Electrical gremlin - Montana Owners Club

sambam · 08-29-2017, 04:32 PM

While camping this past weekend, I discovered the tv in our bedroom wouldn't come on. I suspected a fuse, but the DC plug had the little red light on. So, there is power to the plug. I measured with my meter and was getting over 12 volts. So, I figured maybe the television. It was late, so I decided to look into it further in the morning. The next morning I went to turn on my closet light, and it also wouldn't work. Out comes the meter again and, sure enough, there was power to the switch on the light. So, I jumped a lead over to another dc source and the light works fine. I looked in the W/D closet, where the antenna cable comes in and that dc outlet also has voltage but nothing I plug into it works, either. So, getting voltage to all places but nothing works. All other dc components work. Is it an amperage problem, or resistor somewhere? I'm no electrician, but I've never seen this before. By the way, I plugged the television into an ac outlet with a converter and it works fine. Any ideas?

K0LCB · 08-29-2017, 06:19 PM

You can have potential and no current flow, usuallyna result of poor ground

sambam · 08-30-2017, 09:44 AM

Thanks KOLCB, will see where this leads. I checked with my meter this morning and no power to any of the 3 dc outlets. This could be a good thing as now it may be easier to locate the break.

BB_TX · 08-30-2017, 03:36 PM

Check all your wire connections for tightness at the 12v fuse panel. A bad/loose connection can show full voltage with no load but not be able to pass enough current when a load is connected.

uhftx · 08-30-2017, 04:34 PM

You could have a blown fuse in the converter panel. Boy these units have come a long way. My last TT at least had a 12V stereo. Everything in mine works on 120V except the Hot Water, Fridge, some lights and exhaust fans.

You seem familiar with DC circuits. If you have jumper-ed a light and it works and you have the capability. You can ohm out the ground using your multimeter. Also jumper in a 12V test light where ever. There a lot of common causes but it sounds like you are on the right track.
I had a nightmare of critters and I can not begin to tell you the problems or solutions I had to over come.
I do have a wire tracer that can work on 120V live circuits or anything else up to 6ft underground.

I'm willing to lend it to U for postage and no handling charge if you need it. But not like one of those tools that never get returned. I do need it for my occupation some times.

Denny and Angie Miller · 08-31-2017, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K0LCB

You can have potential and no current flow, usuallyna result of poor ground

I agree...sounds like a bad ground. Try giving your fixture a temporary ground and see if it works correctly. If it does, chase down your ground connection.

sambam · 08-31-2017, 11:35 AM

Thanks, everyone for the insight. I tracked it down this morning. It turned out to be a fuse, simply enough, after all. When I checked the fuse box on Sunday, there were no indicator lights illuminated, but I checked the bedroom fuse, anyway, and it was fine. Since I now was getting 0 voltage, I took another look today and had an indicator light on. It was marked living room, but hey. I replaced it, hooked everything up, and we're back in business.
Uhftx, thanks for offering the use of your specialized tool. I'm grateful I didn't need to take you up on it.
So, another lesson learned. Just cuz you have 12 volts, doesn't necessarily mean you have enough power for a fixture. Now that everything is working again, I am getting over 13 volts, with the camper plugged in.

Charli · 08-31-2017, 02:10 PM

We have gremlins in 2 of our bedroom lights. The ones in the roof of the slide just in front of the headboard. Sometimes they work fine, sometimes there is a slight flicker and other times one or both won't work at all. Have checked the connections at the light fixture and they are all tight. Next time they go out I will check for power. I did check the fuses and they are fine.
We had a similar problem with the ceiling light in the hallway, justoutside the bathroom.

BB_TX · 09-01-2017, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charli

We have gremlins in 2 of our bedroom lights. The ones in the roof of the slide just in front of the headboard. Sometimes they work fine, sometimes there is a slight flicker and other times one or both won't work at all. ...........

May be the switches. They are pretty cheap devices. I replaced the switches on both my bedroom slide bedside lights for the same symptoms. Could not find a replacement switch that would fit any where in a store. So I looked on the actual switch for any identifiable numbers or names and found the exact replacements on-line.

Good Life · 09-01-2017, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charli

We have gremlins in 2 of our bedroom lights. The ones in the roof of the slide just in front of the headboard. Sometimes they work fine, sometimes there is a slight flicker and other times one or both won't work at all. Have checked the connections at the light fixture and they are all tight. Next time they go out I will check for power. I did check the fuses and they are fine.
We had a similar problem with the ceiling light in the hallway, justoutside the bathroom.

Check the connections under your bed, remove the sub floor and re-crimp the two connections!!

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