Electrical Problem

Arguing over what to call the combination inverter and shore battery charger/converter is kind of silly. The manufactures can't even agree on that. Many of them are just called inverters, but they are both.

Anyway, the 2013 190 most likely has a Tripplite 750 watt inverter with a 45 amp charger (converter if you prefer). The Tripplites are famous for tripping shore power ground fault outlets if that is what you are plugged in to, so check that first. There should also be a reset on the Tripplite-it will be behind a removable door right inside the passenger side rear door, right behind the wheelwell. You should have a manual for it in the Roadtrek literature bag. The led lights on the unit will tell you its status.

If it is getting power and not charging the batteries, it may have failed, but that doesn't happen often, so it is more likely not getting power if it is not lit up. There will be a 110v circuit breaker for the charger in the fuse panel by the side entrance. You should also be sure that you have 110 volts to the rest of the coach, the microwave should be lit up whenever you are on shore power. If you don't have power, you could have a failed transfer switch.

Good luck, hopefully it will be something easy to find.

On Edit-here is a link to the Tripplite used (I think).

Tripplite inverter/charger

You can download the manual there also.

to Charge a battery...use a battery charger.

to "drive it around" puts a huge strain on your vehicle charging system which could cost hundreds to repair if it fails...a battery charger is under $50.

hook up the charger and let it go overnight.

best to remove batteries from the vehicle as when charging they may out gas hydrogen

so a well ventilated area.

once charged, take and have load tested at autozone for free.


a battery once fully discharged will loose some of it's ability to recharge to rating.

once that is settled, you can determine IF the battery charging system ( & disconnect) in your van is working...amd which position which switch is meant to be in.

On my 06 PW the disconnect is a disconnect to the battery- it is isolated, no power in or out.

and that is where I have the switch set for most storage periods.

even when isolated a battery may discharge on it's own- electrons will flow across the casing through damp dirt ...keep the battery clean

Mike

For the older Rt's to charger the batteries, the battery connect switch must be in the on position before plugging into shore power. This was done to keep the old single stage converters from boiling the battery. If you plug in with the switch off you will have power, but no charging.
Posting the year, and model would be very helpful.

I see it's a 2013, so this doesn't apply to you.

If there are ants inside, there might be some MICE too !!!
Let's hope not. They chew wires.

It really is a good idea to pickup a cheap multi-meter, like from Harbor Freight for $10 and at least learn how to measure 110 VAC and 12 VDC.

Like for instance: if the voltage at the battery measures 13.4 when the AC power is on, either from the shore or the gen BUT then immediately drops below 12 V when the charging is stopped.....then it's time to shop for new batteries; assuming the connections are clean and tight.

I have a 12 V meter and a 110 V meter plugged in all the time. They are about $10 each and have come in very handy several times.

Drove around a bit, and was able to get the generator started. Hoping the house batteries will now charge up. Not sure I have the expertise to do too much more.

I noticed when storing the power cord that there were some ants in & around the storage bays. Sprayed a bit, and cleaned off the pollen and debris that had accumulated on windshield, and saw a few ants there, too. None on the inside (yet), but I wonder if some could have travelled along the power cord and caused a problem that prevented the batteries from charging while I was plugged in?

I should have fairly mild weather on my short trip, so I won't need a lot of A/C, and I think I can get by with just running the generator to make coffee and use the microwave a bit, while cooking outside on the grill. Might have to run the refrigerator on propane, too, but I think I can get by, and then have the RT dealer check it out after I return, although any additional input here is welcomed.

It might be the converter, or it might not. It could just be a loose wire.

What you have to do it check the converter output right at the converter terminals. If you have good converter voltage there, then you have bad wiring from the converter to the battery.

I found out this from experience, and as I checked it out, I wiggled the negative wire on the converter terminal strip. All of a sudden the lights came on bright, and I had found my real problem. Changing out good converters usually results in tightening of the associated wiring, and presto, suddenly you have a several hundred dollar bill for no good reason.

But batteries may have just died. How old are the batteries? Drive it around and see if they hold a charge.

Vulcan Rider wrote:
Sounds like the shore power battery charger has failed. Sometimes referred to as an inverter but it really isn't.

Proper terminology is a CONVERTER, which transforms 110V AC to 12V DC to run most of your RV plus charge the batteries.
An INVERTER produces 110 volts AC from 12 volts DC

Sounds like the shore power battery charger has failed. Sometimes referred to as an inverter but it really isn't.

OR....from another recent thread:
For the coach batteries to charge off of shore power, the battery disconnect switch must be in the ON position. When it is OFF, the batteries are disconnected.......from EVERYTHING.