Strange Electrical Issue

cswinford wrote:
Here's an update.

After running for a few hours with the battery completely unhooked and running many of the interior 12 volt lights, all of the sudden all the 12v lights went off. We shut them off, waited a bit, and then turned them back on with no problem. Then the same thing happened again later.

I think the issue is definitely with the converter but maybe its a loose wire or something when it heats up under load.

A couple of people thought it might be the battery not charging but the battery tested at 12.5v, so I don't think that's the issue.

Thanks to all who have replied thus far.

Be careful with the conclusion you may be drawing with the converter only running the lights. The converter tries to put out a higher voltage 13.xx plus Volts to charge the battery. That type of voltage on the lights and any other 12V devices may be putting an overload on the converter and it may be thermally shutting down temporarily. I'm not sure it is a good thing to run all the 12V accessories with no battery installed for a long period of time. I still suspect either wiring or whether the battery is good or not. The way to find out if the converter is charging the battery or not is to check the voltage on the battery when it is installed and you are hooked up to shore power. The reading on the battery should read 13.xx plus volts. If it isn't the converter has either shut down or there is a loose connection somewhere. It might even start out at 13.xx plus volts and then shut down like it is with no battery installed and running the lights. That will be an indication that the converter may be weak. if it starts out at 13.xx plus volts let it alone for a couple of hours and then check the voltage again. If it is 13.xx plus volts it is still charging the battery, if it is back to 12.5 V the battery may be charged or the converter has shut down. If it never gets to 13.xx plus volts than there is a wire connection problem.I still don't rule out a battery problem if it hasn't been tested under load. A battery can test good with a VOM because there is a very, very small load (micro-amps) put on the battery testing it. However, if the internal resistance of the battery has gotten too high whenever there is a large load put on it like your lights the voltage will drop significantly. Usually when testing a battery properly a 100 AMP or larger load is put on it temporarily.