Oh Boy, we might be in BIG trouble!

[MouseMadness]

OK, will try to get this as accurate as possible. DH is outside looking at the problem now...

We are leaving for the Fort on Tuesday...

So, last night we plugged in the TT, turned on the fridge so it could cool down before loading, yadda, yadda, yadda...was working as we turned out the lights to go in.

DH goes out today to find it not working. He's been playing around with the converter...seems everything works ok (not tripping the breaker) if we don't have the GEN on. So, we've read the manual, what's the GEN???

Fridge seems to work fine...he can hear it running. Tested the AC for only a few seconds...doesn't trip power and works fine. In fact, without the GEN on the converter on, everything is working OK...it trips power, though, everytime we turn the GEN on.

Can anyone shed light on what this could be? We have breakers for the Main, Air,Micro,Water Heater, but can't figure out what the GEN is?

HELP!!!!! We don't have much time! Thanks

 

[MouseMadness]

Really quick update...

Apparently we can only have on 5 of the 6 breakers on the converter...it doesn't matter which one.

Now, DH has 5 on (including the GEN) but the Microwave off and all others are working.

Any thoughts??? I would say a power problem...but this has never happened before. We camped just over a month ago and didn't have any problems at all. The ONLY thing different is that we just picked it up from an RV place that had to pressurize? it to look for a leak we are having (which, incidently, isn't anywhere near plugs/outlets/converter, etc) Any chance the main power plug from the camper is going out???

Still need help!!!

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

I don't have a MH or TT with a generator so I am just guessing, but iI would think the GEN stands for the generator. Try turning that one off unless you are running it. Hopefully someone with more knoweledge will be along soon to help.

 

[MouseMadness]

I didn't think we had a generator...at least not that noisy thing that give you power if you aren't plugged into anything...we just run off the battery/propane tanks as far as we know...

That's a good guess...I was thinking the same thing, though. Even though that breaker isn't plugged into an "external" generator, could it still be tripping everything else up if it is defective? Anyone else have a guess out there???

Thanks

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

After searching at a few other sites the GEN could stand for General Recepticles.
The refrigerator may need 12v power to operate. Is the converter on? Is it clear so it can breathe and doesn't overheat?
Still just guessing.

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

Double Post

 

[kristler]

You say you have a breaker trip. Is this your main breaker? It's probably a 30 amp breaker in a trailer (though may be a 50 amp in a large 5th wheel). It is really easy to draw more than 30 amps. Run a microwave and A/C, turn on about anything else and pop goes the breaker (the converter is always drawing power if it's breaker is on). I would guess something is pulling more power than it should. Things that come to mind are electric water heater on (if equiped), heat strip in A/C, converter pulling to much power. This can be a real pain to find. If you do not feel comfortable messing with electricity, take it to a dealer first thing in the AM and tell then your situation. If the frig is pulling to much power, you might try it on gas only. Of course if you do not know this is the problem, you will still have issues when your turn on things like your A/C later. Like you said, it may be a weak breaker. I hope you figure it out. May try rv.net forums. the Tech forums have helped me a couple times (including fixing my A/C just this last week!).

-Bill

 

[ftwildernessguy]

What are you plugged into? If you are like most, you are plugged into an extension cord into an outside outlet in your house or garage. I wouldn't try running a lot of appliances with that setup unless you have an extension cord that can handle that load and your outlet is capable of handling that load. This will trip your breakers, while hooking into a campground outlet with the power umbilical from your trailer won't.

 

[MouseMadness]

OP's DH here:

Found the battery dry. Being it was over 5 years old I replaced it. Replacing the battery seemed to have fixed the problem. Has anyone ever heard of a battery shorting out due to being dried up, causing a breaker to trip?

Also, we didn't have anything actually "turned on" when the breaker kept tripping, and it wasn't the same one each time. We could mix and match, getting up to five on, then it would always trip out on the sixth breaker.

Anyone else ever heard of this? Thanks

 

[des1954]

Yep. The battery can and does lose it's charge & dry out. We keep our batteries (house & main on MH) on a trickle charger when the MH is stored. We've had issues with batteries on every MH we've had, even when the batteries were disconnected.

Even the sealed batteries can be opened and checked for water levels. Get a battery cell tester & use it periodically & check for water levels in the battery - even if it's a sealed battery. If you store your TT away from home, and it's not too much trouble, remove the battery & take it home with you when you store it. Keep it on a trickle charger & you should not have any more problems. TT batteries are expensive to replace - but 5 years on your battery was a very good life-span.

I think it's an evil plot by the battery manufacturers to keep them in business.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I had a similar problem when the battery case did not drain and filled with water from rain.
All batteries (except AGM) will vent and lose water, they should be checked at least monthly. As batteries age the lead plates will deteriorate and sometimes make contact with each other and cause an internal short, this will often boil the water out of the battery very quickly.
5 years is a pretty good run for a deep cycle battery.
glad to hear you sorted it out.

 

[kristler]

Glad it all worked out. Sounds like the bad battery was causing the (AC / DC) converter to pull way to much power (AC side) trying to charge the battery. Based on the breakers you list, I don't see a breaker for the converter itself (we have a separate breaker on both our TT and our Class C for the converter). I would think the RV manufactures would want the converter to trip a breaker at a lower amperage then the main 30 amps (always something new in the RV world). You must have been on the edge of 30 amps, and turning on the other breakers with their load (even if it was just a the microwave clock, A/C electronics, TV or DVD on standby) was enough to put you over the top of the 30 amps.

Glad you found it and can ake your trip on time!

-Bill

 

[clkelley]

That's my project next weekend is checking my battery. (Mine is holed up underneath a closet inside a battery box, so not so easy to get to.) Although, it's been working fine, I haven't looked at it in almost two years.

 

[lwestwise]

GLad you found the problem. HAve a safe trip.

 

[kskone]

Always always check batteries for water and lose or corroded wires and termanals also check the wires that go to ground that are exposed to the weather (on the frame or body) as being in the weather they rust very fast and produce poor conductivity!! And lastly dont forget to crawl under the unit a few times a year to take a look at whats going on under there it may save you a call to good sam for just a hour of your time Good luck and have fun at the fort my wife and I will be down in Jan. for a couple of months. K

 

[bradisgoofy]

Something else to keep in mind about RV refigerators, never try to run them unless they are level. Running them without leveling the RV will ruin the frig, it burns out the recirculation pump.

 

[phnguyk]

Hi, we had the exact same problem in our A. After replacing the battery everything seemed fine. But being that the converter was working so hard to try to charge a dead battery it had burned out the converter. After a day or so of things being ok we started having issues again. As the battery lost it's charge the converter wasn't charging it properly then started to overcharge/boil it. The converter tested ok, it was only after pulling it from the tray did we see blacked spots on the boards. Since replacing it with one with a built in charge wizard we were good to go all last summer. By the way 1/2 the price than a direct replacement from the dealer and better quality too. Good Luck.