Troubleshooting shore-power setup

[slightlygray]

We purchased a used 31' Classic. Prev owner showed us everything was working. We moved onto a lot, used 50-to-30amp adapter to plug in. Tried to raise, no go. Found battery was dead, so replaced. Raised trailer, but...
lights worked, and then didn't, and then did. Fan in bedroom, same thing. Main panel on side of fridge - sometimes lights would come on, sometimes not. Water pump was only thing that was consistent, when switched, to come on.
Couldn't get refrigerator to come on - set to electric, but switch on panel wouldn't start fridge and fan.
Couldn't get A/C on - it is plugged in (in the bedroom, behind shower).
After playing with it for quite some time, went back to main panel to see if there wasn't another clue - couldn't find one, but now brand new battery reads medium, not strong - it seems to be discharging.
Any ideas????
Thanks in advance!!!!

Margie

 

[underpsi]

Welcome to the forum Margie, I'm sure someone has a good answer for you. If I was to guess, I'd start with the battery cable connections, especially where the ground (typically black) cable is connected to the trailer frame. Look for rust or corrosion, make sure everything is clean and tight. That should get most everything going again.
Good luck
/Ken

 

[Treeclimber]

Margie, Welcome to our little forum! Ditto what underpsi said. With the refer, however, you won't hear any clicking or noise from the refer when turned on and it takes several hours to get cold. The refer fan is 12 volt and is thermostatically controlled, meaning it only turns on when the cooling fins on the refer get hot enough. Note also that the trailer should be pretty close to level for the refer to run correctly. When we find a Hi Lo that hasn't been used for a while and we're unsure of things, it takes a while to get adjusted. Please take your time, don't get frustrated. There is plenty of good advise from people who have been through most everything. And now that camping season is winding down, more folks will be tuned into the forum. When it comes to electrical systems, remember corrosion is a sneaky thing. Again, Welcome.
Treeclimber

 

[miniceptor86-HILO]

Yes to what underpsi said. Poor grounds (even in coffee) can make things miserable. There might be a couple of circuit breakers in the pump/battery compartment that could be suffering from the effects of corrosion also but I'd put my money on the negative battery cable connection and or the 10 gauge ground wire from the negative battery terminal.

 

[Treeclimber]

Margie, Those breakers in the battery compartment ARE subject to corrosion and unless the previous owner changed them recently, I always change them straight away, just for peace of mind. They are generally 30 amp resettable or automatic reset and only cost a few bucks at an auto parts store. let us know what you find.
Tree