The power in our fifth wheel seems to constantly change. The lights go from bright to a dimmer color once every few minutes. We experienced this at the past two campgrounds. We have 50 amp service. Is there something wrong with our camper or is this normal?

Hi,Check the batteries.Check the converter output. It may be failing.

Your lights are 12VDC and run from both your converter/charger unit or the battery. Sometimes if the battery is going bad the converter/charger is trying to keep up with it and power surges.The first thing to do is check the fluid levels in your battery. If one cell is empty and the battery case is warm to hot then you are probably experiencing a failed cell in your battery.You can also disconnect your shore power connection and read the DC voltage across the battery terminala... It should be around 12.5-6VDC for a charged up battery.. If you battery is reading below 10.5VDC then it may be toast now...Roy Ken

Check the conections were the power cord comes into the trailer and the connections in the panel, sounds like a loose neutral.Denny

We had a guest in the park with similar problem. He ended up needing to replace all the battery cables, they were heavily corroded into the insulation jackets and failing intermittently even though the copper terminal connectors looked OK. This is a tricky problem to identify, since you will get good voltage readings until you put a load on the system. Easiest test is to tug on the cables, if they move easier than it seems they should, they may have internal corrosion.

I would bet that it is your converter. How old is your RV?Mike

Power surges constantly | Good Sam Community

pianotuna
Nomad III
Aug 26, 2013
Hi,

Check the batteries.

Check the converter output. It may be failing.
RoyB
Explorer II
Aug 26, 2013
Your lights are 12VDC and run from both your converter/charger unit or the battery. Sometimes if the battery is going bad the converter/charger is trying to keep up with it and power surges.

The first thing to do is check the fluid levels in your battery. If one cell is empty and the battery case is warm to hot then you are probably experiencing a failed cell in your battery.

You can also disconnect your shore power connection and read the DC voltage across the battery terminala... It should be around 12.5-6VDC for a charged up battery..

If you battery is reading below 10.5VDC then it may be toast now...

Roy Ken
Denny___Jami
Explorer
Aug 26, 2013
Check the conections were the power cord comes into the trailer and the connections in the panel, sounds like a loose neutral.

Denny
westernrvparkow
Explorer
Aug 26, 2013
We had a guest in the park with similar problem. He ended up needing to replace all the battery cables, they were heavily corroded into the insulation jackets and failing intermittently even though the copper terminal connectors looked OK. This is a tricky problem to identify, since you will get good voltage readings until you put a load on the system. Easiest test is to tug on the cables, if they move easier than it seems they should, they may have internal corrosion.
Mike_LeClair
Explorer
Aug 26, 2013
I would bet that it is your converter. How old is your RV?

Mike
capriskier
Explorer
Aug 26, 2013
Mike LeClair wrote:
I would bet that it is your converter. How old is your RV?

Mike

It is a 2011 silverback.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Aug 26, 2013
Hi cap,

What make and model is the converter?
mudmaker
Explorer
Aug 26, 2013
Mine did that and I just replaced the converter. Went from 55 amp to 80. Now I have bright lights and a monitor to tell me what the converter is doing too.
Whenever the lights dimmed you could hear the converter making funny noises, kind of a squeal. By all I researched I concluded the converter was on the way out. I hope that is all there is to it. My battery is only a year old but that doesn't mean anything anymore either.
BTW the converter was only three years old too.
TucsonJim
Explorer II
Aug 26, 2013
Mine did the exact same thing. I replaced the converter and it worked perfectly.
Scott16
Explorer
Aug 26, 2013
Verify batteries are good as suggested above. Then check your Converter.
Scott