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Old 10-17-2013, 07:27 PM   #1
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Interior Lights Get Bright At Times - Confused!

Hi Everyone,

Our 2012 Jayco Eagle Super Lite 308 RETS interior lights from time to time will get bright (brighter than normal) and not sure what may be causing it. The camper has been on a seasonal site for the last two years. We'll be sitting inside the camper and all of a sudden the lights get brighter. The only thing on is the TV & Fridge (No AC, No Microwave). The campground is all state of the art including the electrical systems. In fact the campground just received a 10/10+/10 rating with Good Sams Club.

Any thoughts as to what could be causing this issue? Not sure if this is related, but closing up the camper for the season we were bringing the slide outs in on battery power. The first slide out blew the inline fuse on the battery just as it reached the camper (clutch didn't even have a chance to ingage). I had the battery tested and it is fine.

As always, this group has help us in many ways and we greatly appreciate all of your help.

John & Janine
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Old 10-17-2013, 11:30 PM   #2
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We have the same issue and I will be watching for answers here.
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Old 10-18-2013, 04:08 AM   #3
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Your trailer ceiling lights are 12VDC items and are powered by your on-board converter/charger unit and trailer battery as shown in this typical 30AMP RV wiring configuration.


What you are seeing is the on-board converter/charger unit jumping up in its DC VOLTS output which can be verified by using a multimeter across the battery terminals. The ON-BOARD CONVERTER/CHARGER normally puts out 13.6VDC most of the time and can increase to 14.4VDC when in boost charging mode if it has SMART MODE CHARGING technology.

This is determined by the battery which may be boiling out battery fluids (A bad thing) and is demanding BOAST 14.4VDC CHARGE mode from your on-board converter/charger.

I would check the DC VOLTAGE being supplied by the on-board converter/charging unit and the battery fluid levels in your connected 12VDC battery system.

If your on-board converter/charger unit is single mode type charger than it will "ALWAYS" only put 13.6VDC when on shore power which is right on the edge of making batteries boil-out fluids over time. You should be checking your battery fluids on a scheduled basis of at least every two weeks as if the fluids drop below the cores inside the batteries they will start self destruction and you will have to replace the batteries if not not caught quick enough.

Just my thoughts
Roy Ken
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Old 10-18-2013, 04:30 AM   #4
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If you're not hearing simultaneous DC current draws cycling (heater fan, thermostatic roof fan, water pump).....then I suspect you're witnessing the converter voltage fluctuate between the bulk, absorption and float modes. The difference between the modes is several tenths of a volt.

I'd be curious to know if you have LED or filament bulbs installed.
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Old 10-18-2013, 05:36 AM   #5
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We used to see the same scenario when we had the halogen bulbs in our overhead lights.
The Halogen bulbs draw quite a bit of current and also get very hot.
After we blew 4 or 5 Halogen bulbs in the first month, I changed all 39 Halogen bulbs to LEDs.
Since the change to the LEDs we do not see the light flicker.
Also the Converter's Cooling Fan does not run as often with the LED lights due to much less current draw.
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Old 10-18-2013, 02:57 PM   #6
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Rob, I don't think we have ever heard a converter cooling fan running. We used to hear the one in our Montana all the time. I didn't know this trailer has one.
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Old 10-18-2013, 05:08 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clutch View Post
Rob, I don't think we have ever heard a converter cooling fan running. We used to hear the one in our Montana all the time. I didn't know this trailer has one.
Our converter fan hasn't run since we installed LEDs throughout....
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Old 10-18-2013, 10:02 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoyBraddy View Post
What you are seeing is the on-board converter/charger unit jumping up in its DC VOLTS output which can be verified by using a multimeter across the battery terminals. The ON-BOARD CONVERTER/CHARGER normally puts out 13.6VDC most of the time and can increase to 14.4VDC when in boost charging mode if it has SMART MODE CHARGING technology.
Most likely what Roy says here, is what's happening. Our 2011 Jayflight 22FB had a Progressive Dynamics brand of converter, and this happened quite a bit. I verified the converter voltage as Roy described. Now we have a 2013 Jayflight 26RLS which has a different brand of converter, and we have to date, not experienced the bright light situation.
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Old 10-19-2013, 09:26 AM   #9
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Since you are connected to shore power, the lights brightening is not caused by the converter going into "boost mode" charging. The voltage rise is due to the converter going into "equalization mode", which maintains the battery in peak condition when in a fully charged state. Here's a quote from the Progressive Dynamics website:

Quote:
BOOST Mode 14.4 Volts - Rapidly brings RV battery up to 90% of full charge.
NORMAL Mode 13.6 Volts - Safely completes the charge.
STORAGE Mode 13.2 Volts - Maintains charge with minimal gassing or water loss.
EQUALIZATION Mode 14.4 Volts - Every 21 hours for a period of 15 minutes prevents battery stratification
& sulfation - the leading cause of battery failure.
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Old 10-19-2013, 11:11 AM   #10
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I wouldn't get hung up on terminology....I have a WFCO converter, and straight from website / owners manual - my modes are "Float" 13.2, "Absorption" 13.6 and "Bulk" 14.4....

Bulk, Boost, Equalization = doesn't matter...the lights in your TT will most likely dim or get brighter when smart converter cycles through the various modes / schedules.
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Old 10-19-2013, 06:43 PM   #11
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Thanks everyone for your responses. Obviously there's alot of different theories as to what may be causing this. The flow chart is quite interesting, I have filament bulbs and we have never heard the "fan" run on the convertor (we bought this TT new). Unlike our X17Z, we do hear the fan run on it.

The interesting theory of the convertor cycling makes sense. We have closed up the TT for the season, so I won't be able to check any volts until we open her up in the spring.

Since my warranty runs out in March, I think we'll contact our dealer have them document my concerns just incase. Blowing the inline fuse on the battery makes me concerned when bringing in one of the Slide Outs.

As always, everyone here is so helpful with information and we greatly appreciate it. We'll look at a couple of the theories when we open up in the spring..
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Old 10-20-2013, 01:35 PM   #12
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x3 on Roys response.
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