HELP,Help (No power to RV)

kevin211 · 12-01-2018, 03:08 AM

As most of ya know I'm a new owner of a 2015 29IK.

Not sure what happened lost all power to RV. (no lights radio,slide motors....nothing)
So i wanted to bring my slides in before it rains again, So during our PDI they said i could used the battery and my truck (light cord to keep battery charged) to bring the slides in, So 10 min before work i go out to do this, I get the bedroom slide in, starts to move the other slide and it stops, I know notice the whole RV has no power at all....
I did check the breakers nothing trip, I DID NOT have time to check the fuses that look like car fuses, I went and turned the battery discount switch thinking that it had a "master" breaker for a reset....no luck.

What do i need to do or look for to restore power, Only thing keeping me from losing my cool,is i have a warranty and it happened at home and not at a camp ground.

BYW i did order stuff to run it off my house power so I don't need to keep using my truck to charge battery

Thank you

dblr · 12-01-2018, 06:57 AM

Did you check the connections at your battery? For the slides there is another breaker located in the front storage bin behind the curved piece of plastic that covers your hydraulics, very small resettable inline breaker. Did you purchase at Stoltzfus? If so reach out to them as I have always had good luck with help from there, if the shop can not help ask for Lee he is very knowledgeable with the Cedar Creek and even owns one himself.

**wmtire** · 12-01-2018, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin211

As most of ya know I'm a new owner of a 2015 29IK.

Not sure what happened lost all power to RV. (no lights radio,slide motors....nothing)
So i wanted to bring my slides in before it rains again, So during our PDI they said i could used the battery and my truck (light cord to keep battery charged) to bring the slides in, So 10 min before work i go out to do this, I get the bedroom slide in, starts to move the other slide and it stops, I know notice the whole RV has no power at all....
I did check the breakers nothing trip, I DID NOT have time to check the fuses that look like car fuses, I went and turned the battery discount switch thinking that it had a "master" breaker for a reset....no luck.

What do i need to do or look for to restore power, Only thing keeping me from losing my cool,is i have a warranty and it happened at home and not at a camp ground.

BYW i did order stuff to run it off my house power so I don't need to keep using my truck to charge battery

Thank you

Howdy Kevin and welcome aboard. If this is your first RV, I highly recommend you check out this link and really read the electrical threads and especially the converter threads suggested in it.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ts-157524.html

All the aforementioned items you suggested that are not working are usually 12 volt DC items (battery powered). If you are not connected to 120 volt AC shore power, where the converter can power these items OR recharge your battery, then when your battery is disconnected or runs down, then these items do not work.

Plugging into a truck for a few minutes will NOT recharge a depleted RV battery. You would need to hook it up to a dedicated battery charger, if you own one similar to the pic below. You can also do this if your converter ever fails too (read the link on converters please in the aforementioned link)

A RV battery will discharge just from sitting and phantom draws placed on it (radio clock, CO detector, etc). This is why you need to disconnect the battery either physically or by using the battery disconnect switch you mentioned. However you need to make sure the battery is connected inline for the converter to recharge it (if applicable) or for the battery to power the 12 volt DC items.

You also may have a resettable 12 volt DC circuit breaker that is tripped. It is also explained in the link above.

Hope this all helps

Oaklevel · 12-01-2018, 09:00 AM

What he said ^^^^^^^ I doubt anything is wrong with your RV. I may be as simple that your battery needs to be charged........

Your truck would charge the battery but you would have to leave the truck run for several hours.......

pdqparalegal1 · 12-01-2018, 02:10 PM

Start with cleaning the ground wires and contact area on the frame. That bit me twice. Good lick.

Dobbs · 12-01-2018, 02:12 PM

Maybe try 'jumping' the RV battery from the directly from the truck using jumper cables just to get the slide in. Then pull the RV battery and charge it elsewhere.

Grumpy7159 · 12-01-2018, 11:23 PM

My 29IK does not charge the batteries on house power with the battery disconnect switch in the disconnect position. My slides are hydraulic and the pump runs off the batteries (I have two). When camping I have the batteries connected and I run my generator when I pull in the slides and pull up my rear level cylinders. There is a small circuit breaker in the front storage behind the black shield. Not sure if all 29IK's have them in the same area.

kevin211 · 12-02-2018, 02:22 AM

Thank you everyone for info, Now that i have one day off and of course it's raining i will go out in the morning and give it a shot, Now my concern is i hope i didn't get rain inside it, since slides are half in half out, but the seals are still "flat" against the sides.... maybe i
worry to much

kevin211 · 12-02-2018, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dblr

Did you check the connections at your battery? For the slides there is another breaker located in the front storage bin behind the curved piece of plastic that covers your hydraulics, very small resettable inline breaker. Did you purchase at Stoltzfus? If so reach out to them as I have always had good luck with help from there, if the shop can not help ask for Lee he is very knowledgeable with the Cedar Creek and even owns one himself.

