tow vehicle power works - battery/landline power do not

[af masterson]

Hi, I am the owner of a 92 T-1700, that has been pretty troubleproof.

The vehicle has been stored outside over the winter, at which time the power system to the trailer worked perfectly, either from the onboard battery, plugging the trailer into the backyard electrical connection, OR through connection to the tow vehicle hitch power...

Upon preparing the trailer for summer, I find that now, the trailer ONLY powers-up by connection to the tow vehicle hitch, and will not so much as power a light in the trailer by plugging it into the electrical outlet..

The battery has not been tended/charged since the fall, so I dont expect it to work without a recharge, however it seems no power is getting to it through the landline power outlet.

I tried to check fuses, however do no find a visible fusebox inside the T-1700, and only located a electrical converter box in a drawer beneath the fridge.

Does anyone know where the fuse box should be located on a 92 t-1700 ?..any other advice on where to start in diagnosing this electrical power issue?.. thanks in advance for any and all assistance..

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by af masterson

I tried to check fuses, however do no find a visible fusebox inside the T-1700, and only located a electrical converter box in a drawer beneath the fridge.

Does anyone know where the fuse box should be located on a 92 t-1700 ?..any other advice on where to start in diagnosing this electrical power issue?.. thanks in advance for any and all assistance..

We had this same discussion about an '88 or '89 unit just a couple of weeks ago: http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/ph...pic.php?t=2947

The fuses were in a fuse box under the sink in that trailer. You may have to pull out a few drawers and look way in the back of some lower cabinets, but it will be there, most likely on the same side of the trailer as the shore line connection. If you can identify the 12vdc line out of the convertor, it should go directly to the fuse box.

Fuses first, then let us know if you still have the problem.

[af masterson]

thanks for the response..
I have now found the fuses, there are only five of them and they are located on a board mounted inside a cover that unscrews off of the front of the (Magnatek 3230) converter.. it is in the compartment below the refrigerator on a 92 t-1700.

My converter is somewhat similar but smaller than the one pictured in the earlier thread your directed me to-
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/ph...pic.php?t=2947

their are only two breaker switches on mine, as well as fewer fuses, and the breakers are mounted next to the converter in a seperate small gray breaker box.

I pulled all the fuses, none of which were blown, and replaced them all anyway with new fuses, without any effect on the power problem.
I tested my backyard outlet with a circular saw and the landline power outlet on the house works fine.

In contrast to the previous thread, ALL aspects of my TT power sytem do not work at all.. whereas in his case it seems only a portion of the circuits in his TT were affected. All of my circuits work fine as long as its powered from the tow vehicle.. just not from home/battery power.

I am usually fairly lucky at troubleshooting, but in this case, unless its maybe a grounding issue that has come loose somewhere, I am unsure of where to look for the problem. This TT electrical system worked fine last fall, and has not been moved a inch since then.. It is totally dry with no moisture inside or corrosion/water damage..

[Honda03842]

This might help you. Very often the grounding of the battery is the problem or a ground to the frame is loose or corroded. One of these grounds, usually a white wire leads from the converter or the junction box to the chassis of the trailer. As well the negative side of the battery is usually also tied to the trailer.

When I was reworking my trailer I found both of the connections on my trailer severly corroded. Of course my trailer is very old.

It is easy to determine if the problem is a ground issue.

First your battery must be charged.

Take the cover off of an overhead lamp. Get a long piece of wire and connect it to the chassis of the trailer or the negative side of the battery.

With the lamp's switch on, touch the wire to the side of the lamp (NOTE: Do not touch it to the little silver tit of the lamp.) If the lamp comes on when you do this you have a ground problem.

If this proves a problem with ground do the following. First trace the negative side of the battery. Mine runs in under the floor and to a common grounding point. This point then connects to the frame.

The problem is usually where the white wire connects to the chassis. There are sometimes three or four points of connection to the chassis, if one's corroded they all may be.

1. Battery to chassis. 2. Converter negative side to chassis. 3. ground side of AC breaker box to chassis. 4. On my trailer the negative side of the battery also goes to a three terminal ground bar that is connected to the chassis. In my trailer they are all white wires.

As well tighten anywhere the white wire goes under a screw,

Good Luck,

Norm Milliard
1982 Sunline 15.5 SB
2004 Honda CRV

[af masterson]

I wanted to thank the folks who responded with advice to this problem.

Everything is working now.. I just wish I knew exactly why.

