2005 Keystone Montana Inverter?

[Dimomma]

My lights are dim and my refrigerator is off. My sister says it's my inverter. I don't have a clue. Not all of my lights are dim. Mainly the overheads and a few push buttons.
The people that had this before seemed to have re-wired this thing in weird ways. i.e. The fireplace will only work with both the heat and lighting switches on.
Please help! There are no RV techs within 65 miles and they charge a fortune.
Thanks!

[Foldbak]

Welcome to the forums. I think your sister was referring to the converter not the inverter. The converter, converts 110 volt shore/house power to 12 volt DC. It also charges your batteries. If the frig and the lights are 12 volt DC I would suspect that the batteries are bad. All the 12 volt items are connected to the batteries and rely on well charged batteries to operate. If the converter fails the batteries won't get charged and none of the 12 volt devices work. The batteries can fail and cause the same problem even with a good converter. I hope that makes sense. Start by load testing the batteries.

[BB_TX]

I agree with Tony. Tackle the most likely thing first. Take your battery to an auto parts store for a load test. Or even a Walmart. If it is a bad battery then the fix is simple. Just remember to reconnect the battery wires to the correct polarity or your will blow your reverse polarity fuses.

[Dimomma]

Thanks for your response! I just put a new battery in, in October. I didn't replace the other one. So am I understanding that I have items running on 12 volt even though I'm on shore power? I'm dumb when it comes to these issues. I don't know how to load test. The converter allows the batteries to be charged? I only replaced the one battery because it was very corroded and I was afraid of it. Again, my thanks!

[Dimomma]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

I agree with Tony. Tackle the most likely thing first. Take your battery to an auto parts store for a load test. Or even a Walmart. If it is a bad battery then the fix is simple. Just remember to reconnect the battery wires to the correct polarity or your will blow your reverse polarity fuses.

Thank you! Now I'm concerned about knowing the right polarity. Where would those fuses be? I hooked the new battery up the same way the old one was hooked up. I think I'll take the other battery to be checked. Thanks for the tip on taking it to an auto parts store!

[jimcol]

As far as your fireplace goes the manufacturer set it up so you can turn on the light and fake flame by itself. You can't turn the heat function on without the light and flames being on. Their reasoning was the light and flames would remind you not to go off with the heat on. I'm almost sure there was a UL or government mandate dictating this.

[BB_TX]

Typically most all overhead lights and wall light fixtures are 12 vdc. Bathroom vanity lights likely 120 vac. There are exceptions though.

Do you have two 12 volt batteries wired in parallel? Or two 6 volt batteries wired in series? It is possible the old battery is pulling the new battery down. If they are 12 volt batteries and depending on how those batteries are wired you may be able to disconnect the old battery, leaving the new battery connected, and see if that solves your problem. A picture of your batteries and associated wiring would help with our comments.

[twindman]

First, I am pretty sure the 2005 model only had one battery. If you have 2, are they 2 6V in series or 2 12V? In either case you should not replace only 1 battery or the other will pull them both down.

I assume you haven't changed anything, so the battery (almost) disconnect switch is in the proper position (can not remove it). I can't remember (I had a 2006) whether these older ones had this switch. I also think if the batteries are bad, the convertor would still run the 12 V lights fine.

So explain a little more about 2 bats and the switch. Good luck


EDIT: If the converter is bad, the batteries would run down and the converter probably wouldn't have enough juice to run things like lights, etc.

[Dimomma]

Originally Posted by jimcol

As far as your fireplace goes the manufacturer set it up so you can turn on the light and fake flame by itself. You can't turn the heat function on without the light and flames being on. Their reasoning was the light and flames would remind you not to go off with the heat on. I'm almost sure there was a UL or government mandate dictating this.

Wow that's weird. Thank you!

[Dimomma]

Thanks BB and twindman! I have two batteries. As far as series or parallel, I'll have to post a picture as I don't know. This 65 w/o woman needs to get busy and figure it out. I'll post shortly.

