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CMoore-Trav's avatar
CMoore-Trav
Explorer
Dec 07, 2014

2005 Forest River Flagstaff odd electrical problem

My 2005 Forest River Flagstaff has been serving me well since I bought it. No major issues at all but on my last RV outing I found that my fridge (both gas and electrical) didn't work and the gas water heater didn't work but the electrical water heater did. I've checked the fuses. All good. Power to the fuse panel checked with a voltmeter and that's good. However, I don't detect power to the fridge board on the outside or to the gas heater connection on the outside. Gas furnace works and gas oven works. I removed the fuse panel to checked for possible chewed wires but all the wires are good. With the fuse being good, does anyone know what the gas heater and the fridge share that I should check? The gas furnace comes on right away so I don't think it's the battery so I'm thinking I'm either missing a hidden fuse or I've got a break in a shared power line between the two.

13 Replies

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  • CMoore-Trav's avatar
    CMoore-Trav
    Explorer
    Dec 10, 2014
    Posting a follow-up as a lesson learned for others and extending my thanks to those that reached out with suggestions. I called around and found most RV shops couldn't take my trailer for weeks. Mays RV service in Lewisville, Tx not only agreed to look at it the same day but had it fixed at a reasonable cost in 24 hours. The issue was, as most suspected, a rodent(s) got into the trailer and chewed a lot of wires and not just in one location but three different locations (including the electrical brakes connection) in the trailer. I'll be taking a more proactive approach to protecting my trailer from rodents.
  • tenbear's avatar
    tenbear
    Explorer
    Dec 08, 2014
    Sounds like a ground problem. Have you checked the 12v ground buss?

    Find a good ground and check the voltage on the negative lead at the fridge and water heater (with it turned on). If its 12v you have a bad ground.
  • K_Charles's avatar
    K_Charles
    Explorer
    Dec 07, 2014
    When you check with your volt meter don't hook the ground at the appliance, go to somewhere else, the battery if you can. If you hook both + and - at the appliance and get nothing you don't know if the break is the 12 volts or the ground.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Dec 07, 2014
    Fuse test good.........no dc power to WH gas switch and none at dc terminals on fridge.

    Then bad dc wiring.

    Suspect common/ground side...........fuse is NOT blowing so positive side is not shorting out

    Might be easier to run new wiring
  • CMoore-Trav's avatar
    CMoore-Trav
    Explorer
    Dec 07, 2014
    Dandy, the WH is a Suburban and the tube is clear. There is no attempt by the WH to fire the ignitor. Tomorrow I'm going to stick a mirror further in than what I can see from removing the fuse panel to see if there an obvious problem in the wall along the fridge which also leads to the HW gas switch in the kitchen. The only other option is to pull the fridge but I'm told that has to be done professionally for insurance reasons (disconnect/reconnect gas lines).
  • Dandy_Dan's avatar
    Dandy_Dan
    Explorer
    Dec 07, 2014
    CMoore-Tray, Have you checked out your switch inside the unit where you select gas or electric making sure you have voltage to the switch. If you have an Atwood WH there is a 2A I believe on the circuit board. Also for the gas on the WH have someone inside your unit turn on the gas side of the switch while you are at the WH and see if the valve clicks letting the gas come in to the unit. If so, check out the tube running from the gas valve to the burner and possible take it off and clean good. Sometimes bugs try to make a home in it. Good Luck.
  • doughere's avatar
    doughere
    Explorer
    Dec 07, 2014
    If you have the most common Water heater, it does not send power to the heater, it controls power from the heater.

    You don't say if there is one or two fuses feeding the appliances. If one fuse serves both units, then there is either a break in the power line between the fuse and appliances, or in a common ground for the appliances.

    If there are fuses for each device, then most likely the problem is in a common ground.

    A check for a common ground problem is to check between the +12 VDC into the appliance, and to chassis ground. If you have the +12, but not between the inputs, then the problem is a grounding issue; if not, then probably a power line issue.

    Doug
  • CMoore-Trav's avatar
    CMoore-Trav
    Explorer
    Dec 07, 2014
    I agree about the lack of 12 VDC but other than fuses and battery, what's the common point that these two appliances share that would cause them both to fail at the same time? The voltmeter reports no power is going to the control board outside for the fridge or the gas controller for the GH. Inside the trailer on the switch for the GH is not getting power so you'd think the problem would be between the switch and the fuse panel but with no obvious chewed wires I'm looking for something else.
  • doughere's avatar
    doughere
    Explorer
    Dec 07, 2014
    The problem you are describing is lack of 12 VDC to the devices.

    You need to use a volt-meter to check for 12 VDC at the connections to the two devices.

    Doug
  • CMoore-Trav's avatar
    CMoore-Trav
    Explorer
    Dec 07, 2014
    Many thanks for the replies. I bought new fuses and replaced them but with no success. The grounds are tight and good with no rust at all. I replaced the battery just because everything else checked out. Not the battery. The mystery (misery) continues.

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