No power

[nohurrie]

I posted this in the General help but thought it might be better here. Hope someone has had this problem before and can help, thanks. I had my hi-lo up by the house the other day getting ready to go camping. I plugged it in to the outlet at the house using a cheater plug. Later that evening I looked out the window and noticed that there were no lights on inside the trailer and went out to see why. NO POWER. I left it for the morning. Next morning, I checked the fuse box and no switches were tripped, however, when I would unplug and then plug the AC back in I would notice a little spark and a pop sound (short?). I unplugged the inverter (converter?) and plugged it in directly to the extension cord, same thing, slight spark and pop. Manual says look for trip switch between battery and pump. I don't have one, and all fuses are intact. Before I spring $200 or more for another inverter I'm asking for help here. I did though let the trailer run off of the DC (forgot to turn on the outlet outside) till it was almost dead but have since recharged it. Nothing on this unit is working, can't put it down to move. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks and may GOD bless
Dean

 

[Neal and Bev]

Nohurrie -

What year and model is your Hi-Lo?

The breaker switch that the manual talked about is fairly standard. It really sounds like it has tripped to me. My suggestion is that you trace all of the wires at the tongue of the trailer to see if you can locate it.

I actually had this problem with my 2201 when we first got it, we let the battery get low, and the breaker tripped. It was had to find the darn thing, ours was on the outside edge of the battery compartment, and you couldnt see it without lying on your back or completely removing the cover from the battery compartment.

Give it another search and see if you can find it.

Neal

 

[retiredcamper47]

Start looking for the 12v breaker closest to the battery and work out from there. The breakers are rectangular in shape, are about 1" long, and have a gray colored plastic housing. There are 3 types of breakers - Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3. Physically, they all look alike. A Type 1 breaker will automatically reset itself. A Type 2 breaker will stay tripped until the power source is removed. A Type 3 breaker has an external reset button. Good luck.

 

[nohurrie]

Thanks for replying Neal. My HI-Lo is a 1997, it says 2497D Model on the tag.
I can find no reset button anywhere. This is frustrating as I have a trip planned on Oct. 1st and can't get it in to be looked at before then. I am going to try and attach some pics. If it is a reset button that I can't find, would that explain the spark and popping sound I am getting?

 

[nohurrie]

Was just out looking for the reset switch, for no reason really, I pulled the 15 amp fuse out at the back of the fridge and the wire touched a ground and I got a heavy spark. Why am I getting juice there and nowhere else?

 

[Neal and Bev]

The fridge is wired so that it gets juice at all times, this is to protect its contents. The manual talks about this too, no matter what position you place the master switch in, the fridge still gets power.

Thanks for posting the pictures, i did notice that they were looking at the inside of the battery compartment, be sure to look on the outside of it as well. Mine was bolted to the outside of the compartment, on the left side, upper corner. Which is a good place to look, but they all arent in the same spot.

Neal

 

[kengsr]

Make sure the 3 way switch used to select the hydraulic pump for raising the top is placed in the UP position after you have raised the top. I was going crazy in 100 degree heat on a trip when I made that mistake and, only after plugging a radio into the campsite power feed, did I realize it was my mistake. Not sure why it has to be up for AC power as I always assumed it was just for DC power.

 

[nohurrie]

All these things I have done guys, no luck. I do get power to the fridge, lift to the hitch and the light there. After that, no luck. The three way switch doesn't work in any position. I have a fully charged battery, but like I said, it did almost die before I charged it. There isn't any reset plug anywhere I can see, inside or ousted the battery compartment. I have followed wires everywhere. This is really frustrating isn't it? Could it be the converter?

 

[PopRichie77]

In your first picture of the battery box, I can see 2 of the circuit breakers on the side of the box. The one on the left in the picture may be a manual reset, reset is a button on the bottom. These do go bad, put a jumper across the terminals and see if things work.Try each one with a jumper. One is for the brake, break away switch, I can't tell which one it is from the picture. Test only do not leave the jumper in place, these breakers can be bought at most auto parts or at an RV dealer. There may also be an inline fuse on the back of the master switch. You can also test with a volt ohm meter if you are familiar with them. There should also be a 12 volt fuse panel located some where. You show a picture of the 110 V AC Breaker panel only.

 

[nohurrie]

Got it

OK everyone....got it going. There was a button on the top of the breaker on the left in one of the pictures I posted. It is really hard to see. Thank you all for taking the time to look at and address my issue.

Have a blessed camping trip
Dean