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Old 06-22-2018, 10:55 AM   #1
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Electric-what have I done?

We returned home from the last trip 2 weeks ago and are set to head out tomorrow....maybe. When we got home last time, all was well. I switched off the propane and plugged into shore power. I switched the refrigerator over to the shore, pulled the sheets and towels for the laundry and went on my merry way.

I just went in to restock the refrigerator and make the bed. There is a problem. The only power I can spot is on the tv, the air conditioner and microwave? No lights, no fantastic fan, no refrigerator.

I plugged in the little battery checker in the casita dc power and it doesn’t register so whatever charges the battery wasn’t working either.

Any prior experience out there? I sent my hubby down for a bunch of fuses...but is there something else obvious to you guys. If not, just send sympathy [emoji22] I want to head out to Mt. St. Helens!
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Old 06-22-2018, 11:10 AM   #2
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First, your shore power cord is working, since you have power to the other AC loads.

Is the circuit breaker inside your trailer for the converter on, and also not tripped?

Is the fridge getting AC power? Is the fridge getting 12 VDC power as well? (Which is necessary for the control board to work. Even if your fridge is set to run on 120 VAC or Propane, you still must have 12 VDC to the fridge's control board.)

From your description, it sounds like you don't have any 12 VDC power, since the items you mentioned as not working are all 12 VDC. Either your converter is kaput or it isn't turned on.

Also, have you checked on the trailer's battery?
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Old 06-22-2018, 11:31 AM   #3
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There is also a 30 amp breaker between the battery and the converter so if that’s tripped then you will have no 12VDC . If only one thing wasn’t working I would suspect a fuse but with that many different circuits not working I doubt it the fuses
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Old 06-22-2018, 12:03 PM   #4
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Thank you Greg and Steve. Tried your fixes. It must be the battery - the dang thing is only 6 months old and lives on a battery minder when not hooked up. 😟 ah well, I messed up somehow. Off to get a replacement. Thanks again 😊
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Old 06-22-2018, 12:17 PM   #5
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Thank you Greg and Steve. Tried your fixes. It must be the battery - the dang thing is only 6 months old and lives on a battery minder when not hooked up. 😟 ah well, I messed up somehow. Off to get a replacement. Thanks again 😊



What ever you did the odds are pretty great that you'll do it again since you haven't figured out what you did.
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Old 06-22-2018, 01:09 PM   #6
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What ever you did the odds are pretty great that you'll do it again since you haven't figured out what you did.
I know. That is the most frustrating thing. This is the second time I’ve had a similar problem. Last time I just replaced the battery and went my merry way. I thought I had it covered this time with care to be charging on a regular basis. The battery is in the auto shop on a trickle charger (which was where it was at home). We’ll see if they can get it to charge. Maybe it’s my trickle charger.
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Old 06-22-2018, 01:18 PM   #7
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I keep a battery monitor plugged into the cigar lighter, that way I can tell at a glance if the power converter and/or solar are charging the battery. or if I'm off grid, just how discharged I am.

I use this one, was about $15 on amazon...
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Old 06-22-2018, 01:29 PM   #8
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I keep a battery monitor plugged into the cigar lighter, that way I can tell at a glance if the power converter and/or solar are charging the battery. or if I'm off grid, just how discharged I am.

I use this one, was about $15 on amazon...
I’ve got that! I haven’t left it plugged in because I was afraid of discharging the battery. Guess that didn’t work out for me. I’ll certainly leave it in for now on.
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Old 06-22-2018, 01:42 PM   #9
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those battery monitors draw milliamps, it would take years to discharge even a single 12V battery.
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Old 06-22-2018, 02:52 PM   #10
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I haven't measured them, I have one. It's probably less than my full time never off propane detector which I believe is a bout 34 mAmp, I could be wrong since it's been about 10 years since I measured it.
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Old 06-22-2018, 02:55 PM   #11
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Any decent auto parts store should be able to test your battery. I first had my seven year old truck battery tested, it was bad. I next had my five year old camper battery tested, still good!
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Old 06-22-2018, 03:00 PM   #12
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I haven't measured them, I have one. It's probably less than my full time never off propane detector which I believe is a bout 34 mAmp, I could be wrong since it's been about 10 years since I measured it.


Propane detector? To see if it is leaking in the cabin or to check if it is empty?
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Old 06-22-2018, 03:28 PM   #13
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Propane detector? To see if it is leaking in the cabin or to check if it is empty?
Full time inside the cabin propane detector. I like waking up in the morning. However in 12 years of use I've never had it go off. I guess my propane system is pretty good.






By the way a battery should last minimum 4 years. That's provided you don't discharge it all the down or over charge which boils out the electrolyte.
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Old 06-22-2018, 03:40 PM   #14
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Full time inside the cabin propane detector. I like waking up in the morning. However in 12 years of use I've never had it go off. I guess my propane system is pretty good.
I hope those older propane alarms last longer than the more recent ones (which should be replaced in usually 5-7 years).

The manufacturer of my propane alarm says to replace it in five years....
https://www.stadealer.com/uploads/1/...14-for-web.pdf
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Old 06-22-2018, 04:12 PM   #15
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My propane alarm is labeled that it should be replaced at 60 Months
At 60 months and 2 days the detector started beeping and the red and green LEDs started blinking indicating the detector needed to be replaced due to age , exactly as stated in the alarms owners manual
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Old 06-22-2018, 04:57 PM   #16
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However in 12 years of use I've never had it go off.

Probably never will go off now. As noted, it's only good for 5 years. There is a material for the function of the detector that degrades over time.
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Old 06-22-2018, 06:07 PM   #17
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Thanks guys, I'll check on it soon, that's as soon as I can find the manual.
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Old 06-22-2018, 06:18 PM   #18
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Thanks guys, I'll check on it soon, that's as soon as I can find the manual.
Oh thats funny (to me) because before I posted, I had to make sure about what I thought was true, so I had to find MY propane alarm manual to verify it. And that was not easy for some reason. But in the course of my research, I saw that different propane alarms have wildly different current usage. It is never a lot but it can be enough to make a good dent in a battery charge in a few weeks. It looks like mine is on the high end at 75 mA. Another one was only 10 mA.

I think at 12 years you should not look for the manual, but instead just go ahead and look for a replacement. And perhaps look at power use if you leave it on 24/7/365. I pull the fuse on mine for long term storage but when I replace it I will pay more attention to the power it takes so that battery discharge is less of a concern.
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Old 06-22-2018, 07:53 PM   #19
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All of my appliance manuals are in plastic pocket pages in a binder that I keep in the trailer.
But, I also inquired when I bought a replacement propane detector. The distributor confirmed for the RV shop the the clock starts ticking when the new unit is installed, so the date sticker on the back isn't really relevant. When the unit is connected to power, the material is uses to function, begins to deteriorate. That's what matters, so you should note that date on the instruction booklet and then put that in your binder.
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Old 06-22-2018, 08:16 PM   #20
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the one in my escape started being hypersensitive at 4 years, so I replaced it. $53 for https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AMBHG4/
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