I had a freeze up when the camper was improperly winterized and replaced the filter at the pump. ( I have a 2012 QBB 13 )
Everything works great on shore power but no water pump on battery? Should it run off the battery? Seems like a dopey Q but I can't figure it out. Battery's charged.
Thanks kids.
[quote source="/post/1705/thread" timestamp="1403876075" author="@troy"]I had a freeze up when the camper was improperly winterized and replaced the filter at the pump. ( I have a 2012 QBB 13 )
Everything works great on shore power but no water pump on battery? Should it run off the battery? Seems like a dopey Q but I can't figure it out. Battery's charged.
Thanks kids. [/quote][font face="arial" size="3"]The water pump should run on shore power or battery IF the water pump switch is on and if you are NOT connected to city water. [/font][font face="arial" size="3"]If you have water in the tank it should pump out, but the pump will still run even if the tank is empty. If the pump will not run under the above conditions check the 12V fuse. If the fuse is OK, but the pump still doesn't run, it may have been damaged by the freeze.
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It runs perfectly on shore power, hit the switch and it self primes and works as usual. But, nothing seems to run off the battery, so I thought I must be missing a switch somewhere. The interior lights do not work either on battery) The freeze blew the filter before the pump apart, and cracked the toilet valve and the outside shower valve, all which I replaced. I hooked it to city water and left it pressurized for awhile and no leaks anywhere. With a 13 footer, theres no place for a leak to hide with the heater/waterpump/plumbing exposed for repair. I'll try checking the fuses and then trickle charge the battery, though it was on shore power for 3 days straight last weekend and should have been trickled then.
[quote source="/post/1717/thread" timestamp="1403912820" author="@troy"]It runs perfectly on shore power, hit the switch and it self primes and works as usual. But, nothing seems to run off the battery, so I thought I must be missing a switch somewhere. The interior lights do not work either on battery) The freeze blew the filter before the pump apart, and cracked the toilet valve and the outside shower valve, all which I replaced. I hooked it to city water and left it pressurized for awhile and no leaks anywhere. With a 13 footer, theres no place for a leak to hide with the heater/waterpump/plumbing exposed for repair. I'll try checking the fuses and then trickle charge the battery, though it was on shore power for 3 days straight last weekend and should have been trickled then. [/quote]The good news is everything, including the pump, runs on shore power. The pump was not damaged. If no 12 volt stuff runs on battery, and the battery is properly connected, I'd look at the reverse polarity fuses in the converter. The converter has a pair of fuses that protect against reversal of the battery. If the battery was ever connected backwards, even for an instant, the fuses will be blown and everything will be protected. This will also prevent the converter from charging the battery. Check the fuses; probably a pair of 30-40 Amp. Check your converter manual.
All fuses are ok, including the reverse polarity ones. The battery charged overnight and still nutt'n honey.
"Grumbles"...
I think I'm on to chasing wires underneath?
[font size="3"][font face="arial"]Yes, I agree it sounds like a missing connection. Time to get out the voltmeter and start tracing. I would start with the battery end. If you don't see a voltage at the battery greater than 13 volts with the trailer plugged to shore power the connections from the converter to the battery are defective. Pay particular attention to ground connections. If the battery side is good then go to the converter and work toward the outlets/appliances. However the fact that 12 volt things all work on shore power seem to exonerate the converter-to-appliance connections.
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Lol, pep boys battery load test showed fully charged, accepts a charge and discharges properly also. "It's actually testing better than it's rated for" the dude said.
Now I'm really stumped. Battery is 1 year old, yet trailer is a 2012. I bought it last fall...I bet the RV store thought it was a bad battery too and replaced it...giving up when it still didn't work.
[font size="3"][font face="arial"]More good news: the battery is new and good. I'm betting on a bad or missing connection between the battery and converter. Check the ground path. The 21RBS has an extra small battery for the breakaway system. Check the wiring through that box. The little battery, if you have it, is really unnecessary. If you have this there may be a diode isolator somewhere to prevent the trailer from running down the emergency battery and it may be miswired. I don't know for sure but it bears looking at.
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Bingo...used the
"Progressive Dynamics" trouble shooting instructions...had zippo at the battery when shore power on, so disconnected the battery output at the converter per instructions, and got 12v no problems. Step 2 as check the circuit breaker which I wondered may be behind the bulkhead. When I pulled out the unit..."well, whats this 12V positive wire out of the wire nut? Huh?..."
Reworked the connection, cleaned up the wires, re-did the wire nut, reconnected the battery and, as said in the movie that defined all construction projects today..."It's Alive....Alive!!!!" (Young Frankenstein BTW)
All works, great learning experience. Now I know how and where just about everything is/goes/works in the little rig. I always thought there'd be a master switch for 110 to 12V.
Thank you all for the help and advice, now that I have my plumbing fixed, no more McGiver repairs done on the fly, and figured out power...its off to Weare NH for the 4th weekend...with flowing water and the knowledge that all is well.
[font size="3"][font face="arial"]Great news. Always satisfying when you find and fix the problem. Glad we could ride along.
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Was it literally a wire nut?
Those may not be the best solution for high vibration usage - which us why you virtually never see them in those applications.
Yes, there was an instant tip off, when I pulled the converter out thru the bulkhead, I saw a nest of unraveling black electrical tape around a big blue wire nut. Right next to it was the red + wire with its copper exposed and it was covered in that miserable black goo from decomposing electrical tape in heat. I kinda put to and two together that an exposed red covered in black tar belonged with the big wire nut also covered in goo and flailing ribbons of old tape.
Must have happened before. LOL. I surmise thats why someone traded it in, and the trailer place replaced the battery trying to fix the problem, cause the battery power didn't work. I bought it online on an eBay auction that died cause no one met the minimum. I negotiated with these guys, (I used to own a Dodge Jeep Chrysler Dealership so I know the business dealings pretty well) knew they were a bit flim flamey, but I anted this model specifically. They drove it up from florida to NH. Battery never worked from the start. And that electrical tape was a lot older than a year.
Thanks so much everyone for the help. I felt a bit dumb once it was discovered, but thats how we all learn I guess isn;;t it.