I opened to breaker box, yanked on all the wiring inside it as well as the wires inside of the converter, and after closing it both back up, resetting the two breakers again, and plugging the TT back into the power outlet,

everything again worked just fine.

Obv., I have some wiring that over the course of the winter lost some conductivity or corroded, but since I did not identify the source wiring involved, I will likely get to track this 'ghost short' down again after future periods of storage, I suppose.

thanks again to all- its good to know that with the manufacturer of my TT having disappeared, at least there are some private efforts to help those of us orphan product owners in need.

------------------------------------------

As a seperate topic, has anyone ever approached/identified the proprietors of Sunline, and asked them to donate schematics and a full series of owners manuals to this site, for their past products, so that those of us in need over the life of these trailers can access the manuals in our times of need?

I certainly do not expect the former owners of Sunline to expend any money after their company has gone under, but it seems virtually cost free and a act of consideration for all those who supported their company during the course of its manufacturing lifetime, to provide a copy of series of all the past-units owners manuals for interested parties to copy to a .PDF and distribute...

[sunnyseagull]

just a quick note in the converter box check to make sure the ground wire screws are tight I had a simular problem and that was the culprit.

[Steve Collins]

Some general things we all can do to minimize problems like:

1. Next time you're at the auto parts store, pick up a small tube of dielectric grease. It is primo for preventing corrosion and keeping water out of electrical connections. Apply it to almost any connection you want in your TT. Pay special attention to the 7 pin connector - apply a liberal quantity to every slot in the trailer end and on the center pin, and then work it on and off the vehicle side to adequately cover the tabs which you can't reach with your finger. I use it on any connection that I happen deal with, inside and outside the trailer. Don't forget the terminals on the battery. If you completely coat each post, you'll rarely have any corrosion buildup. The base of every light bulb on the outside is fair game - completely cover the metal and the contacts.

2. Disconnect the battery, TV connection and shoreline and then systematically check every electrical connection you can find for tightness expecially the ones you can get at in the convertor fuse panel. Anywhere and everywhere is fair game. You would be amazed at the number of connections you will find that are probably not snug enough.

3. Visually inspect every wire you can locate in the trailer, again inside and out. You're looking for wear, cuts, insulation missing, and anything that looks abnormal. Damage to just the insulation can be fixed with electrical tape or, if possible, disconnect the wire, slide some heat shrink tubing over the damage, shrink it and reconnect. Wire that is badly damaged needs to be replaced. Splice in a repair section or replace as much of the wire as you can.

4. Up under the trailer frame, you may find one or more grouding points. They'll be a good sized electrical connector screwed right into the metal frame with one or more bare or insulated wires attached with a large set screw. Remove the screw and the wires. Wire brush it all clean, apply a liberal coating of dielectric grease, reinstall the wires, and tighten the set screw.

5. You might find it handy to have a small selection of crimp-on splices and terminals - mostly for #14 wire and maybe just a few for #10 wire. You'll also need a crimping tool - they can range from inexpensive to pricey. I have both a very cheap one and a moderately priced one as I do a lot of vehicle wiring work. When you do a crimp connection, apply a light coat of that dielectric grease to the wire ends just before you slip them in the splice or terminal for crimping. Crimp tightly.

5. Check your 12 vdc fuses including the battery and charge line fuses. The battery and charge line fuses may be a bit of a challenge to locate. Mine are located on the floor under the converta-bed next to the fresh water tank. They're in a little wooden box that is screwed right to the floor and have a little wooden cover that has to be removed. Mine are 30 amp AT fuses. On other models they may be in a cabinet or under a bed. Generally they're in the front corner of the trailer near where the 7 pin wire from the vehicle connector enters the trailer body. Newer units have circuit breakers and are likely in a junction box out in the area of the A-frame along with a large master battery switch.

6. The vehicle side 7 pin connector is the only thing you can't take off the road for the winter, especially if you live where they use salt or other chemicals for ice control on the roads. That dielectric grease is a lifesaver on the terminals under the flap. BUT, the inside of the connector is not 100% waterproof. Over time, moisture can work its way into that space and begin to corrode the wire terminals that are in there. It is not difficult to open up that connector and clean thing up. Again, dielectric grease is your friend. I just did the one on my truck, and it was a mess. Luckily, nothing had been corroded away (YET) but there was a lot of surface stuff that needed to be cleaned off. I re-did all the terminals, and then closed it back up.

Nothing on this list is terribly difficult and costs next to nothing to do, but a loose or corroded connection can cause all kinds of problems.