Backup Battery Power

GA

Gatorlady53

New Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2015
Posts
5
Location
MiddleTN
We (Charles & Jerri Anne - aka Gatorlady!!!) are excited owners of a new 2015 FF 214WSD!!! We arrived home Sat evening post dealer orientation and after the 280 mile drive from Buford, GA, to find the electric hitch would not work till we hooked up the power cord!! (Fortunately a question I asked during orientation prompted us to buy an 'extension' cord to reach the house outlet.) We tried awning, slide, lights, etc. and no go. We tried everything with power switch in and out. We removed the Interstate battery, had it tested at two locations and were told it had full power!

Question: Are we missing any thing to trouble shoot this lack of backup power?? We are 'green' in this arena as it's our first travel trailer. We only rented one last fall for a long weekend to test the waters.

Thank you!
 
All of the things you mention should run off of the 12 volt system. My DW has bumped the battery disconnect switch pushing it in before and we had the same symptoms. It should actually be connected so that when it's pushed in, the battery is connected and pulled out to disconnect, but mine isn't either so a simple bump will deactivate the battery and all it's systems. If the battery is known to be good, then I think the disconnect switch itself is at fault. If the switch is pushed in (battery disconnected) and you have no normal 12 volt functions, I've found that plugging the trailer into the tow vehicle has the same result as you found by plugging it in to the 110 volt side .... everything works then,

I'd pull the switch panel and check that a wire hasn't come disconnected from the switch. While you have it off, you might look into reversing the wires so that IN = ON and OUT = OFF :D
 
Good tip! This is actually one feature that I found to be really good in the Fun Finder. I like how all of the switches are in one place, all of the hookups are in one place... Our last camper had them all over the place - in a 'make it fit' fashion.
 
Neil, I once accidentally pushed the battery disconnect button, and it took me a while to figure out what I had done. So I have now rigged up a big U-shaped cotter pin that slips over the shaft of the button when it is in the "out" or "connected" position, so it can't be pushed in by accident. Problem solved. Not a pretty solution, but it works!
 
profdant139 said:
Neil, I once accidentally pushed the battery disconnect button, and it took me a while to figure out what I had done. So I have now rigged up a big U-shaped cotter pin that slips over the shaft of the button when it is in the "out" or "connected" position, so it can't be pushed in by accident. Problem solved. Not a pretty solution, but it works!
Click to expand...

Most valves follow a standardized design whereby the lever indicates open flow when it is inline with the tubing or pipe. A lever at 90 degrees to the pipe indicates a closed position. The same is true for toggle switches. From my experience the rule has always been ON is IN (two letters) and OFF is OUT (three letters) ..... this is how I remember it. I just think someone at the factory didn't get the memo :LOL: I'll be moving the wires and switching it the next time I do maintenance.
 
Neil, thanks. Doc at RV World GA called to suggest same thing. Unfortunately when we pulled the panel all clips/wires were tightly attached to contact points. We did try the plugging to the tow vehicle and when running the electric hitch worked. I assume it is normal that the tow vehicle has to be running?? It does give us peace of mind that there is an alternative.
 
power

Hi Gatorlady,

Congratulations on your new camper!

Our camper has a main disconnect fuse in the cable going from the battery to the breaker box in inside the camper. The fuse is located in-line near the battery on the outside of the camper. If the fuse is out, it acts about the same way as shutting off the main switch. On our camper the connection between the fuse holder and the wiring came loose and shut off the electricity.

Mike
 
Re: power

M&M said:
Hi Gatorlady,

Congratulations on your new camper!

Our camper has a main disconnect fuse in the cable going from the battery to the breaker box in inside the camper. The fuse is located in-line near the battery on the outside of the camper. If the fuse is out, it acts about the same way as shutting off the main switch. On our camper the connection between the fuse holder and the wiring came loose and shut off the electricity.

Mike
Click to expand...

Great advice Mike :D I totally forgot about that main fuse. I used to pull it out in the winter from our first trailer because it didn't have a disconnect switch and you're right, it does exactly the same thing as pushing the switch in.
 
Yes, I ran into the same problem a few months after I got my XT276 when the electric jack wouldn't work.
The in-line fuse had blown that is located on the positive wire not far from the battery. Replaced the defective fuse and everything worked fine again.
 
Thanks Eagle and M&M! That was the solution!! So glad our first challenge was so easily resolved. On to our next learning experience.

I can see where this forum will be invaluable to us!!! So glad I found this community!!!! Thank again.
 
We found ours on the wire connected to the battery post, about 4 inches from the post. It is inside the battery box out of the elements. It didn't even look bad but we changed it and everything began working.
 
profdant139 said:
What does this in-line fuse look like, and where exactly is it located? This would be a good thing to know, just in case. Thanks!
Click to expand...

This is the Main 30 Amp fuse for the whole trailer .... It's an inline fuse in the hot side of the battery (12 V Positive side)

2087gq1.jpg
 
All-
Fascinating string of posts that finally solved the mystery! I have two take-aways for myself: 1) carry an extra fuse and 2) Keep checking back on the forum for great advice.
 
Guess what boys and girls .... on the subject of Main 30 Amp fuses :)

While making some adjustments today to the WD hitch brackets (dealer installed one bracket 1.5 inches further ahead on the frame than the other side) I discovered an additional 30 Amp main fuse in the 12VDC positive line just before it goes into the main distribution box on the inside frame rail. So it seems as though we have the one previously shown in the battery box as well as this one a bit further down the line. Just like aircraft with built-in redundancy :LOL:

16la58y.jpg
 
Travels with Yoly said:
Guess what boys and girls .... on the subject of Main 30 Amp fuses :)

While making some adjustments today to the WD hitch brackets (dealer installed one bracket 1.5 inches further ahead on the frame than the other side) I discovered an additional 30 Amp main fuse in the 12VDC positive line just before it goes into the main distribution box on the inside frame rail. So it seems as though we have the one previously shown in the battery box as well as this one a bit further down the line. Just like aircraft with built-in redundancy :LOL:

16la58y.jpg
Click to expand...


That is the only 30 amp in inline fuse on my XT 276. The one shown earlier in the battery box does not exist on mine.

The location is why it took me some time to locate it ... after I pulled/checked the switch plate connections & main disconnect switch.
 
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