No running lights -short in new AS unit?

[Jfed]

OK, so I am at the dealer this morning to pick up my 2014 Eddie Bauer 25FB...we have done the walk through and we are hitching it up. The tech plugs in the 7 pin and.....NO RUNNING LIGHTS. so he thought he may have shorted it out putting on the reese dual cam hitch...but then they ruled that out...so I come home with no AS in tow....just called for an update and the service manager said they found the "short" on the inside of the drivers side panel. How concerned should I be about A "SHORT" in my brand new unit! I am flabbergasted that this would happen to a brand new unit, but I understand things happen......any suggestions????? Should I call AS to voice my concern???

[idroba]

Stuff happens. Nothing is perfect. My 2014 had a serious leak in it, hope it is fixed now. Don't stress, go camping, and enjoy.

[CDONA]

Skinning the insulation from a wire running thru metal panels is not a rare occurrence.
My time building SOB's in the '70's, clearance lights were the most troublesome. The outside skin was installed last on these rigs, staples & screws were the main culprits, then skinned wire insulation ran third.
Don't get me started on chafed wires on motorcycles where vibration and poor routing will leak smoke from the system.

[Al - K4GLU]

If that's the only problem you have consider yourself extremely lucky. Wait until the filiform corrosion starts.

[Jfed]

Yep, it was a "skinned" wire. Our local AS tech took care of it. Eddie Bauer 25FB is now at home with us, soon to be ready for our first adventure! Thanks

[ROBERT CROSS]

Seems like that is something that wouldn't have been hard to find on the PreDeliveryInspection.

I ended up doing my own PDI.

Bob

[Jfed]

OK, so now the unit is home, we parked it in the carport. Hooked it back up to pull it out earlier today and the running lights did not work again. OK, I am not so freaked out over that....but we had it plugged into shore power, inside AC, TV on for about 30-45 minutes, then all of a sudden AC & TV shuts off. Inside lights still work. No breakers inside or shore tripped, no fuses blown. Now I am starting to freak out. Troubleshot everything we were capable of. Dealer not open until tuesday. Unless anyone has any suggestions....I guess we will just have to hope for the best???? I am not very happy right now.

[CDONA]

Try shore power at your other inlet than what you are using, front genny, or street side utility. This alternate rebooting sometimes resets the automatic power transfer switch, restores 120 v power

[Jfed]

Thanks for the reply "Wayward". That worked. We ran the AC, TV for a couple hours after regaining power without any issues. We have alot to learn and I guess everything kind of scares me right now. Still have to figure out the running lights thing....I think it just blew a fuse on the van again, but I have to find out why it keeps doing that. Otherwise it's trail and error! Thanks again!

[Skater]

Were you plugged into a GFCI outlet? Campers sometimes cause them to trip for various reasons.

[daveswenson]

Remember, anytime you have an electrical glitch your first question should be. "Is this an AC or a DC problem?" Things plugged into outlets and the Air Conditioning are AC. Lights, radio, furnace, are DC. Once you figure that out it becomes easier to trouble shoot. AC is protected by circuit breakers, DC by fuses.
For your issue I would trouble shoot like this.

OK, the TV and Air Cond quit. Hmm AC problem.
Lights still work. DC is still good.
So go to the Power Distribution panel.
Since tv and Air are on different circuits (different CB's) the problem is probably upstream. I would cycle the main 30 amp breaker off and back to on. (Realistically I would cycle them all, just in case)
Did that fix it?
If not, check the incoming power, by making sure my electrical connections into the trailer are secure. Check the breaker on the circuit powering shore power. Again I would cycle it to off and back to on.
Skater's gfci question is a possibility.

Fix the problem?
If not, do you have a separate socket on the outside for a generator. If so try hooking up to that.
Do you get power now? If so you have either an internal wiring or a power transfer switch problem.
If not.
I'd start looking for bad wiring, bad breakers, might be time for an expert.

The biggest thing is just to take your time, analyze what's going on and methodically eliminate the possibilities. Learn as much as you can about the systems in the rig. Knowledge is power, especially when things go wrong on that dark and stormy night.

Good Luck

[Jfed]

Everything is working now, except my running lights.I forgot I had a subpanel box and it tripped the breaker in there.
Seems like it keeps blowing the fuse in my van for my running lights. Under warranty, so taking it back to dealer on monday. Thanks for the good troubleshoot tips. they will be handy in the future!

[switz]

Sounds like another bare wire issue that should have been detected and repaired at the factory as it came off the line when they supposedly double check everything works properly.....

Then there is the pre-delivery check the dealership is supposed to do as part of their franchise and is not covered by more $$$ unless a warranty issue is discovered. After delivery, all is warranty and the big $$ get charged.

Unfortunately, many dealership inspections are done at the office desk rather than in or on the trailer. No one actually does the required inspections and they await issues at warranty rates. Long term issues that could have been fixed during the pre-inspection but show up after the warranty expires become the customers expense.

If you could, I would suggest staying there and watching to see if they actually check all the circuits as well as the problem one.

The logical approach would be to disconnect the pigtail where it enters the trailer electrical panel. Then check if any of the pigtail power/signal carrying wires go to ground with an ohm meter. Then the pigtail might have to be replaced.

If any internal circuits are shorted, one would use the same concept of lifting wires from both the destination device and the panel and see if they are shorted. Replacement becomes more of a challenge for internal wiring.