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MVequalsPQ · 07-20-2015, 10:21 AM

First off, hello all! We recently purchased a new (old stock) 2014, but I have been reading these forums for months. I apologize if my question is a dumb one - I have to admit that I am very much still learning the systems in this, our first RV. I wasn't able to walk through the vehicle with the dealer, and sometimes I find the manuals a little confusing.

So here goes: we took our first real road trip yesterday, 16 hours to Florida. We were cruising with the refer full of waters and sandwiches, and the 4 rugrats in the back. Maybe 4 or 5 hours in, the kids were getting a little restless, so we put a movie on each television. Both worked fine for the duration of that first movie. Shortly thereafter, the two older kids were playing playstation on the overhead set and the babies were watching another dvd in the back. First the overhead television shut down, then the rear one quit maybe a minute later. The refrigerator worked the entire time.

So I guess my question is did I flip a breaker or what? Should I not expect the inverter to run these items while rolling down the road? When we stopped once I fired up the generator real quick, and they still wouldn't come on. A/C worked fine though. I was thinking the inverter would power the outlets (TVs) and the refer while rolling down the road. Did I assume incorrectly or just overload the system or what? We are enjoying a little beach time with the kids before the rain hits, but I plan to dig in further this afternoon.

Sorry for the long post and the newbie questions. I tried to search and read the manuals, but I must be a little dense or something. Thanks everybody!

Rob

gmillerok1 · 07-20-2015, 10:53 AM

Sounds like your alternator is not keeping the house batteries charged on the road. That's the first thing to check. What was the house battery charge level when it started shutting things down?

I don't know how they are wiring the AD/DC fridge in the 2014, but if they changed it, and wired it the way it should have been wired, it will run on 12vdc when not connected to shore power. If that's the case, it may have continued to operate, while power may have been selectively turned off power by the AC controller, possibly?

Connect to shore power, and see if everything works again. Check the battery charge to make sure they are fully charged and then disconnect and run on the inverter with the engine on or while driving. Do the batteries discharge or remain charged while driving with the inverter on?

If not, this will give you a clue what is causing the problem (which is likely a loose connection on the positive terminal on the isolator or the positive bus bar near the house battery that goes to the positive terminal on the isolator. Both are very easy to fix. Mine was a loose connection on the bus, so the house batteries would sometimes charge, and sometimes not, until it came so loose it was never would charge at all, leading me to have to figure out why.

UKDUDE · 07-20-2015, 10:54 AM

Hello Rob, welcome to the forum.
I believe you have 2 GFCI's which you might want to check in case either has tripped: one is on the power distribution box under the rear sofa. On mine the GFCI is on the left of the box. Also you have another GFCI behind the driver's seat next to the second row passenger seat on the wall.
Good luck!

Boxster1971 · 07-20-2015, 12:01 PM

Although the TVs should not overload the Inverter it sounds like that is what happened to you. It happened to me once. I accidentally tripped the circuit breaker on my Magnum inverter by using one of the TV outlets for a hot pot. All circuits tied to the inverter stopped working even on the generator or shore power. I had to drop the rear panel under the lounge to get to the inverter to reset the breaker. BTW that is how you can easily get to the electronics under the lounge seat/bed. Just remove the black fabric cover plus a few screws and the rear panel drops down.

- - Mike
2013 Interstate Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

MVequalsPQ · 07-20-2015, 12:51 PM

Thanks! Definitely gives me a few things to check out this afternoon. Would sure be nice to get it figured out before the 1000 miles home!

I was just making sure that I wasn't off base by thinking the TVs could run w/o running the generator. Like I said, I am totally green.

Rob

73shark · 07-20-2015, 05:21 PM

I had the same problem last week on our return trip from Florida where all of the AC outlets dropped out at the same time. After checking all the breakers and the GFI outlet under the lounge I came back to the forum and fortunately someone there pointed out that the hidden outlet under the driver side passenger 2nd row seat has a GFI outlet which for some unknown reason Airstream decided to put upstream of all the outlets. Not sure what the logic was that dictated the placement of a GFI outlet in a hidden location like that. But then that's how Airstream rolls.