Power flickers on/off ???

[Landyacht21]

We have a 1994 Land Yacht 36 and power flickers on/off intermittently when we're plugged in.

We've already troubleshot and found it is NOT the power pole or breaker box from the site; it has to be coming from inside somewhere.

Sometimes it's a quick "click" off/on, sometimes we lose power for a minute, then comes back on.

Most often it does NOT affect outlets, just AC, fridge, lights... seems more frequent at night.

I'm a new Airstream owner, and new RV owner at that.

Any suggestions or advice to fix this issue???

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Best guess: Your transfer switch has a problem. You also *might* have a hard wired "EMS" in the trailer.

It's unlikely that the issue only impacts the appliances and not the outlets. Best guess is that the outage is short enough that you only notice it on the appliances. If it *does* only impact the appliances, then the issue likely is at or past the breaker box.

One wrinkle in this: If you have a 50A hookup. That means you run two 120V "legs" into the RV. If only one of them has an error (and you have no EMS), half of the "stuff" will go out.

Lots of variables and lots of rabbit holes to wander down. Working out what's what will be fun. Welcome to a "new to you" RV.

Bob

[Landyacht21]

Not a trailer- motorhome and it's a 30amp service. Could it be the inverter?

[CBWELL]

I suspect that your problem is on the 12 volt side of your electrics. Your fridge, A/C, and lights are all either complete 12 volts (lights) or the control board is powered by 12 volts (fridge, A/C). If you have the original power converter in your unit , it's time for a new one. Also the condition of your batteries should be checked. If the converter is the original, it is only a single stage and often wrecks havoc with your batteries. I have replaced many older converters with the Progressive Dynamics PD9245 unit , and have had great luck with them.

[richard5933]

I'd agree that it would likely be a 12vdc issue since the devices mentioned as having problems are 12vdc and not 120vac. My starting point would be the converter/charger and batteries - check EVERY connection to make sure it is clean, tight, and corrosion-free. Give each a tug as well - they can look great on the outside but have rotted copper conductors inside. Repair or replace as needed.

Then, while you're at it, do the same on the 120vac side (after disconnecting from all power sources, obviously.)

The connections behind your shore power inlet, at the transfer switch (if you have one), and in your breaker panel should all be checked periodically for proper torque.

The first time I did this on our 1974 vintage rig I initially thought the screw terminals on the main power feed were tight - they gave plenty of resistance to being turned. But there were still problems and the conductor just didn't seem tight enough. What happened was the screw had 'set' in place due to surface corrosion and it took a bit of effort to break it loose. This 'set' had given a false torque reading. After that I made it a habit of first slightly loosening the connection, and then retightening to the proper setting. If you don't know the torque settings to use and/or don't have a suitable torque wrench, use the best calibrated elbow you can find to make sure things are tight enough but not so tight was to snap off something.