First Time Poster Needs Electrical Help

[cobear]

Hello,

I am a long time lurker on the forum and first off I want to say thank you to all of the members for all of their advice and for sharing their wealth of knowledge on this site. I have been lurking for a long time and typically am able to find answers to any questions I have just using the search function. Unfortunately I couldn't find an answer to my current predicament.

I have a 2011 Montana 3665RE and recently I have lost all power when I am not plugged into shore power. If operating on battery power I cannot open slides, turn on lights, run the refrigerator on propane, etc. Once I plug into shore power everything is fine. Do you have any suggestions on how I might trouble shoot this before I break down and pay a repair service?

Thank you all for your help and any advice you might have.

Derek

[jimcol]

Sounds like your battery is bad. Take it out and have it tested. Your converted is obviously working OK or you wouldn't have 12 volt when plugged to shore power.

[BB_TX]

Also check to see if you inadvertently turned your 12 volt disconnect switch.

[cobear]

Thanks for the response. I should have pointed out I put a brand new battery in and verified that the disconnect switch was turned. That's why I'm at a loss.

[BB_TX]

On my 2007 there are two 12 v auto reset circuit breakers near the battery. One supplies power to the hydraulic pump. The other supplies power to everything else. If one trips, it is supposed to automatically reset itself after it cools, typically a few seconds. If one failed to reset, there would be no power beyond that breaker. You could possibly even have a manual reset breaker requiring you to push a reset button. You could use a voltmeter to verify you have 12 volts on both sides of the breakers.

Yours may or may not be similar to mine.

[Preston & Terri]

Have you checked voltage? Just because it's new doesn't mean it has a full charge. Also, try to take a voltage reading while someone is trying to operate slide or some other load. If you have a large voltage drop then there is likely a battery issue, either bad or not charged.

[DQDick]

Also, the wording on the battery disconnect switch is very confusing. If you can take the key out then it is disconnected and the battery can't charge. At least that's how it works on mine.

[Carl n Susan]

Originally Posted by cobear

Thanks for the response. I should have pointed out I put a brand new battery in and verified that the disconnect switch was turned. That's why I'm at a loss.

Did you possibly hook the battery backwards and blow the protection fuses in the converter?

Check the voltage of the battery with shore power on and off. If it is the same voltage in both cases, I bet the protection fuses are smoked.

[cobear]

Thanks guys. I'll check all this tomorrow and let you know. I did verify the battery was fully charged and that the battery disconnect switch was in the appropriate position. I checked all of the fuses in the converter and they're fine. Are there any other fuses I should check?

[jcurtis934]

Reverse battery fuses are larger and off to one side of the converter. No other fuses to check. Could this be a crappy crimp on the positive battery cable or ground?

[cobear]

BB_TX is the winner. It was the 50 amp auto reset breaker next to the battery. Thank you all though as all of the suggestions were great as I started the troubleshooting process. Once again the MOC comes through!

[BB_TX]

With all our collective thoughts, we can usually home in on the solution to a problem. MOC is great.