[Dimomma]

How in the green-eyed thunder do I attach photos? Frustration is setting in. I don't have a URL.

[Dimomma]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xmKfiKjA5RG2iGLt7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/r7aHYEQhJpmXhdfs7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tus1kTje83eiCnUn7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gw6nmzqm95HD8CUK6

Let's see if this works! What a PITA!


Mod Update: Those links are not compatible with the forum software. One can copy each one and open the link in a browser window to see them but the forum software can't. It is best to upload the pictures to the MOC as described above. PM Carl n Susan if you have trouble doing that.

[BB_TX]

Look under the reply box and click on Go Advanced and click on that and it will open a larger reply box. Scroll down and see Attach Files and click on Manage Files. Then you can select a picture on your phone or computer to open and download.

[Carl n Susan]

Originally Posted by Dimomma

How in the green-eyed thunder do I attach photos? Frustration is setting in. I don't have a URL.

Posting pictures on the MOC isn't too difficult once you know the process. Lots of members do just that. Be sure to take the photo in Landscape mode.

Go to https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=70323 and read posts #8 and #25.

If you upload the pictures to the MOC, subsequent viewers can blow them up to a larger, more viewable size. And you will avoid the problem where the picture hosting site decides to no longer allow web forum access (Tinypic, Photo Bucket, etc.)

[Joint Venture II]

Originally Posted by Dimomma

My lights are dim and my refrigerator is off. My sister says it's my inverter. I don't have a clue. Not all of my lights are dim. Mainly the overheads and a few push buttons.
The people that had this before seemed to have re-wired this thing in weird ways. i.e. The fireplace will only work with both the heat and lighting switches on.
Please help! There are no RV techs within 65 miles and they charge a fortune.
Thanks!

Looking at the pics it appears you have the single battery box with the top off and a new battery sitting off to the side connected up in parallel to the old battery correctly based on cable colors. It appears the new battery is not the same size as the older looking battery. Generally speaking when connecting in parallel you should use the same type, group size, brand, age and amp hour capacity or otherwise your charger may not operate correctly.

[twindman]

First you have to get the photo into your computer. Then at the bottom of a thread where there is the section to add a new post, click on advanced. Then click the down arrow at the right on the blue line for additional options. Under that click manage attachments. Good luck


OOPS never hit post until just now and saw many others have answered this part.

[twindman]

After looking at the pics couldn't tell if they are series or parallel. As Joint says above, you need to of the same type and always replace both at the same time, since as I said before the bad one will drag down the other.


Also, get a digital volt meter. They come in handy in many different cases when you own a rig. You can place the leads from it on the positive and negative battery terminals and see what they read. I think 12.6 is minimal. Also, on my rig, I can hear the converter fan running when I have 12V things on. Each light I turn on makes it run faster. But this may only be on my newer rig.

[Dimomma]

Thanks all for the help on uploading pics. I still can't get it to work but it may be because I'm using my Kindle. I think I'll use my laptop next time.

Joint Venture II, Thank you for that info. I bought this RV with two different types of batteries and replaced the smaller one in October. I just put in another battery and isn't the same size either but my fridge and lights are working again. How do you hook up in series? I'm taking it that parallel has the jumpers but series does not? If that's correct then I need additional cables and hook them up individually. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks!

[Dimomma]

Thank you twindman!

Thanks to all of you! ��

[BB_TX]

Your two 12 volt batteries appear to be connected correctly in parallel. Can’t read the + and - markings at the terminals. Should be + to + and - to -.

If you are always connected to shore power (meaning you never boondock or stay where you do not have access to shore power or generator) then you don’t really need two batteries. In 14 years I never needed more than my one battery.

I would take both batteries to have them load tested. If one test good and one doesn’t I would just reinstall the good one in the battery box and discard the second one and the jumper wiring. You may have to find a strong feller willing to lend a hand as those things are heavy.

Some possibilities I can think of that may be your problem. One battery is bad pulling down the other battery. Bad auto reset circuit breaker from the batteries to your fuse panel. Your battery disconnect switch turned to the disconnect position.