Forum Discussion

jquattlebaum's avatar
jquattlebaum
Explorer
Mar 26, 2014

Electrical Issue

I recently purchased a 2006 Keystone Cougar. At first I had to disconnect the battery in order to preserve it. Then at one point I accidentally crossed the wires to the battery while it was sitting in my yard. I didn't get it fully connected because as soon as I touched the second wire to the post it sparked. I have since installed a 30 amp RV power source. However when I connect to the shore power, it seems as though I have to occasionally go back and flip the main breaker off and back on to get the shore power to work. Here is what I get: when I flip the breaker the battery light in the panel (galley, black, grey, fresh, battery) shows full and the RV lights get brighter (if burning). After a while when I check the panel again the battery is showing 2/3's or less in some cases depending on how long I go between checking it. I noticed this during the past weekend which was the first time I had been camping in the RV. Is there a fuse or something that could be blown? Or is my power converter going bad and how can I test that? Or is my battery bad and how could I test that? I have checked the water level in the battery and most of the time it shows 14 to 14.5 volts when hooked up. Any help is greatly appreciated by this beginner.

7 Replies

  • greende's avatar
    greende
    Explorer II
    Mar 27, 2014
    jquattlebaum wrote:
    Okay. Did a little more looking at this yesterday afternoon. First checked the voltage at the battery - 13.45 or so. Looked around the battery box and found a single in line buss fuse - not blown. Have two appearant breakers on the wall behind the box not sure how or if I can test those with a voltmeter. Inside, checked the panel again battery showing full charge. I have a switch near the door that controls a series of four ceiling lights down the middle of the camper, flipped it on and the battery drops to 2/3. Flip it back off battery goes back to full charge. Best I can tell all the fuses in the breaker box are good two 40's and a handful of 15's. Old Biscuit made reference to a fuse or fuses on the converter, would that be the 40's or are there more fuses in the compartment under the breaker box cover? How would I be able to tell if the shore power is working correctly when plugged in? The first night we stayed in it, none of the outlets seemed to be working. I saw a post about a GFI and checked that out. Ended up flipping the main breaker off and back on to get it resolved. Could the main breaker be going bad? Not sure what to look for at this point. Any help is much appreciated.


    The 40 amp 12V DC fuses should be the reverse polarity fuses. There should be two of them. Often they are marked as such. Check them with a meter for continuity. If you have 14 V at the battery with it disconnected, you most likely did not blow thw reverse polarity system. If they are not blown, my humble opinion is that your converter my be going.

    On Edit: Someone else mentioned getting your battery load tested. Most Autozone etc will do it for free. I would do that before considering the converter.
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Mar 27, 2014
    Having to switch a tripped breaker to "off" - and than back to "on" is normal.
  • jquattlebaum's avatar
    jquattlebaum
    Explorer
    Mar 27, 2014
    Okay. Did a little more looking at this yesterday afternoon. First checked the voltage at the battery - 13.45 or so. Looked around the battery box and found a single in line buss fuse - not blown. Have two appearant breakers on the wall behind the box not sure how or if I can test those with a voltmeter. Inside, checked the panel again battery showing full charge. I have a switch near the door that controls a series of four ceiling lights down the middle of the camper, flipped it on and the battery drops to 2/3. Flip it back off battery goes back to full charge. Best I can tell all the fuses in the breaker box are good two 40's and a handful of 15's. Old Biscuit made reference to a fuse or fuses on the converter, would that be the 40's or are there more fuses in the compartment under the breaker box cover? How would I be able to tell if the shore power is working correctly when plugged in? The first night we stayed in it, none of the outlets seemed to be working. I saw a post about a GFI and checked that out. Ended up flipping the main breaker off and back on to get it resolved. Could the main breaker be going bad? Not sure what to look for at this point. Any help is much appreciated.
  • katysdad's avatar
    katysdad
    Explorer
    Mar 26, 2014
    Some staged converters will bulk charge periodicaly at 14-14.5 volts. If OP is finding battery discharging after being connected to shore power for a period of time it appears converter is failing. I have one on the bench in the garage that does this, works fine for a day or two then have to unplug & replug for it to go back to charging. Also need to get your battery checked at a competent location.
  • kellertx5er's avatar
    kellertx5er
    Explorer
    Mar 26, 2014
    If you measure 14+ volts at the battery, the converter is obviously charging. The problem is this is too much voltage to be applied continuously. Like Old-B said, it should read no more than 13.6 on a fully charged batt. Most chargers drop down to around 13.2V in trickle mode.
  • bob213's avatar
    bob213
    Explorer
    Mar 26, 2014
    I would check the reverse polarity fuse to see if you blew it when you crossed the cables. If blown, it might be keeping your battery from charging.


    On edit...Old Biscuit you always type faster than me! And usually have a better answer:D
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Mar 26, 2014
    There are some large amp fuses on converter......'reverse polarity'

    They probably blew when you crossed cables.

    When on AC power source converter should have 110V AC input and a 13.3-13.6V DC output. Measure converter DC output at converter with battery cable disconnected on converter.

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