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Topic Closed.. electrical problem in our pod 179 - Event Date: 19 Jun 2016 - 30 Jun 2016

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crystabals View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Calendar Event: .. electrical problem in our pod 179
    Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 5:00am
I'm having some concerns regarding the electrical system in our R 179. Seems like after not using it for a month when I plugged it in the electrical system did not work. Checked all fuses GFI nothing still however when I plug my car into the trailer everything worked. It did not last long. Camper stayed on for up to 5 hours then went off. Could only initiate Electric in camper by plugging it into my car. What could the problem be? Had to cancel a camping trip because of this. Please note after initially plugging in the car we did disconnect from the car and the camper would maintain electricity for a few hours has mentioned before. Please assist. Battery has full charge took it for a test. Also went under camper and saw loose hanging wires everything was connected but I was disappointed to see how everything was exposed underneath the r-pod 179. Camper is new just bought it this past January used only two times so far.
MLE
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sailor323 View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 7:24am
There are two separate electrical systems on the pod.  Which one seems not to work?  Are you talking about lights or are you talking about A/C and duplex outlets?
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CharlieM View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 9:55am
Originally posted by crystabals

I'm having some concerns regarding the electrical system in our R 179. Seems like after not using it for a month when I plugged it in the electrical system did not work. Checked all fuses GFI nothing still however when I plug my car into the trailer everything worked. It did not last long. Camper stayed on for up to 5 hours then went off. Could only initiate Electric in camper by plugging it into my car. What could the problem be? Had to cancel a camping trip because of this. Please note after initially plugging in the car we did disconnect from the car and the camper would maintain electricity for a few hours has mentioned before. Please assist. Battery has full charge took it for a test. Also went under camper and saw loose hanging wires everything was connected but I was disappointed to see how everything was exposed underneath the r-pod 179. Camper is new just bought it this past January used only two times so far.

Need more details:
  1. When you plug into the car, how long is it plugged in?
  2. When not in use, is the camper plugged in to shore power?
  3. When you run the electric, what are you running? Lights? Fan?
  4. When you test for electrical operation is the car unplugged or plugged in?
  5. When hooked to the car, is the engine running?

I'm assuming all this is only running 12V systems, not AC , microwave, or other 120V appliances? It sounds like your battery is NOT charged. When left unused and unplugged the camper itself will drain the battery in a few weeks. This is due to the propane detector and a few other small loads that are present all the time. When unattended the battery must either be disconnected or periodically recharged. When you plug into the car the battery is partially recharged, which may run lights or the fan for a short time. Most, but not all, cars charge the trailer battery only when the engine is running. This is to prevent the trailer from totally discharging your starting battery. However, you should have this tested to be sure. I wouldn't put too much trust in the battery test you had done. Results are iffy, depending on the knowledge of the person testing.

Charlie
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OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD
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crystabals View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 4:20pm
My husband took the battery to a place that sells Interstate RV/ marine batteries and checked fluid levels and charge. All was normal battery not dead. He also said it was a 6 volt battery?? should it be 12? This is maddening as we had TT before and when I plug in something it worked. We camped in it for just 6 nights so far (2   three day trips) and all was well.  Now our r pod does not work when plugged into the rv plug we specifically made for it.  (30)  . It is so weird that it will only work when we hook it up to the car (for 15 minutes)... the car is  running.  We then disconnect it from the car and it remains working for about 3 hours  or so.. AC, Micro, TV, radio etc...  
Oh it did have another past  issue that resolved itself.. when plugged in at home last month.. .. the outside radio came on at least 3 times over a week's period of time. This was in  MAy- 1st to the 10th. Could this be an indicator of problem? Never happened again.  Also  Someone said the converter may be bad??? Does our R pod have an inverter? I see that lots of folks are adding 12 v outlets so small appliances can be plugged in . Im so confused. 


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 4:30pm
All equipment does work when we hook up our car to the camper.  We let car run for about 15 minutes then turn it off.  Camper will keep working but after a few hours it will cut off.  First time we did this it lasted 5 to 6 hours before it quit. Now not so long. Battery testing said everything is okay..THey told us the battery was a  6 volt.  Should it be 12?  My husband would then have to hook up the running  car to get things working. We have 2 little dogs we travel with and can't have AC malfunction if we go out in the Florida heat. 

I went under trailer and was appalled to see fine wires just hanging down that i thought should be protected (from water, road debris hitting /breaking wires) They were not taped or wrapped in plastic tubing as some wires were. Is this appropriate?  It looked incomplete and not professional to say the least. Thanks Crystal . 
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Tars Tarkas View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 4:40pm
As others have said, the RPod has two electric systems.  One 12v (battery) and one 120v (shore power). The lights, vent fan, furnace, and the brain for the fridge work on 12v.  Air conditioning, microwave, anything that plugs into the sockets that look the same as the ones in your house are 120v.  They will not work unless you are hooked up to some source of 120v electricity, coming from the wires out on the street or a generator. 

If your battery is 6 volts I'm surprised anything works, unless you have 2 6v batteries wired in series to equal 12v.  That is a common configuration, which provides longer 12v use when boondocking.  If you only have one battery it has to be a 12v battery.

If you made your 30amp extension cord to plug in your Pod, there might be a problem with the cord.  There are some very dangerous ways to mis-wire a cord; you may have gotten lucky and found a harmless way to mis-wire it.  Or you may have some other problem.

TT 
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crystabals View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 5:01pm
Hi .. not sure which one is not working.. as when only plugged in from shore .. nada.. R Pod does work when we connect it to the car and keep car running for a short time. After  car is unhooked from trailerall continues to function:AC works and refrig  micro and TV lights etc.. Craps out 3 to 5 hours later. I thinking maybe  battery is doing this ... but why doesn't It work connected to shore line initially?

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 5:10pm
We have not disconnected battery wires from camper  when we manage to get it working. We will go through process again to get things to function(with camper plugged into shoreline) including ac and all other appliances. AC is a must as its 95 degrees here and i can even pack/clean inside without it. May have been told bad info on battery   an HD24 Dp is supposed to be 12 v.. "expert" told my husband it was 6v. Nothing is written on battery delineating voltage.. grr... Thanks everyone for help!  Im learning more about electricity than i ever needed to know.. will let you know what happens...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 5:14pm
Not  sure .. please read rest of thread.. sorry I skipped you by mistake... new to doing this blogging thing.. 

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jun 2016 at 5:55pm
What does the converter do?...  No breakers ever trip... but after a few hours of being connected to shoreline everything goes off.. ?  (once we get camper to go on after hooking it to our car)...

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