Is it my Converter or fuse panel?

[Karlglen101]

Hello! I'm brand new to camper ownership. We bought a 2016 Clipper Classic 1285sst pop-up from friends at church. So far, we love it, but ran into some random trouble on our first trip.
Just sitting at night, all of a sudden all of my power went out. The small fan plugged in to AC, a small alarm clock on another AC receptacle, my 1 overhead DC light that was on, and the overhead vent fan.
Nobody else around me lost power. I turned off my 30a main inside, then reset the breaker at the box. None of my breakers were tripped. I checked all fuses at the converter panel and they were all good to.
After turning back on, the AC is fine. The overheads, radio, and toilet still don't work though. Even more strange is that the water pump is working fine (only DC run appliance that's working)!

I checked the overhead wiring that runs up the support channel and it seems fine. Fuse at the vent fan is fine.
I noticed on the inverter panel that when I pulled the pump fuse to check, the continuity light came on which is expected. But none of the other fuse ports lights worked.

All of this leads me to believe I have an issue with that panel or the converter.
Any thoughts or help is appreciated!

[SeaDog]

welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. First are you sure its an inverter and not a converter? makes a difference we have a very knowledgable group of popup folks on the forum I'm sure they can figure out your problem.

[Karlglen101]

Thanks! You're correct, it's a converter. That's my fault! I don't see the edit thread option to update the subject, but I'll figure it out!

[007matman]

Pop-ups have pressure activated switches that turn on 12v power to most of your camper. For me, the switch was on the back of the sink and would depress (and turn on 12v power to most of my appliances) when my sink was in an operating position.

I'd start there.. you may have to search a bit but I bet you have one.

For some reason, they thought it a great idea to not wire the 12v water pump to this switch. Caused a bit of frustration to me one day in the spring setting up my camper. The kids had turned the sink on the previous fall when I was cleaning it out and had no power. The following spring I pulled it out, connected the battery and started filling the tank. A few choice words were said when water started flooding out everywhere fromthe camper. From that point forward though that's how I'd check to see if that pressure switch was malfunctioning.

I did replace it once. Another time the wire was pinched.

[Karlglen101]

Thanks. I do have that switch. It sits under the sink cab. When I lift the sink cab up and in place it depresses the two switch buttons that activate the DC power. They actually sit directly above the pump.
I'll check and see if that works. I just assumed the pump was also on the same circuit because it's 12v. However, what your saying could be right because on the panel there are separate fuses for the interior lights and the pump!

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Karlglen101

I noticed on the inconverter panel that when I pulled the pump fuse to check, the continuity light came on which is expected. But none of the other fuse ports lights worked.

All of this leads me to believe I have an issue with that panel or the converter.
Any thoughts or help is appreciated!

The continuity light comes on only if the fuse is blown or removed AND there is a load on the circuit. If you turn everything on that circuit off, the LED will not light.

(If you are technical, the indicator is simply an LED and 330-ohm series resistor in parallel with the fuse. If the fuse is good, all current flows through it. If the fuse is blown or removed, AND there is a load, current flows through the LED and current-limiting resistor. If there is no load, no current can flow.)

[Herk7769]

When the water pump runs, does it seem strong? Is your water pressure normal?

Your battery may not be charging when you are on exterior AC.

[Herk7769]

Also examine both ends of your power cord for burnt tips or melted socket.
Corrosion can cause high enough current loss to trip the pedestal but not the main breaker.

[Karlglen101]

Thanks. Pump seems totally normal and operated as such for us for 2 more days of use after the fact. No burnt ends, either. I am home now with it and am going to check out the pressure switch(es) today.

[Karlglen101]

So, it's one of the switches (at least). When I disconnect and bypass the black, the interior lights come on. Does anyone know what the purple switch controls?

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Karlglen101

So, it's one of the switches (at least). When I disconnect and bypass the black, the interior lights come on. Does anyone know what the purple switch controls?

Open your recently received Welcome PM, click on the link to Forums 101, follow the instructions for posting pics in post #7.

[Karlglen101]

Hi. I thought I did that, thanks. I used a URL from my hosted Google photos account with the IMG tags, from the image button. Does that not work?

[Karlglen101]

Does anyone know where I can get replacement switches for these? It's not a Home Depot part. A few searches online and I've found many other types, but not these pop up switches.

[Bama Rambler]

Can you measure the diameter of the hole? It should be ¾".

Here's one model that I found, but it doesn't have any measurements.
Specialty Plunger Switch

I did a little searching, they are harder to find than they should be.

[Karlglen101]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

Can you measure the diameter of the hole? It should be ¾".

Here's one model that I found, but it doesn't have any measurements.
Specialty Plunger Switch

I did a little searching, they are harder to find than they should be.

Yes! Thank you! It is 3/4", I think these will do the trick. I could not for the life of me remember that it's called a plunger, and I've even installed them in a former life! But yeah, totally helps to search the right term!
Surprisingly, even with "plunger", they do seem hard to find.