Electric Power

[mtbkendall]

[p]New Livin Lite Quicksilver 8.5 x 24 owner..real new, like yesterday new.  I am glad to have found this board and thanks to whoever set it up.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Question:  How do I get the battery to power the trailer lights? Inside lights that is.  I cannot get anything to work unless plugged into the house.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Thanks![/p]

[tinkeringtechie]

Is your battery charged and connected? Do you have a multimeter?

[mtbkendall]

It is connected and I tested it with charger and it reads 12.8 Amps. Not sure what a multimeter is, but we probably have one at work.

Thanks

[admin]

Did you buy from a dealer or private party?
The electrical systems on these rigs are usually easy to trace. The first thing to remember is that everything runs through the control unit / converter. Its usually a black or brown cover and if I'm not mistaken should have a label. In this unit you will have several 12 volt circuits and a couple 120 volt circuits. In your situation I doubt its going to be the wiring so I would say to start with the simple steps first.

Check the battery; is it charged? Is it even hooked up (assuming you have one installed)?
Check the fuses; the 12 volt circuits operate on regular automotive fuses. Confirm none are blown out.

Let us know what you find, if its still not working we may need more information to be able to help.

-Sean

[tinkeringtechie]

Is that 12.8 volts? If so, then that's good. What does it read when you're plugged into the house?

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/204/thread" timestamp="1395014523" author="@mtbkendall"]It is connected and I tested it with charger and it reads 12.8 Amps. Not sure what a multimeter is, but we probably have one at work.

Thanks[/quote][font size="3"][font face="arial"]If the charger is really plugged in and connected, and if you really measured 12.8 VOLTS at the battery, AND if everything works when plugged in to shore power but not on the battery, it suggests to me :
[ol type="decimal"][li]The converter is working, but not connected to the battery and
[/li][li]The battery is charged and good, but not connected to the trailer.
[/li][/ol][p]
[/p][p]A battery being charged should read above 13 volts; maybe up to 14+ volts with typical trailer converters. The internal 12 volt items such as lights and fans will run from the converter when it is plugged in, but will stop when the trailer is unplugged if the battery is not connected.[/p][p]
[/p][p]A possible solution: Most trailer converters have reversed battery protection in the form of 2 fuses in the primary battery circuit. If the battery has EVER been connected backwards one or both of these fuses will be blown even if the battery is connected properly now. If this is the case the effect is that the battery is really disconnected even though the wires are physically connected. If the reverse fuses are blown the battery will neither charge nor discharge but the converter will power the lights when plugged in. Check your owner's manual on the converter. Maybe someone with a similar model to yours can jump in and help with the specifics.
[/p]
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[mtbkendall]

yes, 12 volts...I got mixed up.

I did not check while plugged up.  Will have to do that.  

I guess, what I am hearing though, is that if all connected and battery is good the light s should work, no manual switch over or button to push?

I will look everything over again tomorrow and check some of the fuses.  The ones I looked at today were good and the breakers were not tripped.

Thanks!

[charliem]

[font size="3"][font face="arial"]From the Livinlite literature it looks like the Quicksilver VRV 8.5 x 2? have the Progressive Dynamics 4000 series power converters. If so, they definitely have the reversed battery protection fuses. Check them. There are no other switches to run on 12V. Lights/fan should work.
[/font][/font]

[mtbkendall]

Ok..fixed.  Tested everything and then got under trailer to look for a short.  I pulled on red and white wire penetrating the floor and they pulled right out.  Dismantled converter and landed wires.  Now all good.  Easy fix, but surprised to find this on a 30k trailer.  Oh we'll, just glad it is fixed.  Customer service has been great as we'll as y'all's advice here.  Big thanks!

More detail..red wire went to a block screwed to deck with other red wires and white went to block with other white wires.  

[tinkeringtechie]

That's pretty disappointing. Glad you've figured it out though. I would expect some items to "settle" during shipping of a brand new trailer, but your dealer should have caught that.