I was on my way back from a long weekend. We were on the expressway and 30 minutes from home. My RV lost all power. The engine stopped, the dash was out, no steering, no breaks, nothing. Doing 55 MPH, I put it in neutral and tried starting, nothing. Luckily, we were able to get to the shoulder and come to a stop. I put it into part and tried to start. Again, nothing. Not even the electric break made noise when I turned on the ignition. Good thing for Good Sam. They arranged a tow truck and brought the RV home. Has anyone had an issue like this? Thoughts?

I will get a test light/meter and start from the battery and go all the way to the breaker panel. Thanks for your response.

To expand on what way2roll is saying. A fully charged battery should read 12.7 volts though most people consider 12.65 to be full as well. But the alternator or battery charger will push it up to 14 volts during heavy charge and around 13.6 for normal charging. So the battery might read 14 volts for a while after a charge. But that's just a surface charge and should dissipate down to the 12.7 range after a few hours or overnight without charge.

How old is the battery? Sounds like a dead battery, faulty alternator or some kind of electrical problem like a loose battery connection or a blown fuse.

The battery is fine. I'm reading 12.5 VDC. The cables are tight on the battery as well.

1999 Damon Intruder lost all power | Good Sam Community

26 Replies

craig1317
Explorer II
Apr 18, 2025
I was poking around under the hood and found there was no power going to the POWER DISTRIBUTION BOX. There is a lug on the side of the box. I can not find a diagram to trace it down. Does this go to the battery or maybe to the ignition?
- StirCrazy
  Moderator
  Apr 20, 2025
  what color is that cable by the engine oil dipstick that is not attached to the stud? maybe take another picture with the cover of the distribution box cover off that shows where that stud attaches to. it looks like a black wire from this picture which would mean it is a chasse ground and if that lug is the main ground for your distribution box that being disconnected would screw everything up, and a ground when measured against another grounding point would show no voltage.
  - craig1317
    Explorer II
    Apr 21, 2025
    Thanks for getting back to me. The wire is black with a red stripe. Not sure why they do that. I took the wire off to measure the voltage. With the ignition on, there was not any power on the wire. Using a jumper wire, I connected 12V to the Power Distribution Box, and I heard the electric brake turn on. Now the box is alive.
    I need to track down the large black wire with a red stripe. I can't find a diagram that shows it.
- way2roll
  Navigator III
  Apr 18, 2025
  It's a red 4 ga wire that runs from the battery positive terminal. Can you see the wire laying anywhere? Hopefully when it came loose it didn't get caught up in something and ripped off or destroyed.
  On edit, is that the end connection of the wire hanging just below the lug? If so, can't you just connect it and put a nut on it and test it?
  - craig1317
    Explorer II
    Apr 19, 2025
    That is the lug right below it. It's disconnected cuz I tried measuring power. It is not connected to the battery. Something must have happened underneath. I didn't want to connect power to it without knowing exactly what it was.
opnspaces
Navigator II
Apr 11, 2025
To expand on what way2roll is saying. A fully charged battery should read 12.7 volts though most people consider 12.65 to be full as well. But the alternator or battery charger will push it up to 14 volts during heavy charge and around 13.6 for normal charging. So the battery might read 14 volts for a while after a charge. But that's just a surface charge and should dissipate down to the 12.7 range after a few hours or overnight without charge.
opnspaces
Navigator II
Apr 10, 2025
First thing I would check is are the battery cables tight at both ends. If you can move the battery clamp by hand on either the positive or negative post the connection is too loose and can cause this. Then check the other ends of the cables to see if they are tight.
And if you are like my dad who would drive a nail between the post and clamp to tighten the connection you need to rethink that method.
troubledwaters
Nomad
Apr 08, 2025
Do you have both a house battery and a starting battery? The house battery could be perfectly fine while the starting battery (the one that’s needed for the engine to operate) is toast. It could also be a bad alternator and/or voltage regulator.
craig1317
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2025
Is there a battery disconnect?
- way2roll
  Navigator III
  Apr 08, 2025
  It's not my RV so I wouldn't know. Most do have a battery disconnect. How long have you had this RV?
  - craig1317
    Explorer II
    Apr 08, 2025
    I've owned it for 8 years. I never put in a disconnect. I thought there was one connected to the ignition. It might not be called a disconnect or some relay.
craig1317
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2025
The battery is 2 years old.
craig1317
Explorer II
Apr 07, 2025
The battery is fine. I'm reading 12.5 VDC. The cables are tight on the battery as well.
- csweet
  Explorer
  Apr 10, 2025
  A good battery with the cables disconnected should read over 13,5 to 14 volts
  - Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Apr 21, 2025
    Nope, not a lead acid at rest.
- way2roll
  Navigator III
  Apr 07, 2025
  Faulty battery disconnect?
way2roll
Navigator III
Apr 07, 2025
How old is the battery? Sounds like a dead battery, faulty alternator or some kind of electrical problem like a loose battery connection or a blown fuse.
- craig1317
  Explorer II
  Apr 10, 2025
  The battery is 2 years old.