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AC to DC conversion not working


russ4512

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We just returned from a 4 week trip and in the last 2 weeks, every time I disconnected the trailer from the shore power, the trailer tripped a "master" switch under the drivers side bed and there is no DC power available in the trailer. I am able to reset the switch by pressing a small lever on the switch. I had the same problem last year but a local RV shop could not find anything wrong with the system. I am not an electrician but it seems that the AC to DC converter is not working. Has anyone else had this or a similar problem, and if so, how did you fix it?

 

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I’m not sure if I understand exactly what’s going on.   Sounds like you’re saying that if you’re plugged in, then DC works.  When you unplug, it throws the breaker, but if you reset it then it works again.  Is that correct?  Are your batteries charging when plugged in?  If so, then your converter is working.

 

My initial guess is that your fridge is switching to DC when you disconnect, and somehow that’s throwing the breaker.  Maybe try pulling the fridge fuse (or breaker if your trailer has a DC breaker panel) and then disconnect to see if that does it.  Otherwise, I’m at a loss.

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My apologies for not being clear. When I am plugged into shore power the trailer is running on AC. When I unplug from the shore power and the trailer is supposed to automatically convert the system (including the refrigerator) to DC, this "master" switch is tripped and there is no power until I reset the switch under the bed. I don't know how to tell if my batteries are charging when plugged in. I have been suspecting the refrigerator so I have turned the refrig off before unplugging from shore - this worked (didn't trip the switch) for the first few weeks but then it failed as described above.

 

 

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Thanks for the clarification.

 

The way to tell if your charger is working is by checking the voltage on the battery monitor.  If it goes up when you plug in, then it’s working.  It will read 14.4 or something close to that when you first plug in, and usually 13 something when you unplug.  Just for clarity, your DC circuit is always DC even when you’re plugged in. What happens is that when you’re on shore power, the charger converts some of the 120 power to 12 volt and adds that to the 12 v ‘pool’.  Part of that power will go to the batteries to charge them and part will be used by your lights, etc.  So, in other words, your charger is converting when you’re plugged rather than when you’re not, and there isn’t really a ‘switch’ that changes you from 120 to 12 v.

 

I still think that the fridge is the most likely culprit, since there isn’t anything else that would ask for more power when you unplug.  And if your breaker is tripping immediately, then it has to be a pretty big surge of power that’s doing it.  Otherwise, it would take a bit for it to trip.

 

I guess another thought is that the breaker is bad, and maybe vibrating open when you’re traveling.  If the problem is repeatable in your driveway, then that’s probably not the case though.

 

Do you have an inverter?   If so, I guess that’s another possibility and you might try unplugging that before you disconnect.

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What else happens after you unplug? Do you raise the stabilizer Jack's, before or after, you unplug?

 

Try changing the fridge to gas before unplugging,  or, just turn it off. The DC draw on a 3way is pretty  high...

 

As overland asked, is the inverter off? Ac and heat off, or could you be trying to run electric heat or ac from the inverter?

 

I'd be trying to hunt down any large electrical draw. Then, hint down a weakened breaker...

 

Sherry

2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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The refrigerator does not "automatically" switch to DC unless there is no propane.  When the Auto button is activated, the fridge will auto change between 120VAC and propane.  As a last resort, if you are out of gas (or for some reason the valves are off) it would go to DC .  From our standpoint, our gas is always on and we never run the fridge in the very power hungry and inefficient DC mode.

Steve, Tali and our dog Rocky plus our beloved Storm, Maggie, Lucy and Reacher (all waiting at the Rainbow Bridge)

2008 Legacy Elite I - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #026 | 2014 Legacy Elite II - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #050 | 2022 Silverado High Country 3500HD SRW Diesel 4x4 

 

             801469912_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-I.jpg.26814499292ab76ee55b889b69ad3ef0.jpg1226003278_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-H.jpg.dc46129cb4967a7fd2531b16699e9e45.jpg

 

 

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I appreciate all your comments and questions. Our trailer is a 2015 LE II. I turned the refrig off before unplugging and the breaker/switch still tripped. A/C and heat were always off before unplugging. I never turn on my inverter so that shouldn't be drawing any power. And the only time I run the refrig on DC is when we are towing the trailer.

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Just to be clear, on your first post you stated the switch was under the street side bed, subsequent post you stated curb side. The switch that townsew posted is a "sail switch" when it trips a  yellow flag pops up, you push it down to reset, it's under the street side bed on the elite 2 with twin beds. I've never had what you describe happen, but I can imagine if you have the inverter on while you're plugged in and your water heater on the ac setting, or any additional devices drawing ac current, when you unplug and your transfer switch switches over to D.C. It overloads the D.C. side and it trips your "sail switch".

