URGENT: Interior Lights and Outlets don't work using battery

[baileygoldberg]

Hello everyone. URGENT HELP NEEDED.

First time owner of a pop-up camper. Mom and Daughter team here.

We drove our new 2018 Jaysport 10SD home yesterday. We set it up in our driveway, and our interior lights and outlets are not working, along with exterior by the door light, even though our power lift does. We were ONLY on battery power and were NOT hooked up to home 120V power.

1. Is there a switch to turn on all outlets or lights?
2. No fuses are lit (1 was replaced at yesterday's inspection, crossed wires in the ceiling lights were fixed)

Please help, we're scheduled to go camping in 1 day!

[REWahoo]

120v outlets won't work unless you are hooked up to 120v power.

As to the lights (which should work off your battery) do you have a battery disconnect switch that may be turned off?

[baileygoldberg]

I called my salesperson yesterday and he didn't know. Battery disconnect switch? I'll look in my owner's manual.

[John from Central Florida]

Bailey,

REW is correct in saying your 120 volt household sockets won't work unless you are hooked to shore power.

Interestingly, you said your power lift works, which runs off your battery. So I don't think you have a battery disconnect switch (though if you do it must be switched on).

You probably don't want to hear this but you may have to take the popup back to the dealer - try and be the first one in line tomorrow morning. I'd be suspicious of an electric problem somewhere since you said you had crossed wires in your ceiling lights.

Hope it all works out well for you, plus maybe other members will chime in here with potential fixes.

All best

[firerescue712]

I would check the fuses. The one for the lights might be blown. Or maybe missing? The 120v outlets do not work on battery power. You must be plugged into 120v system for these to work.

[Grumpy]

There may be a switch on the front of the converter for 120v/12v. Power lift will be directly connected to the battery. Also check the wiring by one of the roof posts to be sure it's not disconnected, that's for the ceiling lights.

[bigironcoder]

Check how many wires are connected to the positive terminal of your battery. There may be 2 wires, 1 for the power lift and 1 that goes to your converter. Both may have an inline fuse close to your battery. It's possible the inline fuse that goes to your converter was weakened by the previous problem and now it has finally blown. It will probably be a blade type fuse.

[bankr63]

Outlets will not work without shore power. Unless you have an inverter installed, (very rare in a pop-up) you have to plug into to shore power to get 120V at the outlets.

Lights should all work from the battery. Many pop-ups have a switch that cuts power to them when the top is down, the dealer should have shown you to location, but it is usually a pressure switch along the underside of the hardtop at the rim. Check to see that it is not stuck closed.

Next, make sure that power is actually getting into the camper. There is a main fuse right at the battery that can pop and shut everything down. They have a tendency to blow if the power jack is run all the way in or out until the motor "stalls". Good idea to carry a couple of spares for this fuse just in case. (Sounds like this is okay as you say the jack is working).

It is also possible that your battery is depleted - people are often surprised at how quickly a 12v battery can run out of juice.

One easy check for any power in the trailer is to hit the test button on the Propane/CO2 detector. If it fails to sound, your battery may be dead (or your main fuse is blown). There should be no other fuses on the circuit feeding the detector.

If you have electric trailer brakes, you can pull the emergency breakaway switch. You should hear the brake solenoids engage (a loud click from the hubs). Be sure to plug the breakaway in again pretty quick; it is a good idea to check this switch at least a couple of times each season, so worth figuring out. No click and your battery is most likely dead or a bad wire connection at the battery - there is no fuse on the breakway circuit.

May sound like a lot, but these checks are easy to do, and will help isolate where the issue is, if there is an issue.

[morleyz]

You've gotten the right answer on the 110 outlets. Regarding the lighting, are there any other 12V devices that work (exhaust fan, water pump)? Is there some type of safety cut off switch on these units? Our old popup had a safety switch on the range top. When you lowered the range top to fold up the camper, all 12V was cut off to prevent you from melting the tenting by folding up the trailer with the lights on. We had the same problem driveway camping, called our salesman who had no idea, but fortunately they had a service tech call us and tell us to raise the range top and voila, 12V power.

[Woodworker]

Is the sink down, there was a switch on my and when the sink wasn't down no power no lights

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Dobbs]

Plug the trailer into 120 from your house and re-check the lights. On an OLD pop-up I owned (still in the family) there was a switch on the galley that would disconnect the ceiling lights when the galley was put down. Also check the converter for a switch or fuse. Ours had a rocker switch that would somehow get pushed to the wrong position. Another potential problem, as noted in another post, is there may be a plug at one of the lift/corner posts that has become loose. Ours was hidden by the canvas and was a pain to find.
You are going to be an expert by the time you follow all the advice found on here!

[WyEm]

Ditto in the pressure switch. My old Coleman had a pressure switch that got pressed down when the kitchen cabinet was folded into place for camping. Sometimes the curtain or a sock would get caught on the edge and the cabinet would not apply enough pressure on the switch and no lights. The purpose of the pressure switch is to prevent leaving the hot lights on when pop up is down and causing a fire.

[REWahoo]

OP, did you get it figured out?

Don't leave us hanging...

[o2silverado]

Originally Posted by REWahoo

OP, did you get it figured out?

Don't leave us hanging...

Happens every thread, we never get updated on the outcome . It's like changing the the tv channel before the show is over.

