Can't figure out what's going on with my trailer's power

[Aprillee]

My trailer is plugged into 30 amp shore power and has been working fine. However, about 2 weeks ago, I came home to absolutely no power. My surge protector on the shore power was still reading fine. Power cord seems fine. No breakers tripped, no fuses blown. I reset the breakers 4 times over the next 12 hours and power finally came back partially. Only 1 outlet with the GFCI works, the radio, the LP detector and the A/C are working, but nothing else. I had it checked out and they said the battery is bad.

So, I replaced the battery, but some things still were not working (fridge, microwave, outlets). Now, I am without power again after less than 4 days. Again, only the same things are working. Is something draining the battery that fast, despite it being plugged in? Could it be a wiring issue? I was told the converter was fine, but at this point, I'm not sure how many other things it could be?

[bikendan]

First, Welcome to FRF.
Second, you haven't given us any information on year, make and model number of RV you're asking about. Without any of that information, it makes it harder to get help. For example, most RVs require shore power to run the microwave and outlets, they don't run on battery power.
Who is "they" that checked it out?

[SeaDog]

Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. X2 what bikendan said. plus start with the basics and work your way thru. disconnect battery and test it with a load meter or multimeter so on.

[Aprillee]

My apologies! And thank you! It's a 2003 Coleman Caravan. It requires shore power for the microwave, outlets, A/C and to run the fridge without propane. The battery runs the lights, radio and leak detector. I had a mobile repairman come out, because I dont have a multimeter with me. The wiring was all reading correct, except the reading from the battery itself was very low. (Understandable, since its dying a slow death apparently).

[mwdilday]

Your battery may have been bad but it has absolutely nothing to do with the outlets that are not working. You are connected to 30 amp shore power so am I safe to assume your RV is 30 amp or are you using an adapter between the 30 amp shore power outlet and your RV? If your RV is 50 amp then the troubleshooting will be a little different.

[mwdilday]

OK I see in subsequent post that you have a Coleman Caravan so I assume it is 30 amp. Your battery is likely having low voltage issues because it is not getting charged because there is also no power to the converter which charges the battery when connected to shore power. If your lights are dim or not working then your converter is probably not getting power. You will have to troubleshoot the electrical system starting with the power center. Make sure that the power center is getting 120 volts with a proper ground and neutral. Make sure all the lugs on the power panel breakers are tight and check the voltage leaving each breaker. You definitely need a qualified electrician to do this because the voltage under the cover of the power panel is dangerous. It should be a simple fix given the right experience and tools from an electrician.

[tomkatb]

Your rv is pushing 20. The issue could be anywhere.

Likely you have multiple electrical issues.

I find it difficult any tech could not do anything!

The solution is four hours with a volt meter. However working with bare live wires is not a job for someone with their first voltmeter.

Get help.

[D W]

Originally Posted by Aprillee

My apologies! And thank you! It's a 2003 Coleman Caravan. It requires shore power for the microwave, outlets, A/C and to run the fridge without propane. The battery runs the lights, radio and leak detector. I had a mobile repairman come out, because I dont have a multimeter with me. The wiring was all reading correct, except the reading from the battery itself was very low. (Understandable, since its dying a slow death apparently).

I'm confused here. How is the wiring reading correct if you haven't any power to said items?

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Aprillee

My apologies! And thank you! It's a 2003 Coleman Caravan. It requires shore power for the microwave, outlets, A/C and to run the fridge without propane. The battery runs the lights, radio and leak detector. I had a mobile repairman come out, because I dont have a multimeter with me. The wiring was all reading correct, except the reading from the battery itself was very low. (Understandable, since its dying a slow death apparently).

Since your trailer is not a Forest River product, you'll need to supply more information than normal since no one here has your model.
No matter the brand, all RVs share many of the same equipment and features. Therefore we can help with many things.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by Aprillee

However, about 2 weeks ago, I came home to absolutely no power. My surge protector on the shore power was still reading fine.
Only 1 outlet with the GFCI works, the radio, the LP detector and the A/C are working, but nothing else. I had it checked out and they said the battery is bad.

So, I replaced the battery, but some things still were not working (fridge, microwave, outlets). Now, I am without power again after less than 4 days. Again, only the same things are working. Is something draining the battery that fast, despite it being plugged in? Could it be a wiring issue? I was told the converter was fine, but at this point, I'm not sure how many other things it could be?

Are you living in this trailer full time?
The symptoms are strange if one outlet, the radio, the LP detector and the air conditioner are all working. The battery could be bad, but the GFCI and the airconditioning don't work on battery power. The microwave and outlets all require shore power to operate and unless the fridge is operating on propane, it also requires shore power.
You could do some troubleshooting on your own by first disconnecting the surge protector and plugging directly into the pole to see if that is causing the problem. Then you could try replacing the 30 amp cord (keep the receipt in case that's not the problem).
If you've done all that and your converter tests ok, then you've probably got a wiring problem. You could see if those fuses and circuit breakers are all working. You could try turning off all circuit breakers and pulling all fuses, then reconnecting them one at a time until the problem reoccurs. However, that's not a guarantee that you'll find the problem that way. It could be something as simple as the electrical plug into the trailer.
You may need an electrician to trace the problem.

[Grumpy7159]

A RV that is 20 years old could have a loose or corroded connection. The tech could measure a good voltage with a meter under no load. Put a load on the system and the voltage could sag because of the voltage drop across the bad connection. Battery cables may have corrosion inside the connections and look good, but that is not your issue at this time.

[gphelps]

make sure the gfi is not tripped and is working that could be why only that plug is working and maybee for some reason your converter is on a gfi as well