No power when shore line disconnected

[BartleNuts]

Hi friends,

New to the trailer world, bought a 2011 Palomino P280 tent trailer recently and installed a new battery. When I disconnect from the 110v supply, I lose all power to the trailer (except, oddly, the water pump...) but no lights, sockets, fan... Battery is charged (12.65v) and I've checked every fuse I can find... Is there a switch to change from 110v to 12v somewhere?

Anything else I'm missing??

Thanks so much!

[GalsofEscape]

I may not be able to help you too much with trouble shooting - but to help you understand the electrical systems - there are two electrical systems in a popup - the shore power and the 12V battery system. the battery system should (normally) power the water pump, ceiling lights, bunk fan and furnace. The outlets and any other appliances will only work when plugged into shore power. (your fridge may be a two way fridge and run on either shore power or propane or it may be a three way and run on battery/shore/propane).

The converter will take shore power and convert it to 12 volt to run the battery stuff when there is no battery.


There is a safety switch for the 12v system to work - it is a plunger type switch which is normally located in the swing up galley - so the galley must be in place for the 12v system to function (this prevents the ceiling lights from staying on when you close up the camper and burning the tenting).



There may be a resetable fuse located on the tongue near the battery - it will be a little box (usually black??) with a reset pin.

[BartleNuts]

Thanks GalsofEscape - lots of useful info there. I've found the switch that turns everything off when the galley is closed. There is another switch right next to it (similar style) that I'm not yet quite sure what it does... I've looked in and around the tongue/battery box and followed the wires underneath the body and don't seem to see a resettable fuse. I thought there may be something like that somewhere or a 12v/110v switch but I can't seem to find anything... I'll keep digging around to see what I can find... If you come up with any other suggestions let me know!

(thanks for taking the time to answer me!)

[Scrapper]

There should be a couple of reverse polarity fuses in the breaker/fuse panel. The purpose is to protect your charger/converter if you connect the battery backwards. If they blow you will not have 12vdc power when not plugged into shore power. The fuses should be 30 or 40 amp fuses but could be 25 amp in a popup.


If you can find the manufacturer and model number of your charger/converter you will be able to find the manual for it online.

[Bob414]

A fully charged battery is approx 13.2 v. Unless your battery is bad, very low or has a high drain, 12.65 v reading does not mean your battery is charging. Just my 2C worth.

Bob

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by Bob414

A fully charged battery is approx 13.2 v. Unless your battery is bad, very low or has a high drain, 12.65 v reading does not mean your battery is charging. Just my 2C worth.
Bob

Incorrect. Voltage readings area as follows:
14.4V converter charging battery in bulk mode
13.7V converter charging battery in normal mode
13.2V converter charging battery in trickle mode
12.7V camper not plugged in, battery fully charged
12.4V camper not plugged in, battery at about 70% charge
12.1V camper not plugged in, battery at about 50% charge

Note the above will vary slightly with temperature, voltmeter, and load on batteries when voltage is measured. Also assumes a working converter. A non-working converter will be the same as the "camper not plugged in".

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[camaraderie]

You might have one of these breakers on the 12V line somewhere. Reset by pushing the black little button up top.

[rsdata]

Is your battery hooked up properly positive and negative wires?

Wires in trailers are usually NOT intuitive RED + and BLACK -... often it is WHITE and BLACK wires used at the battery.

The pump motor does not care how it is hooked up and will make noise but other items like LED lights in the camper will NOT work with the battery hooked up incorrectly. IF hooked correctly, and plugged INTO shore power you should measure 13.2 volts or MORE at the battery because it will be charging. A battery at 12.6 volts is just resting.

Easiest thing is to look at where the wires at the battery box go under the trailer... one of them will attach to a fuse, and that would the the POS + wire the other will eventually connect to the trailer metal frame and that will be the NEG- wire.

[Scrapper]

I will ask again what is the make and model of your power distribution panel / converter / charger?

Some popups use a setup where the 12vdc power from the battery and the converter are connected. If the reverse voltage fuses are blown your charger will not charge the battery, nor will you get 12v power from the battery.

[dalford]

Originally Posted by rsdata

Is your battery hooked up properly positive and negative wires?

Wires in trailers are usually NOT intuitive RED + and BLACK -... often it is WHITE and BLACK wires used at the battery.

The pump motor does not care how it is hooked up and will make noise but other items like LED lights in the camper will NOT work with the battery hooked up incorrectly. IF hooked correctly, and plugged INTO shore power you should measure 13.2 volts or MORE at the battery because it will be charging. A battery at 12.6 volts is just resting.

Easiest thing is to look at where the wires at the battery box go under the trailer... one of them will attach to a fuse, and that would the the POS + wire the other will eventually connect to the trailer metal frame and that will be the NEG- wire.

rsdata, I don’t know but wonder if a 2011 trailer would have LED lights?