No power to rv when plugged in to 50 amp.

kerschra

Member
I recently purchased a 2006 Heartland Bighorn 3500 RL. Everything works fine while the battery is charged. With the RV plugged in to 50 amp service, the battery drains then I have no power to run the ac or anything else but the ceiling fan. I did not receive an owners manual with the rv. Is there a switch somewhere I am missing? With the rv plugged in to the 50 amp service, shouldn't I have power all the time? Any help would be appreciated.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Hello Kerschra and welcome to this great forum. Tons of great information here as well as owners willing to share their knowledge.
When you say everything works fine when the battery is charged, are you referring to the 120 volt or just the 12 volt?
Keep in mind that when plugged in you should be able to run the microwave and ceiling fan as well as use any 120 volt receptacle.
There can be few things that require 12 volts to operate even though it runs on 120 volts. AC is one of them.

So it kinda sounds like you have a 12 volt problem. Here are a few things to look at.
Make sure your converter is plugged in. It's located behind the wall in the basement.
Be sure that the breaker for the converter is not tripped. Do not rely on a visual. Turn it off then back on.
Be sure to check the acid level in the battery. Be sure all battery cables are secure and not corroded.
Have the battery tested if your don't know the age of it.
Look at the bank of 12 volt breakers which should be located near the battery. They normally have red rubber covers. Feel along the edge for one of them to have a very tiny reset switch.

After you have looked at all of that come back here and let us know what you found.

Peace
Dav
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
kerschra,

Welcome to the forum! In addition to advice Dave has given you, consider downloading and studying the owner-written 12V Block Diagram & Diagnostics - link.

If instead, you in fact have no AC power in the coach while plugged into shore power, check the double-pole 50 amp main breaker on the left side of your AC breaker panel inside the RV.
 

kerschra

Member
I pulled the wall down and tested the converter. I had no power going out of the converter. I took the converter down to the local RV repair shops and also had them test the unit which was not working. I am currently waiting on a replacement converter from Amazon. The local shops wanted around $400. I took the conveyer home and opened it up to see if I could repair the unit myself. As I had a few years back with a pop up camper that I started with. After looking around I found damage to the circuit board. It looked as if someone had jammed a screwdriver in it ( I found a screwdriver sitting behind the converter right by the ground wire port.) After the replacement comes in I am sure the problem will be solved.
 

Crossbow

Member
Just a word to anyone wanting to repair their converter, the number one failure of the converter is the power regulators. The rectifier circuit itself is normally not an issue. To test the converter is very simple really: The AC circuit will go to a rectifier circuit that should consist of a single square diode set with a screw set in the middle of it that holds it down to a heat sink with two tabs for the AC and 2 tabs sticking out of the potting for the DC. This is the equivalent of 4 individual rectifiers (which some coaches might have in their converter). This rectifiers all four phases of a sign wave. From there it will go to the power regulators which will have some large capacitor(s) bridging their outputs. These are typically 3 prong chips with a tab that screws down to a heat sink. If you have power out of the rectifier circuit but not out of the converter, it will be the power regulators. If there is no power out of the rectifiers then they are the problem. Even though there are a few other things in the converter there is not much and it is the load that typically kills the converter. You can read the number off the power regulator and take it to an electronics supply shop and they should have it or can order it. $6 is allot cheaper than $250+ for a new converter.
 

Willcn

Member
I just had a similar problem on my 2016 Heartland NorthTrail 28DBS. I was plugged in to the 50 amp power, but only my air conditioning, microwave, and fridge were working. All of the lights, tv, plugs, etc. were running from battery power, which quickly ran out. I did not know about a reset button on the converter, so perhaps my problem will be easily fixed?

Noel Williams
 
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