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flytime's avatar
flytime
Explorer
May 19, 2013

jayco designer series pop up questions

Hey folks, I recently bought a pop up trailer and am opening it up to go through. I tried to plug in the electrical line to my garage to use the lights, fans etc while at the house. After plugging in, it isn't turning on the trailer fans, lights etc????? Is there a switch that I need to know about for using a land line? I hooked up the battery cables on the front of the trailer to a battery thinking I needed that hooked up to complete the system (battery is dead), but the electrical still isn't working. What am I doing wrong????? Would the trailer battery have to charge some before the system works (plugged into the 110)? Thoughts
  • The battery does not need to be hooked up at all for any of the 12v DC appliances to work assuming that you have plugged the 120v shore power cord into an active outlet at home. I'm guessing here but by mentioning that your Jayco is a Designer series, it's somewhat recent. If you could provide specific year/model information, that would be helpful.

    As part of the troubleshooting process, figure out what DOES work. Do the 120v AC outlets work? That tells you that the converter is at least partially working. Plug a household lamp, lights or radio into the outlets and verify.

    Do any of the other 12v DC appliances work - i.e. does the water pump work, will the furnace kick on? Do you have a automobile style radio built into the PUP and does it work?

    If so, then you've at least determined that the converter is not the primary culprit.

    If all else works and you don't have interior lights, then focus on the circuit and electrical wiring that controls that. Jaycos usually have a micro contact switch on the road side of the PUP, towards the rear and just up under the roof line. When you raise the roof, the switch allows the circuit to be completed (or not shorted). If this switch is damaged, it could be preventing your lights.

    It will look like this switch but only instead of having the arm with the wheel on top, it will be inverted with the arm and wheel on the bottom side. Again, this should be on the road side of the PUP up under the roof mounted on the side wall of the roof.


    This may be the next culprit in line. But I would start with swapping out the fuses. That is the best, easiest place to start. Replace them all for peace of mind, if you want. But I would replace them with new fuses one at a time, so it will help you determine what is powered by what fuse and subsequent circuit. Not a bad time to make a label of what fuse controls what items inside the PUP. Jayco did OK but not great at labeling the circuits.
  • Sounds like you already tried all the things I thought of. SO now it is time to broaden the test circle. I have no idea if these things make any difference but...Is your battery hooked up? There should be a large fuse on the battery + line as well. Flip the circuit breakers on and off and on again to be sure they reset. No 'hmmm' from the transformer, huh?
    Tracing power through the lines is a PITA but it may be your lot in life. Get out the ol' mini-tester and start at the fuses. It could be that a break is not obvious.
  • So, I checked the converter circuit breaker and fuses and all look right. I have a little on/off switch next to the converter and it was in the on position while trying to solve problems. Hooked 30 amp black cord up to generator to see if any difference there and none....kind of at a loss here....any help from here...
  • It has a slide out table and slide out kitchen where sink and stove are. I will look for switch near the swing up sink/stove come up. Does the battery have to be hooked up when plugged into 110 supply?
  • We have a Starcraft pup and our safety switch is on the dinette under a flip up seat back.
  • Do you have a flip over, or fold over galley? And do you have it set in place? Pups have a safety switch that is pushed down by the galley. It is to prevent the lights from being left on while the pup is down, and burning a hole in the canvas. The lights will not work with the galley in the travel position.
    Other than that, Check your fuses, and breakers

    BTW Galley = stove, and sink. Look for a push button under it.