider work on battery. I have to be hooked up to run anything else including receptacles
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Old 07-30-2014, 06:27 AM   #3
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Did u hook up the battery correctly?

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Old 07-30-2014, 08:05 AM   #4
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I did. Red to positive and white to ground.


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Old 07-30-2014, 08:07 AM   #5
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My white is positive just sayin.

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Old 07-30-2014, 08:10 AM   #6
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there is a small switch underneath the front valance on the sink side. this switch kills the 12 volt when the roof is lowered .... check it to see if its sticking .. or has a missing connection ..

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Old 07-30-2014, 09:26 AM   #7
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It is time to get a multi-meter and start running the wires with the camper unplugged from 120V AC. Check the voltage at the battery, on the both sides of the breaker (under the front on the service side of the camper), on both sides of each fuse in the converter. Also check the the 40amp reverse polarity fuse.

Where is the fuse on the outside? Is it a really a fuse or perhaps a breaker.
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Old 07-30-2014, 09:29 AM   #8
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It was the kill switch! Thank you! Didn't even know that was there.

And the fuse runs off the positive terminal. Mine is in a red sleeve...would that be called a breaker? Can I replace it with a regular fuse? (Looks the same to me...and as you can tell, I'm no electrician!)


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Old 07-30-2014, 09:50 AM   #9
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Here is the breaker on my camper. It is a heat trip breaker with auto reset. On this photo, the front of the camper is down. There seem to be some variations on the electrical systems for model years. If you have some other arrangement, I'd like to see a photo of it.

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Old 07-30-2014, 09:52 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by f1100turbo View Post
My white is positive just sayin.
Not on FR A-frames. Red positive, white ground.
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Old 07-30-2014, 11:43 AM   #11
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Just like in house wiring, the neutral is always white. Trailers I have experience with both had the 12VDC positive black (like black = hot in household single phase 15A circuits). Not to say you couldn't have red = +ve/hot too (corresponding to the hot on the other side of a split phase household circuit).

The only place I see black=ground/red=hot is in pure DC applications (e.g. automotive).

With trailers having both 12VDC and 120VAC wiring, its safer to have a consistent white = neutral/ground standard - in fact white/grey = neutral is mandatory in both the US and Canadian electrical codes for both AC and DC (Wiring Color Codes : Color Codes).
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Old 07-30-2014, 12:41 PM   #12
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to the origional poster ..

your welcome .. and welcome to the club .. enjoy .

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