Still seeking help

[From Jonsai]

5/10/17, 10:12 PM MST, Have '15 FC 23 FB. On road F-T now 4 months. Today, losing power. Now at 9.2 on panel. Rebooted surge protector and reconnected. Surge protector says good. Show power good on power cord and on trailer. No improvement. Took off protector and reconnected directly to box. Show power good on cord and trailer. No improvement. Started generator and connected. Show power good on cord and trailer. No improvement. Batteries new 4 months ago. Regularly check water. Rechecked, and still good.
We are just sitting.
Am accountant by trade. No a problem that can be solved by pencil.
Any help or ideas?

[ATownTX]

I'm assuming you mean "shore" power and not "show" power? With that, are you saying that everything works well on shore power but the voltage on the SeaLevel panel is only showing 9.6v and your batteries aren't getting charged?

You say your batteries are 4 months old (or your trailer is???)? It could be that your batteries have gone bad or your power converter is bad... or both. we will need a little more background of your usage history to completely understand and to properly assist.

[TG Twinkie]

I will assume the 9.2 is the battery voltage. If so it sounds like the converter failed or there is no 120 volt AC power to the converter.
Have you checked for power at the converter?
Is there a circuit breaker that has tripped?
Do you have 120 volt power at any receptacles in the coach?
Are the battery terminals clean and tight?
Is the coach equipped with an AUTO TRANSFER SWITCH?
The more info you can provide the more we may be able to help.

[Hiho Silver]

I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the lower converter section was bad, and was not keeping the batteries charged. I carry a battery charger which I used while I was plugged into shore power as a temporary fix. While driving my batteries stayed charged from the TV. Not sure if this is your problem. I also called Airstream and Parallax (my converter brand) to help me troubleshoot over the phone. Good luck.

[From Jonsai]

Yes, "shore" power.
To be clear, we are hooked to shore, but are getting no power. It looks like juice is available, but not being accepted by trailer. Also rebooted. Also hooked to generator. Nothing working.
Denver got nailed hard by hail. We missed that, but local dealer can't offer any service. So, sitting with wife in cold.
As for help, would like best "talk like I'm a fifth-grader" guidance, please.

[ATownTX]

First, you need to look for your power center - a brownish/blackish looking panel with vents on the bottom half. Open the top half by turning the little rubber catch 90 degrees either way. Make sure your AC breakers (left side) are all on and reset them all to be sure. Look at the DC side (right) and see if you see any blue (i think) LEDs are lit on the board. If so, I think that means that one of the blade fuses have blown. Also, make sure the breaker on the shore power pedestal is set to on. Then report back to us.

Second, while the dealer may not be able to provide service, they may be able too quickly diagnose... if you can bring the trailer to them.

[From Jonsai]

Yes, battery voltage at 9.2.
Yes, have triple checked and clear giving shore juice to trailer, but trailer not taking (accepting) it.
I don't know how to check power at converter. Any guidance? (In postings stated accountant by trade so only good with problems that can be solved with a pencil, and need best "talk to me like a fifth-grader" guidance.
I checked circuit breakers. They are good.
Yes, we are still getting 120 ac inside trailer (TV still works, phone charging through 120 outlet, but heater off and not daring to use coffee maker).
Batteries clean and tight. And, rechecked water levels.
Not sure what an "Auto Transfer Switch" is.
Thank you for response and any advice,
John

[From Jonsai]

Thank you. Your instructions where clear.
All breakers good, but have reset on your advice. No obvious change.
Checked the DC side, and no lights.
Odd, there is one "30" slot empty. Don't recall if it always was?
Have checkled and rechecked the "shore" power breaker (assuming that's what you mean by "shore power pedestal"). All good there.
The cord connection light at trailer is blue. I have always assumed that meant power was being accepted by trailer. (Did hear fridge switch when plugged in. Fridge now, however, reads "check".)

Begged for help from dealer, but they got millions in hail damage, and can't help. (Drove by yesterday and they had new AS with golf ball dents from hail storm -- sad.)
They did offer other warrantee service provider, and have call to them. Guessing they too are getting slammed as rv damage in the park we're in is bad.
Thanks for help, plus any other ideas,

[Lily&Me]

It does sound like a problem needing professional intervention.

Have you googled RV repair services in your area?

I have found reputable ones that way.

Good luck,

Maggie

[NorCal Matt]

If you are unable to charge the batteries and do not have power in your trailer, I would guess your converter is bad. You will want to get that replaced, or at least diagnosed. That is something any RV shop should be able to do.

In the meantime, buy a cheap charger from Walmart and charge your batteries directly with that. Once they are at +12v, see if your 12v stuff works (furnace, refer, etc.). Either way, I think you should get a charge at least to try to save what you can of the batteries.

[ATownTX]

Ok, so you do have power (tv works) but your battery isn't charging it seems. The good news is you can make coffee. Your refrigerator's check light is on... make sure you have propane and that the propane valves are open. Also, there should be a button to change the refrigerator to "auto," which will run it on electric when it's available (it is).

You should be able to run your air conditioner or your heat pump. But the gas side of the water heater and the furnace may not work properly due to the state of your batteries, or so I understand.

You should think about going to an auto parts store and buying a 12 volt charger and an extension cord, and using a 20 amp plug on the pedestal (regular home plug) or on your AS and charge the batteries. unless it's raining.

[From Jonsai]

NorCal Matt,
Thanks.
How do I connect a charger?
Is it like when jumping a car, direct to battery posts? We have 2 batteries in the battery box. Do you do one battery or do the positive of one battery and the negative of the second?

