Dimming lights in our 2006 Surveyor SV210 TT why?

[Barry1]

We have taken 3 trips to 3 different campgrounds this summer and have experienced varying degrees of the lights dimming at all 3 sites. The duration that they stay dim can be for a minute or so, or as long as several minutes.
Do we have a problem or is this normal?

[ScottBrownstein]

I would look at your battery and your converter. The lights are generally powered from 12 volts and what you might be seeing is your converter changing charge levels, dimming when it goes to float and brightening when it goes back to bulk charge mode. There is a 1 to 1.5 volt difference between the levels. You may have a bad battery so when it drops into float the batteries cannot keep up and it goes back into bulk after a minute or so. You might have an extremely weak battery or bad connections, cables, corrosions, etc.

[Bama Rambler]

We had an '06 Surveyor that would do that, and come to find out the cooling fan in the converter was bad and whenever the converter was put under load (charging battery, etc.) it would heat up and then limit the output, so the lights would dim due to the reduced output.

Check to see if the fan in the converter is running when you put it under load. Turning on a few lights if they're still incandescent should do it.

Though it shouldn't be related to the RV, it's funny that the RV's were the same brand with the same problem.

[Barry1]

Thanks Scott, for quick reply. My battery is only 1 1/2 years old, but I just checked the led light indicator board inside the TT and it indicates that my battery is fully charged. I also checked battery fluid and it is full.No corrosion on terminals. Will look into my converter fan as posted by Bama Rambler...thanks again.

[Barry1]

Hi Bama Rambler
I want to check the fan as you have suggested. Is it a big job to get at the fan? Is it behind the panel that has all the fuses and breakers? Is this panel called the converter?
I am handy with everything except electrical as you probably have figured out by my questions. Will await your reply...THANKS

[Bama Rambler]

It's no problem to check the fan. I think there are four screws to remove the front trim off the converter/power panel and you can see the fan sitting there. Take the front of the panel off and turn on a few lights and watch to see if the fan comes on.

You could also operate the electric tongue jack a few seconds if you have one, and that should load the converter enough to kick the fan on.

[rovinglion]

I had a problem with lights dimming on my Crusader. Turned out that the connections in the distribution box/fuse panel were loose. Simply tightening the terminal blocks solved the problem. I believe that when I had a dealer tech work on the converter, he left the terminal connections loose.

[Barry1]

I took the converter out and checked the fan. It turned freely. I vacuumed out the accumulation of dust and checked that every wire in the panel box was tightened into place. I then reconnected the battery and turned every light on in the trailer for over an hour to run down the battery. Next, I reconnected the house power and monitored the converter. The fins of the converter became warm and the fan kicked in as I believe it should. At no time did the lights dim, as they had done at the campground. To further clarify, I do not recall the lights dimming at one campground, there were a couple of times at another site and it happened often at our last campground. Could my problem be related to the electrical feed at the campground?

[Bama Rambler]

It could have e been low voltage at the campground, but I'd think you'd have noticed other things not acting right, like the A/C or Microwave, etc..

Maybe tightening the wiring or just cleaning the dust off it helped. It could have been something binding the fan blades and just the act of removing the cover jarred it loose.

[Barry1]

The weather was ideal during our last outing so we did not use the AC or any heating and as I recall we may have used the microwave to warm up a couple of cups of coffee only. I will let everyone know how our next trip goes.
I think I have figured out why RV dealers over charge and make us wait for ridiculously a long time to get a repair done...they are getting revenge for all the great help that is given out on this forum. I would be at their mercy if it were not for all the knowledge available here!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by Barry1

Thanks Scott, for quick reply. My battery is only 1 1/2 years old, but I just checked the led light indicator board inside the TT and it indicates that my battery is fully charged. I also checked battery fluid and it is full.No corrosion on terminals. Will look into my converter fan as posted by Bama Rambler...thanks again.

My old TH did that and it was consistently occurring when the pump cycled on. Checked converter, battery, water pump, nearly everything. Then I realized that even though the ground cable looks fine, it was making a poor contact.

Turns out the ground cable from the battery was attached to the frame with a single self tapping screws.. no surface prep. So the only contact was the threads and eventually they had corroded.

Easy fix. Cleaned contact then covered with silicone.

[Barry1]

I Will definitley check my ground cable.