Need some help...

[campbugjan1]

Well..here I go already found some glitches in my "new" camper. So far--

#1..genny will only start if engine is running..then it is fine. Battery is new but had gone dead in storage. It has been on charge for overnight.
#2..thermostat for furnace is not even attempting to connect (no little clunk sound) checked fuse..okay there..will have to remove thermo and check power to it but I am thinking it may be bad? ATWOOD basic type..heat only
««««««BIG ONE NOW..LOL!>>>>>>
#3..do any of you have one of those little plastic catches to hold the convertor panel/door closed--if you could spare it I would be grateful!
Your friend in camping! Janalee

 

[campbugjan1]

I googled about the genset..seems many gens are wired to start off the engine assist. One down, two to go! Lol! It is chemo day so the others may have to wait a couple of day...
As for the Tstat..if I remove it, test and have power at the wires, can I just touch the two wires to hotwire it in order to see if the furnace runs? DH used to be the go-to guy in this dept but dementia has faded his abilities to the point of no return.Janalee

 

[krazedave]

Yes you can put the two wires together to test. That is what I do when I bench test a furnace after having to pull it from the unit and repair it. Dave

 

[campbugjan1]

Thank you Dave! Glad I still have some memory left about these things...

 

[campbugjan1]

Okay here we go...furnace:disconnected the thermo--trash for sure--checked the voltage at the wires,good...tried hotwiring--nothing-propane is good to stove.

Then I switched "hats" to check fridge--okay on ac,nothing happens on gas-not even a spark attempt.
Suggestions please on either issue??! Thanks..Janalee

 

[campbugjan1]

And I hope you guys don't mind me posting in this forum--it IS a camper problem and I feel I am with friends..I may have now isolated the problem--see what you think...
On advice from a friend,I unplugged camper from house and found everything went black--checked the voltage at battery and it is fine!- but NO power inside. Now,the owner had brought it to me from their storage barn thru thick MUD--it is all over the battery,cables,tray,and underside of motorhome. I remember way back finding out some fridge and furnaces need both AC and battery to function--could this be my problem w/furnace and fridge? Could the undercarriage (frame)ground be too muddy?Can I hose battery,cables,etc.to check that possibility? Everything was working when he went to N.England in November when I first saw it..... Or is there something else I am missing here...thanks in advance! And I promise to try to find another friendly bunch to join soon....Janalee

 

[JohnGB]

Comments in blue

And I hope you guys don't mind me posting in this forum--it IS a camper problem and I feel I am with friends

There is nothing wrong with posting a "fix it" or "troubleshoot it" post in this forum. Go for it! That is what this forum is for.

..I may have now isolated the problem--see what you think... On advice from a friend,I unplugged camper from house and found everything went black--checked the voltage at battery and it is fine!- but NO power inside.

Now that is a good find. In this condition, no shore power only battery, lets check some other simple things.

Got lights? (the 12 volt kind)
Do you have anything 12 volt that works? Water pump, propane detector, light inside fridge?

Now,the owner had brought it to me from their storage barn thru thick MUD--it is all over the battery,cables,tray,and underside of motorhome.

Is the battery terminals exposed or are they under a plastic cover? If the posts on the battery are exposed and covered in mud while exposed, that is not a good thing.

I remember way back finding out some fridge and furnaces need both AC and battery to function--could this be my problem w/furnace and fridge?

This depends on the fridge and furnace. If they both have an LP mode and are camper types, then odds are they run on 12 volts DC for the LP part as a stand along camper.

Roof AC units often need 12V DC and 120 V AC.

Could the undercarriage (frame)ground be too muddy?Can I hose battery,cables,etc.to check that possibility? Everything was working when he went to N.England in November when I first saw it..... Or is there something else I am missing here...thanks in advance! And I promise to try to find another friendly bunch to join soon....Janalee

I cannot see what is exposed on the battery to give a blanket statement. I would not take a water hose to a battery that is exposed on top covered with mud. If you accidentally popped a vent cap off, that would not be good. Or created an current path between the + and - post.

If the battery is inside a plastic case with a cover on top, then scrape the mud away first. What little is left, wet rag wipe off.

If you have no 12 volts inside the camper with a good battery in place and no shore power, that is problem one. You could of lost ground or the main fuses from the battery to the power converter are blown from a shorted battery terminal of being soaked wet.

Need to get the lights in the camper working again off of battery.

Any chance of posting a pic in the inside of the fuse panel of the converter? Your looking for blown fuses. The 30 amp ones are more than likely direct from the battery

And to this:

And I promise to try to find another friendly bunch to join soon....

You can join another bunch if you want too, but no reason to leave here. You are a Sunny member through and through.

