Interior Lights/Oven Vent/Radio

[iwillbetheeraser]

Moved into a permanent living spot at trailer park and am plugged into electricity from outside. All my lights work, except for the interior lights where the kitchen is. As well as the oven/stove vent fan, radio and outside door light. Don't know where to start.

 

[sam-HILO]

Welcome to the forum

Some one will be along shortly to give you guidance on what to do.

 

[hilltool]

Check your fuses for a start.

 

[iwillbetheeraser]

Thanks, was such a simple job. Just couldn't locate my fuse box. After looking and looking! Changed the fuse and good to go!

 

[hilltool]

Life is good when it gets simple

 

[iwillbetheeraser]

So they seem to shut off again. The fuse for that area labeled, "Fused battery Positive" is brand new. The lights/radio/oven fan/light are off again. My battery is dead, but didn't think it would make a difference if I am plugged into my camp site.

 

[JackandJanet]

If the battery is dead, you have a problem in your 12V circuits. The lights will NOT work without 12V.

I'm actually confused by your post. Is the fuse you replaced still good? If you are plugged into shore power, is the battery being charged? Is there even a battery in the circuit? Maybe, your converter is not charging the battery, and if that's the case, you have NO 12V supply.

- Jack

 

[hilltool]

The converter should supply 12v even if there is NO battery. However, I don't know if the battery is wired in such a way that without it you don't have a completed circuit. Did you check the fuse again? Something may be shorting it out.

 

[iwillbetheeraser]

So the fuse is good that I replaced. The battery is dead, but I am connected to shore power. Does the shore power help charge my dead battery? The lights in the mid section along with the radio are very very dim now. Perhaps it's being charged? Sorry, new to all this. But, learning! This is my home, trying to figure it out.

 

[JackandJanet]

OK, it SOUNDS like you may have a "shorted" battery. If so, it's sopping up almost all the 12V power the converter can produce. Internal shorts are a common mode of battery failure. I would disconnect the battery and see if things improve. If they do, you just need to replace the battery.

- Jack

 

[iwillbetheeraser]

So I disconnected the battery and no lights still. All the rest of the Hi Lo is powered, just not the mid section.

 

[hilltool]

If that it is it , Jack, it's a guess worthy of click n clack. I can't wait to find out.

 

[JackandJanet]

So I disconnected the battery and no lights still. All the rest of the Hi Lo is powered, just not the mid section.

Now you've confused me again. Sorry, I'm old (76) and my brain is feeble, so bear with me!

You say the "mid-section" is not powered?? Does that mean the interior lights are working at the ends of the trailer? Does the water pump run? Does the furnace work? Does the tongue jack work? Will the refrigerator turn on in the DC mode? How about the ceiling fan? (I'm naming things here that are 12V DC powered in an attempt to determine if your converter is putting out 12V electricity. If it's not, then there is some problem in the converter's 12V DC side.

If you attach jumper cables from your tow vehicle battery to the positive and negative battery cables in your trailer, now that you've removed the battery there, do the inoperative things work again?

If you attach multimeter probes with the multimeter in the DC Volts mode to the positive and negative trailer battery cables, do you see voltage? It should probably be in the neighborhood of 14V if the converter is trying to deliver a charging current to the (removed) battery.

I've listed things here that should help you troubleshoot your problem and narrow down the cause. Try them and report back.

- Jack