First post. Joined to get some insight to my problem. Forgive me if I'm going over covered ground. I purchased a 2000 Summerwind slide in camper last fall. I'm having an issue with my dc power. Everything functions on shore power but no main lights on battery power. that sounds simple but it gets more confusing. All the fuses are fine. checked with a tester. I still have 12 volt power to kitchen ( hood- light and fan). Furnace fan runs, but not full strength and it wont ignite. I installed a digital voltage display. reads 12.6 volts. confirmed with a multimeter. Hooked up a charger at 20 amps, charged at 15.4 volts, no change. I know i need at least 10 volts to ignite the furnace so I'm obviously not getting that voltage to the furnace or the lights but I dont know why. It was working when I stored it last fall and again this spring when I checked it. Here is the only thing that might be a clue. I have run power from my truck back to the battery in the camper in order to charge it while im driving. I have some terminals mounted by the battery door and it grounded out against the truck box when I slid it in. Noticed some current when i was tightening the turnbuckles. fixed it. Removed the converter and had a local RV dealership check it. Works perfect. Any leads would be appreciated. Thanks Don
power mystery. need advice.
- Thread starter poolzcool
- Start date
danemayer
Well-known member
Hi poolzcool,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.
Obviously a 2000 Summerwind slide-in camper is not a Heartland RV. So the collective experience of people on this forum may not be of much help to you.
However, if your 12V DC systems ALL work correctly on shore power, but not when shore power is disconnected, that would suggest that power from the battery is not getting to the fuse box. There may be a manual reset 12V DC circuit breaker or fuse somewhere between battery and fuse box that tripped when you grounded out the power terminals earlier. In that case, it's possible the battery may get charged from the truck alternator but the battery power doesn't get through to the camper.
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.
Obviously a 2000 Summerwind slide-in camper is not a Heartland RV. So the collective experience of people on this forum may not be of much help to you.
However, if your 12V DC systems ALL work correctly on shore power, but not when shore power is disconnected, that would suggest that power from the battery is not getting to the fuse box. There may be a manual reset 12V DC circuit breaker or fuse somewhere between battery and fuse box that tripped when you grounded out the power terminals earlier. In that case, it's possible the battery may get charged from the truck alternator but the battery power doesn't get through to the camper.
thanks for the reply. But if you would read my post again you would see I have power from the battery and i have checked fuses and circuit breakers. And with all due respect an rv is an rv. Just looking for help
Lynn1130
Well-known member
Yes, but I think Dan's point was, is the battery power making it to the fuse box. The only way you know for sure is to put a VOM on the back side of the fuse box. Also even though fuses may look good, without a continuity test you don't know for sure. And all that said, if you grounded out. Something blew or burned someplace, more than likely. It is going to be a case of tracking down the entire wire system to find it.
And, an RV is not just an RV. They are built differently by different companies. Rather than coming here you might try to find the web site for your RV brand and/or call your customer service. There are also "general" RV sights that cover various makes and models. This is Heartland. We help where we can but would you go to a Chevy dealer for a problem with a Ford?
And, an RV is not just an RV. They are built differently by different companies. Rather than coming here you might try to find the web site for your RV brand and/or call your customer service. There are also "general" RV sights that cover various makes and models. This is Heartland. We help where we can but would you go to a Chevy dealer for a problem with a Ford?
That's generally a sign that you don't have a good ground connection between the camper battery's negative terminal and the camper metal framework. So current flows through the turnbuckle, then through the truck body to the truck battery's negative ground point, then to the truck battery's negative terminal, then through the wiring you installed to the camper battery's negative terminal.
Your troubleshooting will be simplest if you can test things with the camper removed from the truck body, and not connected in any way to the truck's battery. For any light/equipment that's not wirking, run a temporary wire from the negative side of that light/equipment to the camper battery's negative terminal. If the light/equipment works with that temporary wire in place, you've demonstrated that a poor ground (for that particular light/equipment circuit) is the problem. The fix is whatever is simplest for your situation - a new wire to the camper framework or a new wire to the battery's negative terminal.
Hope this helps. And as others have noted, you might also look for help elsewhere. Heartland makes only trailers (AFAIK), and your symptoms are in part related to the fact that you have a truck camper.
Is it possible that you may have mice in the unit? I had a short in my boat wiring (I know...not an RV) which frustrated me no end until I got things apart and located where the little critters had chewed through wiring insulation. Not much help in fixing the problem, but you do have sympathy from this poster. For whatever that's worth.