[CDONA]

120 volt runs the tv, coffee maker, 12 volt runs the lights, fridge runs on 12 thru the control board with a propane burner, or 120 heating element much like the water heater.
The auto transfer switch will tell the coach that only one shore power inlet is operational, you have two on a 30 amp rig (1 A/C), if you have 2 A/C's it is a 50 amp, no auto transfer switch, one shore power inlet.
I believe your issue is the battery disconnect switch which will kill power to/from the batteries, not charging but still supply 12 volt for lights, from your converter. This position is called "store", meant to preserve/save battery voltage (periods of non use) and from overcharging your batteries while on shore power. I don't use this, I full time and check the batteries to top off with water, to keep everything running in case of shore power loss from the grid.
Try "use" this will allow the converter to charge the batteries while on shore power. They will drain running the 12 volt system off shore power, allow the fridge, water heater, furnace, to run with propane, along with lights.

From your info there is 120 into the rig if your outlets provide power, & blue light on shore cord, just not to batteries.
Low voltage is the alarm on the fridge, get that back to 12 volts and it will run, it must be hooked to the batteries only, not thru the converter. I'm confused about this, it should power the fridge on store also.

[TG Twinkie]

Is there a wire connected to the terminal where the 30 amp fuse is missing? If so it may be the charge line fuse from the converter. If no wire nothing to worry about.

[paiceman]

I hope and believe CDONA is correct on the battery switch is set to off. It should be set to USE. If it is my guess like others is a converter gone bad.

Good Luck

[NorCal Matt]

Originally Posted by From Jonsai

NorCal Matt,
Thanks.
How do I connect a charger?
Is it like when jumping a car, direct to battery posts? We have 2 batteries in the battery box. Do you do one battery or do the positive of one battery and the negative of the second?

If they are 12 volt batteries, then just charge one. The other one should get charged as well. If they are 6volt batteries, put the red lead from the charger where the red lead from your trailer is and the black lead from the charger where the black lead from your trailer is.

[From Jonsai]

All, was at wits end. Got a lot of help. Thanks to all. This is a great community.
Problem not solved, but got a number of next steps.
Will try to keep advised.
John

[mimiandrews]

How old are your batteries? They all eventually go bad with age, but may go much sooner if abused or sometimes for no apparent reason. Three years of service isn't bad for a battery. If you get five years, you're lucky.

If possible, have someone check the batteries--fluid levels and specific gravity if they're the flooded type. Load test for any type battery--that takes shop equipment, but a battery store or any auto shop should be able to do it.

Get a small, inexpensive digital multimeter (any big box store) and persuade the salesman to teach you how to set it to read volts DC. There will be a rotary switch on the front of the instrument. The black lead goes on the negative terminal and the red one on the positive.

Check voltage across the battery terminals. If the converter (or any other charger) is connected and working you should see just under 14 volts.

I agree with the posts above, it is possible your converter isn't working or has been bypassed by a USE/STORE switch. It's also possible that your batteries have reached the end of their useful lives.

Once this crisis is behind you, I would encourage you to venture out of your accountant comfort zone a bit and start learning basic mechanical stuff. Trust me, none of this is rocket science. You don't have to be good at it, just good enough to get yourself out of trouble occasionally. Community colleges sometimes offer basic auto repair courses. U-Tube is a good resource. Knowledge is power!

[From Jonsai]

Okay, we are in a good place. Everything is working.

Again, want to thank all for the help they gave -- wouldn't be where we are without you. And, special thanks to private messages also.

As for update, here is the lessons learned:
1.) Great community. Got a lot of good advice. Ultimately, that saved the day. And, owe all gratitude.
2.) I had some difficulty because of specifics and knowledge though. For example, some one said Paralax box. I didn't know what that was or where it was located. Others did, however, step in to clarify. Again big help. Another key example was the instruction to test fuses with a digital multimeter. I did not have one, and because of circumstances, could not readily get one. I held off testing the fuses. I later learned that you could pull the fuses and look if they were burned out. As it turns out, the two 30 amp fuses were both melted. Replaced those, and we were back -- well, almost.
(PS: I do admit that, with early confusion, I did throw the "accountant card" early. I was poked a bit to put on my big boy pants, be brave, and be willing to learn. Will do, and am willing, but still need KISS. Fortunately, the way this community works, others gave the additional needed clarity.)
3.)There are gremlins. So, replaced the 30 amp fuses, got power, and went to Garnet SeeLevel II Tank Monitor (which is never accurate for grey and black, and all the service people we have questioned giggle about that) to check battery level. It read 13.5 on shore power. Checking it again 5 minutes later, the monitor did not work at all.
After the challenges, and the fear that batteries may be diminished, needed those battery readings -- and nothing.
Went back to fuses, pulled, and those were good.
Augh!
Based on transferable experiences with gremlins, decided on a reboot. Disconnected from shore, put Battery Disconnect on "store," and waited 5 minutes. Ran surge protector test. Switched disconnect to "use." Checked panel. All lit. Battery reading 12.1, a big improvement from 9.2. All other readings showing for tanks (though again, giggle, cause we all know they are wrong). Reconnect to shore power, and power reads 13.5. COOL! (This process may not seem logical, but the thing about gremlins is that that they are not logical.)
Told my wife. She gave me back "my Hero" label (to have for how long, who knows).
4.) Coach-net not reliable. With our first fail (January 2nd) we learned from Coach-net that roadside assistance is a myth. They only send help to you if you cannot drag yourself into an authorized shop. On our second fail (January 10), we learned you may have to wait two days and drive 60 miles to get to approved provider. Today, in Cheyenne, WY, we were told 300 miles and a two week wait.
That is not a good product.
I believe in insurance as a hedge, but it is right to remember those companies do not want to pay claims. Better have another plan.
And, that is another reason to thank this AS community! We are back on the road without that added aggravation.
John