[baileygoldberg]

Hello everyone.
WOW. This forum is packed with experts! We were busy trying to book a service appointment today and I did not get a chance to look at my phone but now I know how quickly you all respond to a distress call. What a caring community. Thank you so much, we will let you know what happens as we are going to be the first one in line tomorrow morning. We'll ask them about all the switches you've mentioned. We did buy a box of fuses and a fuse tester today and a marine battery tester and charger. We tested the fuse by the battery and that one is working fine. The battery tester was hooked up to 120 volt Shore power and it showed that it was 70% charged but the amperage that started at 11 and began decreasing second-by-second. We researched whether our battery was ground positive or ground negative so that we could attach a charger if necessary. We purchased a propane gauge and installed it and discovered that the the tank was rusted and was only filled halfway by the selling dealer.
We had a very busy day. We didn't intend to leave you hanging. Does anyone know if there is an app that that will tell me (via text notification) when someone responds to a post I've made?

[Duke4857]

Originally Posted by baileygoldberg

Hello everyone.
WOW. This forum is packed with experts! We were busy trying to book a service appointment today and I did not get a chance to look at my phone but now I know how quickly you all respond to a distress call. What a caring community. Thank you so much, we will let you know what happens as we are going to be the first one in line tomorrow morning. We'll ask them about all the switches you've mentioned. We did buy a box of fuses and a fuse tester today and a marine battery tester and charger. We tested the fuse by the battery and that one is working fine. The battery tester was hooked up to 120 volt Shore power and it showed that it was 70% charged but the amperage that started at 11 and began decreasing second-by-second. We researched whether our battery was ground positive or ground negative so that we could attach a charger if necessary. We purchased a propane gauge and installed it and discovered that the the tank was rusted and was only filled halfway by the selling dealer.
We had a very busy day. We didn't intend to leave you hanging. Does anyone know if there is an app that that will tell me (via text notification) when someone responds to a post I've made?

I just get a email note about what is going on in the form.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by baileygoldberg

Hello everyone.
WOW. This forum is packed with experts! We were busy trying to book a service appointment today and I did not get a chance to look at my phone but now I know how quickly you all respond to a distress call. What a caring community. Thank you so much, we will let you know what happens as we are going to be the first one in line tomorrow morning. We'll ask them about all the switches you've mentioned. We did buy a box of fuses and a fuse tester today and a marine battery tester and charger. We tested the fuse by the battery and that one is working fine. The battery tester was hooked up to 120 volt Shore power and it showed that it was 70% charged but the amperage that started at 11 and began decreasing second-by-second. We researched whether our battery was ground positive or ground negative so that we could attach a charger if necessary. We purchased a propane gauge and installed it and discovered that the the tank was rusted and was only filled halfway by the selling dealer.
We had a very busy day. We didn't intend to leave you hanging. Does anyone know if there is an app that that will tell me (via text notification) when someone responds to a post I've made?

You've got me very confused. Battery tester hooked to 120v shore power? Battery at 70%? Amps 11 and falling? I'm going to guess and say that what you mean is battery is showing 11 volts and falling from there. If that is correct you have a dead battery. You do not connect a battery tester to 120v shore power, you connect it to the battery. Its really hard to help on this one because the info provided seems all over the map. Will be interested in what you find out at the dealer.

PS It is not uncommon to get a TT from the dealer with a bad battery.

[Woodworker]

Originally Posted by baileygoldberg

Hello everyone.
WOW. This forum is packed with experts! We were busy trying to book a service appointment today and I did not get a chance to look at my phone but now I know how quickly you all respond to a distress call. What a caring community. Thank you so much, we will let you know what happens as we are going to be the first one in line tomorrow morning. We'll ask them about all the switches you've mentioned. We did buy a box of fuses and a fuse tester today and a marine battery tester and charger. We tested the fuse by the battery and that one is working fine. The battery tester was hooked up to 120 volt Shore power and it showed that it was 70% charged but the amperage that started at 11 and began decreasing second-by-second. We researched whether our battery was ground positive or ground negative so that we could attach a charger if necessary. We purchased a propane gauge and installed it and discovered that the the tank was rusted and was only filled halfway by the selling dealer.
We had a very busy day. We didn't intend to leave you hanging. Does anyone know if there is an app that that will tell me (via text notification) when someone responds to a post I've made?

I receive little Taptalk insignias on the upper left corner of my andriod and also receive an email. Check your settings in your phone

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by baileygoldberg

Hello everyone.
WOW. This forum is packed with experts! We were busy trying to book a service appointment today and I did not get a chance to look at my phone but now I know how quickly you all respond to a distress call. What a caring community. Thank you so much, we will let you know what happens as we are going to be the first one in line tomorrow morning. We'll ask them about all the switches you've mentioned. We did buy a box of fuses and a fuse tester today and a marine battery tester and charger. We tested the fuse by the battery and that one is working fine. The battery tester was hooked up to 120 volt Shore power and it showed that it was 70% charged but the amperage that started at 11 and began decreasing second-by-second. We researched whether our battery was ground positive or ground negative so that we could attach a charger if necessary. We purchased a propane gauge and installed it and discovered that the the tank was rusted and was only filled halfway by the selling dealer.
We had a very busy day. We didn't intend to leave you hanging. Does anyone know if there is an app that that will tell me (via text notification) when someone responds to a post I've made?

Anxious to hear what they found, bad battery or shorted converter?

[edowsfamily]

our older 12udk pop-up had a switch on the top that would shut off the lighting when the top was closed. we had the same problem and it was one of the wires became disconneted it was located near the rear lifting post on the top. it was kinda hidden