When I turn on more than half of my interior lights, the DC power shuts off for a few seconds and the turns back on. With only a few lights on everything is OK. Is there a thermal or time delay fuse or relay that is going bad? It does this on shore power or generator power. When the power shuts on and off I can hear a sound like a relay clicking. Help!!!
Terry
Perhaps too obvious, but check your connections on the house batteries... when mine are disconnected, I will get 12 V DC, but I will get the relays flashing and the voltage flickering between 12.4 and 13.8 from the heart inverter.
Don
Terry,
I haven't heard of this kind of failure but it sounds like an auto resetting breaker is tripping and then resetting itself again. While there are branch DC fuses (auto style) under the bed in a panel, there's a master auto resetting breaker (90 amp on my coach) that I think feeds the main panel under the bed. I don't know if it's in the same place as mine, but in the "utilities" bay (drivers side, just in front of rear axle) there is a master DC panel that contains a few of these large breakers. In the upper left of photo you can see it - round shape, black, two terminals with what looks like a fine adjustment screw in the middle with staking compound over the screw head. This would be my guess as to what's clicking. A voltmeter or test light across the two terminals would show 12 volts if it's tripped. If you think it might be failing below it's rated current setting you might try turning the little screw in the middle, but you need to realize you'll be bypassing the current protection that its providing.
This happend to me once...Cause,weak house batteries.
Terry,
Is the sound possibly coming from the front, right dash area?
If yes, pry open the upholstered vertical switch panel by the stairwell and ID the circuit breaker (CB) that is tripping and resetting (by sound and by the CB case which will probably be warmer to the touch).
I'd try a new CB first (most any auto parts stores and relatively inexpensive) as they have been known to age.
If that doesn't fix it, you need an ammeter and a helper. Turn the fixtures on, one by one, until you find the fixture that has an inappropriately large current draw, as compared to the others. When you find that fixture, then there's something failed or failing in that fixture. Further investigation of that fixture should yield your answer. If the fixture is good, then unfortunately a wire to that fixture has been compromised and that "cycling" CB may well be preventing the start of a fire.
Good Luck.
Neal
It does sound like an auto reset circuit breaker. Think back through everything you touched or moved when working on the AC and look for a short or bad connection or something hooked back up wrong.
My 93GV had a auto resetting 80A CB mounted on the forward bulkhead in the battery compartment. All of the power from the charger went through the breaker to the battery. Last year mine failed. I noticed most of the lights started not working. Looked at the monitor and the house voltage was in the red. We connected a spare charger to the battery, but because it was only 10A it couldn't keep up. When we checked we found we had good voltage on one side of the CB, actually doesn't look like CB, and low on the other. Removed it and put the 3 wires together and everything was fine. When I took it apart it has a convex metal plate that contacts two pins. The stud holding the whole thing together failed and the plate just fell off. Still not sure what function it served. My charger has a 60 Amp internal protection so what an 80 amp auto-resetting CB was suppose to do is unclear. It is almost like having a larger CB protecting a lower one incase it failed to trip. Anyway, the way it is designed it isn't going to trip fast and it is going to have to cool down to reset. The diagram I have indicates all the current for the coach from the charger goes through this CB EXCEPT the sense voltage for the fridge. I'm sure the Foretravel engineers had some thought in mind, I just don't understand what it was. Maybe they wanted double protection for the charger.
Bill and Doris
OKC
93 GV gas
After looking over the wiring diagram for the 12vdc system, nothing was making any sense so I stood out side an looked in an noticed the BATTERY DISCONNECT SWITCH WAS OFF. I switched it to the ON position and like magic everything worked. The next question would be "what does the battery disconnect actually do'? Of course who knows how the switch got turned off in the first place.
Terry
It's easy to bump into it getting in and out of the coach. Don't ask me how I know.
I always blame it on the dog.
That switch is one of the first things to check if something powered by electricity doesn't work right.
It happens to everyone at one time or another. I added an "L" bracket that I can move up and down over it to prevent it from moving. (by the dog) ::)
Barry, you got a puppy - who knew?!! :P
YA, in your dreams. we are in our selfish stage. No time for animals. Probably could not find one that liked Bluegrass ??? Everyone we know has one or more. They are like our grandkids. (Our reward for not killing our kids) Spoil them rotten and give them back. We get to enjoy all of them without the overhead. We are the only ones in our local monthly RV club without a dog. I suggested renaming the club to a kennel club. That went over real well ::)
Your comment Barry on the kennel club gave me a laugh, just like the ads for coaches in the FMCA magazine of coaches for sale. Is'nt it funny that almost all of the ads state--No smoke, no pets, when almost every coach seems to have one I see??? So where do all these animal free ones come from?
John H
Maybe they ride in the Toad and stay outside? :giggle: :giggle:
I had the same (?) problem - "dog" = MY clumsiness. I installed Barry's lock-out L-bracket.
Thanks Barry, I intend to install one this week. I wonder what my next "valueable Lesson" will be.
Terry