Yes I did by it from Stoltzfus RV and Marine (west Chester pa) I bought it used off the lot. If i need i will call Adamstown Stoltzfus

tomkatb · 12-02-2018, 07:51 AM

You and the voltmeter have work to do.

First. No, you cannot really recharge a battery with your truck.

Check battery voltage. 12 is bad.

The manufacturer used small gage wire from the truck to the trailer. Minimal charging at best. I suspect it would take 75 hours of continuous highway travel to charge the batteries up. Maybe, never.

So step one is recharging the batteries with the house converter or a separate battery charger. A day or more.

Also a possibility, a beginner likely damaged the original batteries by over discharging. As the batteries might be from 2015 and from the dealer, likely they are toast.

The best you can do with only a voltmeter is, first charge the batteries. Then let them sit a few days. If the voltage is much below 12.6, (assumes you have a trustworthy voltmeter) they are needing replacement.

Before recharging check water levels and add distilled water.

If slides do not work, then it is the find the fuse game.

This is normal stuff owning an rv. One, must be handy!

One should avoid a return to the dealer as much as possible.

Flatlander49 · 12-02-2018, 08:01 AM

We also own a 2015 29IK. As has been said by others this sure sounds like a dead battery to me. The breakers in the front basement near the hydraulic pump are very small and hard to find but they’re there. If you don’t already own one I suggest you buy a good battery charger, preferably a smart charger. You will need one. Good luck and congrats on the new rig. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy ours. Cheers.

kevin211 · 12-02-2018, 05:34 PM

Thank you to everyone, I got my slides in, I had to use jumper cables from truck to trailer battery i will look at putting a bigger battery in when spring comes.... Thank you again

**Mr. Dan** · 12-02-2018, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin211

Thank you to everyone, I got my slides in, I had to use jumper cables from truck to trailer battery i will look at putting a bigger battery in when spring comes.... Thank you again

Thanks for returning and giving us a report!

**bikendan** · 12-02-2018, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin211

Thank you to everyone, I got my slides in, I had to use jumper cables from truck to trailer battery i will look at putting a bigger battery in when spring comes.... Thank you again

With a 5th wheel you easily have enough room for at least two 6v golf cart batteries.
The dealer probably installed a 12v dual purpose marine battery which is not true deep cycle battery.

dalford · 12-02-2018, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin211

Thank you to everyone, I got my slides in, I had to use jumper cables from truck to trailer battery i will look at putting a bigger battery in when spring comes.... Thank you again

Kevin, It does not matter how big of a battery you put in if you don’t keep it charged it will not work when you need it. It sounds to me you were relying on the charge from your truck to keep your RV battery charged. The truck battery will help maintain a charged battery but will not fully charge a low or dead battery.

Connect to shore power so your converter can keep your battery maintained. You are probably good with the battery you have if you keep it charged.

I did not notice if you need to winterize but since you said next spring I assume you are in cold weather territory so you should probably take your battery out and keep it in the garage with a good trickle charger on it to keep it maintained.

**Flybob** · 12-02-2018, 07:06 PM

Do not leave the dead battery in even if you plan to replace it in the spring. A discharged battery will freeze and crack and make a nasty mess.

kevin211 · 12-02-2018, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikendan

With a 5th wheel you easily have enough room for at least two 6v golf cart batteries.
The dealer probably installed a 12v dual purpose marine battery which is not true deep cycle battery.

you are correct

Tom48 · 12-29-2018, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdqparalegal1

Start with cleaning the ground wires and contact area on the frame. That bit me twice. Good lick.

DITTO

cavie · 12-29-2018, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin211

Thank you to everyone, I got my slides in, I had to use jumper cables from truck to trailer battery i will look at putting a bigger battery in when spring comes.... Thank you again

Bigger may not be needed. Just a good fully charged one will do nicely.

The one you have may very well be fine.

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