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Getahobby · 08-29-2013, 07:00 AM

Hello,
2011 Flying cloud. Trailers been sitting with no batteries since last winter. Charged batteries and the jack seems to have no power The light on the jack does not work either. Fuse looks fine. Any ideas on what to check for.
thanks,
Dave

polarlyse · 08-29-2013, 07:42 AM

For electrical troubleshooting we should always have a cheap test light or voltmeter handy. Make sure power is getting to the unit before looking to trash it. You can check the fuse too. Sometimes the bad fuse is just not easy to see. Check switches too.

Drathaar · 08-29-2013, 07:50 AM

Did you hook up the jack when you reinstalled the batteries? It is directly connected, and it can be easy to miss the wire.

Minno · 08-29-2013, 08:30 AM

Just because the fuse looks good doesn't mean it is. If you have a spare fuse, pop it and see if it works. That's another quick test.

airdreamers · 08-29-2013, 08:36 AM

If you are able to plug in the umbilical cord from your tow vehicle do so. If it work then you have isolated the problem to the batteries and wiring in the trailer

xrvr · 08-29-2013, 08:43 AM

As Drat said. Some AS have a direct wire to the battery from the jack. It took four supposedly smart owners including me to figure that out at TOG a few years ago. Jim

jkcru · 08-29-2013, 08:49 AM

Switch in my 2010 went out, received a new one from company no problem.

Drathaar · 08-29-2013, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by airdreamers

If you are able to plug in the umbilical cord from your tow vehicle do so. If it work then you have isolated the problem to the batteries and wiring in the trailer

I'm having a hard time seeing how this will isolate trailer wiring. On both of my trailers, the jack is directly wired to the batteries, with just a inline fuse as the only thing between batteries and jack.

I will second the advice to have a multimeter in your tool kit. Use the ohm meter function to check fuse continuity, and the volt meter function to see if you have 12 vdc at the fuse, and at the jack head.

**jcanavera** · 08-29-2013, 09:59 AM

Interesting to see that some of these switches have direct battery connections. On my Classic, it runs through the 12 volt system. The way I know is that the jack will not operate if the master disconnect is in the off position.

Jack

Drathaar · 08-29-2013, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcanavera

Interesting to see that some of these switches have direct battery connections. On my Classic, it runs through the 12 volt system. The way I know is that the jack will not operate if the master disconnect is in the off position.

Jack

Jack, I suspect that is because you (probably) have internal batteries in the Classic. The others like mine have an external battery box.

One thing I have noticed is it's easy to pull the inline fuse case apart when reinstalling the propane cover. I've done that a couple of times. Maybe time for a spade type fuse and case.

**jcanavera** · 08-29-2013, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drathaar

Jack, I suspect that is because you (probably) have internal batteries in the Classic. The others like mine have an external battery box.

One thing I have noticed is it's easy to pull the inline fuse case apart when reinstalling the propane cover. I've done that a couple of times. Maybe time for a spade type fuse and case.

Good point I didn't consider that!

Thanks!

Jack

Safari-Rick · 08-29-2013, 11:39 PM

If you read the very small writing on the elect jack stem, it tells you what to do to reactivate the connection on the jack.

right off the bat, you DO need to connect the umbilical cord to the truck. You should also have a thin black wire that connects with the positive cable to one of the batteries. But you have to connect to the 7 pin connector.

Getahobby · 08-30-2013, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drathaar

Did you hook up the jack when you reinstalled the batteries? It is directly connected, and it can be easy to miss the wire.

I'm a dummy. I had the that black wire hooked up to the negative terminal. Being black I thought it was a ground.
thanks,
Dave

Drathaar · 08-30-2013, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Getahobby

I'm a dummy. I had the that black wire hooked up to the negative terminal. Being black I thought it was a ground.
thanks,
Dave

Dave, we've all done stuff like that. Just be thankful you didn't hook ground to the positive terminal. That gets exciting in a hurry (don't ask how I know).

I'm glad you got it fixed!!!

Drathaar · 08-30-2013, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safari-Rick

If you read the very small writing on the elect jack stem, it tells you what to do to reactivate the connection on the jack.

right off the bat, you DO need to connect the umbilical cord to the truck. You should also have a thin black wire that connects with the positive cable to one of the batteries. But you have to connect to the 7 pin connector.

Can you explain that???

I can think of no reason why the umbilical needs to be hooked to the truck. On the FCs and Safaris that I have seen, it's a simple DC series circuit, with power coming directly from the positive terminal of the battery, and I suspect that it is frame ground (although, it could also have a ground wire going directly to the negative terminal). I am away from my FC, so I can't verify which.

goshawks00 · 08-30-2013, 03:57 PM

As long as we are here let me ask this ...New electric jack, wired to power from the vehicle. Jack only works when the vehicle key in on the "on' position, and the 7 way connected. Unplug the 7 way and no power to jack. It seems to me that the electric jack and it's light, should work at all times whether hooked to TV or not. Am I correct in assuming I should run a black wire back to the + battery in the rear to have full time power?
Thanks,
Barry

cwf · 08-30-2013, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goshawks00

As long as we are here let me ask this ...New electric jack, wired to power from the vehicle. Jack only works when the vehicle key in on the "on' position, and the 7 way connected. Unplug the 7 way and no power to jack. It seems to me that the electric jack and it's light, should work at all times whether hooked to TV or not. Am I correct in assuming I should run a black wire back to the + battery in the rear to have full time power?
Thanks,
Barry

Why did u wire to TV to jack? Do you have battery in AS?

Drathaar · 08-30-2013, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goshawks00

As long as we are here let me ask this ...New electric jack, wired to power from the vehicle. Jack only works when the vehicle key in on the "on' position, and the 7 way connected. Unplug the 7 way and no power to jack. It seems to me that the electric jack and it's light, should work at all times whether hooked to TV or not. Am I correct in assuming I should run a black wire back to the + battery in the rear to have full time power?
Thanks,
Barry

Barry, assuming there is only a single wire, then yes, it should go to the batteries (positive terminal). Check your documentation. But yes, the jack should work at all times.

I've never heard of the jack being connected via the umbilical. That could make for some awkward moments when the ball is above the hitch.

goshawks00 · 08-30-2013, 06:27 PM

Channing I didn't say I wired it, I said that is the way it's wired, and yes there is a batt. in the trailer. Thanks Drat. I will rewire it to the batt. tomorrow I hope. It's always nice to get help rather than silly questions with out positive content.....

cwf · 08-30-2013, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goshawks00

Channing I didn't say I wired it, I said that is the way it's wired, and yes there is a batt. in the trailer. Thanks Drat. I will rewire it to the batt. tomorrow I hope. It's always nice to get help rather than silly questions with out positive content.....

Kewl!

Not trying to diss ya!