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Lost battery power inside my 171

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Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11779
Printed Date: 03 May 2024 at 6:42am
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Topic: Lost battery power inside my 171
Posted By: JoeSaint
Subject: Lost battery power inside my 171
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 2:28pm
Hi, I have no battery power inside the 171, but do have power at the tongue jack? Nothing works inside at all. I checked the 30 amp battery fuse and its good. Was all working before we left, and I noticed on the way home I had nothing inside. Thx



Replies:
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 2:55pm
I don't know how the jack is wired, but I'd check the cables at the battery first.  Take them all off, clean them, put them back on and make sure they're tight.

TT


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2010 176
FJ Cruiser


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 3:23pm
I'm not sure about the 171, but the power panel in the 179 has two 40A fuses in the middle. Check those. Then check to see if there are any lights beside any of the fuses on the right side (12V). Also, check all the wires for the 12V side to make sure they are in the right place and solidly attached. After making sure no live 110V power is connected, take the cover off the power panel to check this. I had one wire break off and although it looked attached, it wasn't.

Edit: Did you have power for the jack while the TV was attached or is power there when the TV is not attached also? Do you have a voltmeter? If so, please check your battery. If power was while the TV was connected, you could have a dead battery. If the battery/batteries check out, then wiring is likely an issue.


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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS


Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 3:54pm
My jack is wired directly to battery thru a push to reset CB. I would start with 12V circuits from battery to inside pod.

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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."


Posted By: JoeSaint
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 4:13pm
Thanks for all the quick responses. I will check ASAP. I had installed a battery disconnect switch, but everything had worked after that. I figured the jack wouldn’t work if no ground so I checked with batt switch on and off and it works with it on, and not when off. So I assume the battery is okay since it lifted my camper to hook up and again when I got home.. I’ll go get tester and check fuses inside. I’ll let I know what I find...


Posted By: JoeSaint
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 4:54pm
Also, this thing is brand new, 2019..... it was my first trip!!


Posted By: JoeSaint
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 5:11pm
Ok, I have no 12 v power at panel. I connected to 120v and I noticed the cooling fan on the converter isn’t running?? Shouldn’t that always be on?? I ran the a/c for 15 mins and it and everything else work on 120. But no fan on the converter??


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 5:13pm
Okay, that was a bit of information that had not been given before. You could have a bad battery disconnect switch also. It could look to be on and could actually not be on. Remove that from the equation by disconnecting it and running the battery cables direct to the battery. See if that fixes the problem. If so, then you would be able to check the switch to see if it is actually working or broken.

-------------
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 5:15pm
If the converter isn't charging the battery, then it stands to reason that the fan won't be running to cool it. Running the lights does not require much power. The AC is running on 110V power, so that is not a factor.

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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS


Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 5:19pm
If I'm reading this correctly, you have an open between the disconnect switch and the converter. Check connections and fuses.

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost


Posted By: JoeSaint
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 6:47pm
To eliminate the possibility of a bad disconnect switch, I took a car jumper cable and went across the two terminals and still nothing. The two fuses I checked were the 40 amp polarity fuse and the 30 amp main 12v fuse, both are good


Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 7:34pm
Have you checked your connections?  They can look good but not be.  At least try to wiggle each end of every cable.  (They shouldn't wiggle.)  The wiggle test isn't conclusive. 

TT


-------------
2010 176
FJ Cruiser


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 7:35pm
Originally posted by JoeSaint

To eliminate the possibility of a bad disconnect switch, I took a car jumper cable and went across the two terminals and still nothing. The two fuses I checked were the 40 amp polarity fuse and the 30 amp main 12v fuse, both are good
Okay, how did you do that? Did you take one of the pair and connect one clamp to each terminal? Did you use one clamp to bridge both terminals?

My suggestion was to remove the switch from the circuit, not jumper it. Connect the RV's red positive cable to the battery's positive terminal and the white negative cable to the battery's negative terminal directly.

Do you have a multimeter? If not, head down to your local hardware place (Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace, Harbor Freight) and pick up an inexpensive multimeter. HF would probably be the least expensive place to get a cheap one that will be adequate for this purpose.

Take a DC voltage reading across the two battery terminals. If you have >12V, your battery is probably good. If <12V, it could be weak or dead. However, you say your jack works, so the battery is likely good.

While you are at it, check to see that you have the red wire from the R-Pod connected to the positive + terminal and the white wire to the negative - terminal. It is okay to take a jumper from the negative terminal to your cut-off switch and then connect the trailer's white wire to the other terminal. This is the safest way as the rule of thumb is connect negative last, disconnect negative first.

Set the meter for Ohms. Disconnect the switch. Take a reading across the terminals with the switch in the off position. The meter should give a reading of 1   . if there is no continuity (Cen-Tech Digital Multimeter used for reference set to 200K Ohms). Turn the switch to the On position. The reading should change to 00.0 Ohms. If it remains at 1, then the switch is bad. If the switch is good, then reconnect your jumper from the negative terminal and reconnect the trailer's white wire to the other terminal. Make sure no wires are shorting out against the frame. I don't know where your switch is mounted, but make sure nothing is shorting with it or its mounting either.

How did you check the 40A fuses (should be two)? Did you do a visual check or use a meter? If visual, use the meter to check each fuse. It can appear to be good but in reality be blown. I've had that happen. If, while you were putting in your battery cut-off switch, you managed to reverse the polarity, even for a second, one or both of those are blown to protect your converter.  The two are to the left of the larger stack of 12V fuses for the various appliances, lights, refrigerator, etc. If one is or both are bad, replace them with new 40A fuses.

For the regular stack of fuses, on mine, if a fuse is blown and there is still power available, an LED light will show next to the blown fuse. If you remove one of the fuses on the main stack, say the one for the Bathroom or Porch light for example, do you see an LED light next to the socket?

I just remembered that WFCO has a troubleshooting chart for their converters. You can find this http://wfcoelectronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/New-Flow-Chart-for-WF-8900-Series.pdf - flow chart for the WF-8900 here . The same chart is suitable for other WFCO models as well. That might be the better way to proceed with troubleshooting your power problem.


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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS


Posted By: JoeSaint
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 7:54pm
Hi StephenH, I have a meter and the batt is reading 12.5v. When I put the dis con switch in I only disconnected the neg wires. There is only one 40 amp fuse and it says its for reverse polarity protection. Then there is a 30 amp that says battery. I checked them with an ohm meter that sounds when there is a solid connection. At this point there are no led lights on either side, but not sure if there are any. The converter is wh-8734/8740 so I’ll check that link you sent also.  I know it was all fine after the disc sw because I was in there playing with my new storage stuff. Thx


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2018 at 8:29pm
Good luck! I hope you get the problem diagnosed so you can fix it.

-------------
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS


Posted By: JoeSaint
Date Posted: 25 Jun 2018 at 8:51pm
StephenH, here’s an update..... I called the dealer and he said there was one more fuse behind the converter under the seat. It was a 10 amp, but not blown. So I thought I’d check each fuse on the front of the converter. I had already checked the 40 amp polarity and the 30 amp battery and they were good. BUT when I got to the next one which was a 15 amp, it was bad. And when I pulled it out a red LED cane on next to it. I swapped one of the other 15 amps in its place and it worked!! So now the only thing I don’t know is WHY it went?? Thanks again for your help and I really do appreciate your and the other members for their help.  Joe


Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 25 Jun 2018 at 9:05pm
I'm glad you got it fixed. It is surprising to me too that it was blown and the light was not on to indicate it. Electrical problems can be very frustrating.

-------------
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS



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