Hope this helps

John

 

[campbugjan1]

John..many thanks!! Tomorrow I will post a picture of the convertor..I will also ask a friend to remove the battery and will dry brush it clean. It is not in a case,everything exposed,hence all the mud. I do have a brand new case to use somewhere.
"Quote"You could of lost ground or the main fuses from the battery to the power converter are blown from a shorted battery terminal of being soaked wet." John,where would those main fuses be? Where would I search for the ground? Frame grounds like our Sunlines?
And my fuses are all 15 amp as I recall...pictures tomorrow..
I also drove home in wet conditions..is it possible water collected and shorted across those terminals?
By the way...love this forum! I have lurked and posted in others, but this is my "home base!"
Will tty tomorrow!

 

[JohnGB]

John..many thanks!! Tomorrow I will post a picture of the convertor..I will also ask a friend to remove the battery and will dry brush it clean. It is not in a case,everything exposed,hence all the mud. I do have a brand new case to use somewhere.

This is not a good thing. This may point to the wet mud becoming a conductor and blew the fuse between the battery and the converter.

"Quote"You could of lost ground or the main fuses from the battery to the power converter are blown from a shorted battery terminal of being soaked wet." John,where would those main fuses be?

This is going to be a search and rescue mission... I do not know what your camper looks like. There are 2 most likley places. Will take the easy one first. The power convertor fuse panel. Some how that fuse panel is protected by a saftey device, fuse or other means, Look in there for 2 high power fuses. odds are a 30 amp. See if they are blown

The next may be a little more hidden

Follow the big red wire on the battery. (it may not be red, it may also be black) but look for the big wire on the + (pos) post of the battery. Follow that wire and it "might" go to box and inside the box might me a fuse or a self resetting circuit breaker inside. If is a fuse, check it.

Where would I search for the ground? Frame grounds like our Sunlines?

Follow the - (neg) post wire, may be black too or white, it will attach to the camper frame. If it is all corroded behind that connection, that will need to be cleaned up to make good contact.

And my fuses are all 15 amp as I recall...pictures tomorrow..
I also drove home in wet conditions..is it possible water collected and shorted across those terminals? Yes, the earth (dirt) conducts electricity when it is wet or damp. In fact the power companies count on the earth to conduct.

By the way...love this forum! I have lurked and posted in others, but this is my "home base!" Great!
Will tty tomorrow!

We are really flying blind on this kind of help without being able the see what you have, pics are our eyes. If you have a friend who is electrically friendly, they can see how the system is made and then troubleshoot from there.

Good luck and hope this helps

John

 

[campbugjan1]

Well JohnB...part of my problem solved...definitely a ground problem causing no 12V to coach..lol!!!! As in...the ground cable from the house battery had rusted/rotted right off the frame!!! My nephew will install my new cable Saturday...don't know yet if it will solve the fridge and furnace situation so will update at that time. Thank you for your time and any inconvenience! Janalee

 

[JohnGB]

Well JohnB...part of my problem solved...definitely a ground problem causing no 12V to coach..lol!!!! As in...the ground cable from the house battery had rusted/rotted right off the frame!!!

Well great!!!that is good you found problem no. 1! I had not thought of zero attachment.... more like badly rusted connection.

Hopefully problem no. 2, if there is one, gets to be that easy...

 

[poppyandnana]

Janalee I want to tell you that this forum is my GO TO place - because I feel the same as you - these are my friends.....


PLEASE DO NOT FEEL YOU NEED ANYWHERE ELSE TO GO - you don't this is HOME!!!!

 

[campbugjan1]

Thanks for the validation, Leo and Kathy! It's been "home" to me for 8 years. And I guess a lot of our older members are becoming SOB's and SOC'S !

 

[poppyandnana]

Thanks for the validation, Leo and Kathy! It's been "home" to me for 8 years. And I guess a lot of our older members are becoming SOB's and SOC'S !

 

[campbugjan1]

Back for advice....

Well JohnB...part of my problem solved...definitely a ground problem causing no 12V to coach..lol!!!! As in...the ground cable from the house battery had rusted/rotted right off the frame!!! My nephew will install my new cable Saturday...don't know yet if it will solve the fridge and furnace situation so will update at that time. Thank you for your time and any inconvenience! Janalee

*******
Got the cable/ground problem fixed---fridge seems to be working fine now. However,not so lucky on the furnace. Fuse at panel is fine, 12v at thermo,and new thermostat--no response at all though. No fan,nothing! So where to start!?******

Also,this motorhome was sold to me as a 1998--I even asked him (by phone) to check the title and he called back to say it was indeed a '98. Now I get the new title from Pa.and it is a 1997...Yes, it was my responsibility to check the title but the AAA lady pushed the paper over,pointed and said 'sign there'! I am certainly not happy--feel I am owed some compensation.....any opinions?

 

[JohnGB]

Janalee,

See if you can find a model number on the furnace. Even pics of it help

This one is going to take some troubleshooting to get see what is not working. If the blower motor is not running, that is problem 1. Could be, no power to the furnace. (the simpler issue), could the the control board/relay, could be the motor.

With the model number I ac see what vintage you have and it may trigger some simple things you can test. After that you may will need someone with electrical skills to dig deeper.

Hope this helps

John