 

steve

STEVEnBETTY

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The switch is on the street side (driver's side). I erred in saying it was the curb side. Your description of the "sail switch" sounds like what I have. Mine doesn't seem to look like the photo from Townesw but I will check it out tomorrow. From what I can tell, all appliances are off when I unplug from shore power. But just in the last few days the hydraulic lift in the front seems to not be as fast in raising/lowering and it is almost always used in DC mode.

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This is the breaker under the street side bunk that trips when I unplug from shore power. I noticed that mine is 40 amps and the one shown by Townesw is 60. When I plug into shore power, the voltage on the battery meter reads about 13.6, sometimes 14+.

IMG_2921.thumb.jpg.0c6c9dbb6435e5ae2d811d1e64ad633e.jpg

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But just in the last few days the hydraulic lift in the front seems to not be as fast in raising/lowering and it is almost always used in DC mode.

 

 

The jacks are electric not hydraulic and they only operate on 12VDC. Could the tripping of the breaker coincide with the use of the jacks?  That breaker is a “thermally responsive Bi-metallic blade” type circuit breaker.  It could be that you are performing a sequence of events that heats that breaker up to the point it trips and this could be aggravated by it being a weak breaker.

 

Regarding your front jack: make sure the  dimple in the tube on the bottom of the jack is riding in the groove on the extension tube.

 

6EB8FB6C-B56D-451C-B37C-EBC5832567DC.thumb.jpeg.a31c83b65a7f9618e8ad85782f10825f.jpeg

 

Bill

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Bill and Martha

2018 LEII Hull 313

2019 Chevrolet 2500HD Duramax

 

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I believe if I were you I would locate a knowledgeable and reputable RV repair person and demonstrate to them what is happening and let them troubleshoot the situation and make the repair.  Maybe if you gave your general location someone on this forum could recommend a good local RV repair service.

 

Bill

Bill and Martha

2018 LEII Hull 313

2019 Chevrolet 2500HD Duramax

 

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Bill, thank you for your time and knowledge in trying to solve my problem. At the beginning of this season I took our trailer to a known RV shop and they couldn't replicate the problem, so there was nothing to fix. I live in the Minneapolis MN area and gladly welcome all recommendations for a good RV repair shop.

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I live in the Minneapolis MN area and gladly welcome all recommendations for a good RV repair shop.

Try Mike’s LP and RV in Maplewood, MN. It’s a family run small business. Don’t expect anything corporate about them. Father and son do the repairs. Mother keeps the books. Grand kids running around. It’s nice to see them make it work.  I teach high school in the area and two of their boys spent a considerable amount of time in my shop.  Great people.

 

Mike’s replaced the refrigerator on my EII when Oliver sold it to me with a unit that was dead on initial delivery.  Oliver wanted (and got) a full day for issue diagnosis from me, plus they wanted me to stay at least another two days to get the replacement unit installed.  I called Mikes LP from the parking lot in Hohenwald, made an appointment, and hit the road back to Minnesota without a working refrigerator on my brand new travel trailer.  I had places to be and was so ticked off at Oliver for delivering a unit with a totally dead refrigerator, killing two days at a hotel in Hohenwald was unacceptable.  How could the both factory QC checks and delivery prep miss that the refrigerator was DOA?

 

Mikes is an authorized service center for just about everything in the RV industry. Mine was the second Oliver they’d worked on. And the refrigerator replacement only took one day at Mike’s.

 

HTH, Ken

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2013 Toyota Land Cruiser 200

2018 Twin Bed Elite II #351

 

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  • 1 month later...

Bill,

 

You hit the nail on the head!. I took the trailer to the RV repair shop suggested by KenB and after testing and probing, the owner said the wire connecting to the BAT terminal on the switch was extremely loose and not connecting all the time, thus causing my electrical problems. I won't be able to test it with a long trip until late spring 2019 but I feel much better about it now. Thank you for all your guidance.

 

Russ

 

 

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Ken,

 

I took my Oliver to Mike's LP, and Wayne and his business were just as you described. He found and fixed the problem. He also fixed the technical bulletin problem (faulty ground on the inverter) that some of the Oliver trailers had. Thank you again for the referral. I recommend Mike's LP to everyone with an Oliver or other travel trailer in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

 

Russ

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