Electrical problems

Bdub1 · 07-08-2019, 06:03 AM

New to forum. We just bought a 2009 Jay Series PUP. We are having power issues. While camping this weekend everything was going great. After a good night sleep, my wife got up to take the dogs out. She turned on a light switch and a warning buzzer came on. The AC was still working, but all of the lights went dim. We shut off all of the breakers, unplugged from the power box, pulled and checked all fuses, and reset everything. This has not happened before and we have used it multiple times. The battery has not been connected since we bought it. When we turned everything back on, the buzzer still wouldn’t go off. Any help would be greatly appreciate.

stateboy · 07-08-2019, 08:55 AM

I had a 2010 1007 PUP. It did the same thing (a/c worked fine, an alarm came on, lights dimmed, no battery hooked up). I had to shut everything off and then hoped it didn't return once I turned things on. I sold the camper after one year to a cousin. He discovered the fan to the converter was not cooling well enough (and it would alarm) so he ran a portable fan near the converter and has not had an alarm since.

Bdub1 · 07-08-2019, 10:01 AM

The fan wasn’t running, but I didn’t know if the fan was designed to only kick on when the temp hit a certain point.

stateboy · 07-08-2019, 10:28 AM

If I recall, mine was temperature activated. My suggestion would be to try to put up portable or box fan in front of your converter to make sure it's getting a healthy dose of fresh air and see if that alleviates your problem. If it does, you'll at least have pinpointed the source of the alarm and can look into replacing the fan. That was going to be in my approach until I sold it and let my cousin worry about it.

Bdub1 · 07-08-2019, 10:42 AM

Thanks

bankr63 · 07-08-2019, 12:17 PM

Where is the alarm coming from? The LP/CO detector or from the power panel? Our LP/CO detector would always go off when 12V DC power went low. I never had an alarm from the actual power panel itself.

The lights are all on the 12V side of the house. So the above sounds correct - not enough 12V power. Your 120VAC is probably fine since the AC is working. The converter is probably not providing (any/enough?) output and your battery is probably flat as well; the battery should be able to provide the power for lights, and the converter should be keeping it topped off.

The fan on our converter was thermostatically controlled and would only kick in if we had been running a few lights for a period of time.

If you have a multimeter, check the voltage at the battery with all 12V loads off. If it is at or below 12V your converter is not providing voltage. It should be up around 13V if the converter is providing output.

Bdub1 · 07-08-2019, 12:24 PM

The battery is not connected and has not been connected since we bought it. The second owner said the battery was not ever connected the year he had it.

Bdub1 · 07-08-2019, 01:26 PM

Are you supposed to have both or just one breaker on if you do not have the battery hooked up ?

stateboy · 07-08-2019, 02:04 PM

I had all the breakers on and never had a battery on my unit . I got lights and a/c to work. Only the lights (12v) would dim while the a/c kept chugging along when that alarm would sound.

Bdub1 · 07-08-2019, 02:12 PM

Yes, that’s what it’s doing

Bdub1 · 07-08-2019, 02:49 PM

I believe it might be the CO or gas monitor that’s buzzing. Would this make the lights dim? Can batteries be replaced?

stateboy · 07-08-2019, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bdub1

I believe it might be the CO or gas monitor that’s buzzing. Would this make the lights dim? Can batteries be replaced?

If they are original to your camper they are probably expired and just need to have the entire unit(s) replaced. However, I don't think it would make your lights dim.

Bdub1 · 07-08-2019, 03:04 PM

I’m wondering it my converter might be sending a weak current to it? The camper is 10 yrs old. Everything else appears to be working except the 12v overhead lights that are dim and the buzzer on detector.

stateboy · 07-08-2019, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bdub1

I’m wondering it my converter might be sending a weak current to it? The camper is 10 yrs old. Everything else appears to be working except the 12v overhead lights that are dim and the buzzer on detector.

When I priced out a converter it was around $250. I would have done that but my wife wanted to upgrade to a TT to get a bathroom on board. The wife won. We have a TT.

RetiredOne · 07-08-2019, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bdub1

I’m wondering it my converter might be sending a weak current to it? The camper is 10 yrs old. Everything else appears to be working except the 12v overhead lights that are dim and the buzzer on detector.

You really should consider putting a battery in it. A battery kinda acts as a shock absorber, or surge protector when 12 volt items power up.

That said, dim lights could be caused from a bad ground connection on the frame. With a 10 year old unit, very possibly they are corroded.. Very common problem.. crawl under and trace all ground connections.

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