Forum Discussion

beaubeau's avatar
beaubeau
Explorer
Apr 02, 2018

No DC?

Hi everyone. I went over to the storage lot today to do my routine of run the engine, and run the generator.

First thing I notice is the steps do not extend. So I check a light. No DC. Then I see we also have no AC either. I checked to shore power and it's fine. So I flip all out breakers off, then back on.

Now I have AC at the outlets, still no DC.

The air conditioners won't power up, even having AC -- the thermostats are dead.

And both house batteries read 0 volts.

5 questions:

1) If the breaker to the battery charger had tripped, of course I'd not be charging the house batteries -- are the thermostats powered by the house batteries?

2) The generator won't even turn over -- is the started for the generator also powered by only those house batteries (even the AUX START) doesn't fire up the generator).

3) Does the fridge need those batteries too, even with functioning shore power? The fridge won't power up and I was thinking maybe it's control panel is also powered only by DC.

4) Those house batteries are less than one year old and have never been fully discharged -- will they recover?

5) Should I have been able to read voltage at the coach batteries, with shore power on? I'm wondering if the converter itself has malfunctioned.

Thanks so much!
  • almost everything has 12v controls, wired to the house batteries
    no DC power, nothing will work, expect the MW, no fridge, no heat,no A/C, no water pump ..etc..

    generator can be on either house batteries or chassis, depends on the builder

    the aux start is usually powered from the house side so if the start battery is dead, the house batteries pull in the relay, the house side is dead so it won't work 'yet'

    but start the engine, let it idle ten minutes, then hit try the aux start with the generator
    if you get enough power into the house batteries to get enough voltage to pull in the aux start relay, you can possibly get the generator started
  • I had a similar problem 2 weeks ago when I lost my 12V. Due to getting ready to leave the area, it was necessary to bring in the slide manually (not fun).
    When I got home, I found that the BATTERY DISCONNECT SWITCH had failed. $6.00 later and the problem is fixed.
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    You got good answers to your questions, the only thing that I would do for #5 is to take a reading with the MH plugged into shore power across your pos and neg terminals of your battery, it should read 13 plus volts, if so your converter/charger is working. Unplug the MH from shore power and let the battery sit over night and take a reading the next day, it should read about 12.6 volts if the batteries are fully charged and connections are good. If you post those reading here I am sure your issue will be solved. If your batteries are only a year old it should be something simple. What type of batteries do you have? Is there enough water in each of the cells? Are the connections clean and tight? Is your battery disconnect switch in the on or use position?
  • Thank you all for the help -- turned out to be the easiest fix possible.... the converter had managed to become unplugged from 110. :)