No power dry camping

[hogcard]

I have no power if not hooked up to campground electric. Battery is fine. What to check?

[jmcgsd]

hogcard wrote:
Took it to dealer. Unhooked everything and opened the door to show him nothing works and well you guessed it. All worked fine. He said he would still have them trace everything.

Boy does that sound familiar! Years ago I had a hot water issue on my Lance. The temp of the water was inconsistent. Took it to the dealer a bunch of times. They replaced check valves, etc. but the problem would not go away. One day I noticed that the controls on the outside shower had not been properly closed. Shut them all the way off and the problem disappeared.

[hogcard]

Took it to dealer. Unhooked everything and opened the door to show him nothing works and well you guessed it. All worked fine. He said he would still have them trace everything.

[700g]

Just fixed the same problem on mine yesterday. Mine was the auto reset circuit breaker near the battery. It would let voltage thru it but when I would turn on a light, voltage would drop to 3 volts per my meter. I tore open the old breaker and it was completely rusted inside.....

[jc1843]

A cheap 12 volt test light is a great tool to find problems. Start at the battery-- and work back-! Also each powered light/accessory needs two sources-- 12 volts-- AND a good ground. Missing either one, and it will not work.

[colliehauler]

If your jack works your battery is fine. Do you have a battery disconnect switch?

[hogcard]

Battery did test 13+ but they did not test under load. However the power jack works just fine. It is a separate connection to battery. Taking to dealer tomorrow as I found another warranty issue this weekend anyway.

[ksg5000]

Had something similar .. checked the fuses etc and everything appeared OK .. when I got home I discovered that one of the battery wires hidden under shrink wrap had pulled loose of the connector to the battery lug.

[naturist]

Ah, no 12 volt suggests that the place to look starts at the battery. I know you said "battery is fine," and I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but I had a battery go bad on me that tested "fine" with the volt meter. It showed 13+ volts, but it delivered no amps. I took it to the auto-parts store where they put it on a load tester, and although it showed 13+ volts for them too, as soon as they applied a load, the voltage fell to zero. Take the load off, and it was back to 13+ volts. So unless you've already had it tested under load, you might consider doing that. Auto parts places will do it for you for free, as they expect you'll buy a battery should it be bad.

From there, it is a matter of following the wires with a volt meter in hand. Could be switches, or fuses, or circuit breakers. Could also be a wire some rodent munched on.

[Lynnmor]

I had two of the cheap "red key" type of battery switches go bad in a very short time. Check that the switch is working.

[jimw606]

I had the same problem, when I first got my R-Vision. There was a circuit breaker underneath the front in the 12v hot line. I also found a Key switch in the front LH compartment.

[hogcard]

And FYI all I am referring to is power to lights, pump etc.

[hogcard]

Guys thanks for all the posts. Yes I could have probably said more. Changed out the fuse right by the battery on the positive lead. Didn't look blown but checked anyway. Didn't help. Cables are hooked up to correct terminals. Cut off switch is on. Pulled the reverse polarity fuses. All ok. Still no power. It's ok as I am currently connected to shore power but will take to dealer when I get home tomorrow. Luckily not far from home as I don't like the idea of not having power to the break away switch.

[naturist]

hogcard wrote:
I have no power if not hooked up to campground electric. Battery is fine. What to check?

Not enough info, as the two divergent answers so far point out. Do you mean no power as in no interior lights or no power as in microwave won't work or nopower as in the outlets on the wall are dead?

[RoyB]

Both the Battery and the output of the converter/charger which is run by shore power connects to the 12VDC Distribution Panel.

Since yours work fine when on shore power and not when off the power grid it is saying your battery cables are not connected.

First thing you did to look for is to make sure your battery cables are connected properly to the battery terminals... Might just be a loose conenction at the terminals...

Then find the word "NEG" or the symbol "-" printed on the battery case and make sure this is the battery cable that goes to the trailer FRAME GROUND. Hand trace this out to be sure. If this is correct then look for a IN-LINE FUSE (may also be a circuit breaker) close to the battery terminals and make sure this fuse (or breaker) is OK.

The next thing to check is two FUSES on the 12VDC Distribution Panel labeled "REVERSE POLARITY". These will be located off to themself on the panel. Don't replace these fuses if they are blown until you correct the battery cables to their correct position on the battery terinals. Otherwise it will just blow the fuse again if it is incorrectly terminated.

Some installs may have a BATTERY DISCONNECT Switch installed. This will need to be "ON" as well...

If all the above is correct then you should have 12VDC coming from your battery at the BATTERY connection on the 12VDC Distribution Panel...

A MULTIMETER ($7-$15 LOWES/WALMART/Auto Parts stores) is a great thing to have for checking these DC VOLTAGES and to determine where the connection may be opened...

Let us know what you find...

Roy Ken