Down DC system--No idea what the problem is

[staceyffalls]

Hi all,

I have been living in my RV for almost 2 years, parked in my friend's backyard. We are continuously plugged into electricity, and we have our propane tanks + one battery.

As of this morning, almost anything that runs on my DC circuit is dead. Everything that runs by being plugged in is fine. So, my outlets work, and my microwave works, none of my lights work. There are things that run on the DC circuit, my bathroom fan, for instance, that works. My air conditioning and radio works.

It seems obvious that some fuses are simply blown, and while there are 2 that need replacing, when I remove the fuse for the bathroom fan, and put it in the slot for "front lights", the lights still don't work.

The most concerning thing is that I am not sure if my fridge is working. It should be on my AC circuit, and when I am not plugged in, it runs on gas. Neither the AC nor the gas systems seem to be down. Is it possible the control panel runs on DC? Loss of a fridge is going to be a real mess.

There are two lights on my circuit breaker that light up: "over load" and "check battery".

My intention is to buy some new fuses and maybe also try to replace my battery, but what works and what doesn't all feels so random. And even my battery is a mystery. It says it is 24 DC, but when I used my multimeter to measure its voltage, the multimeter read 33 V. That seems way too high! I know most batteries are "full" at a few volts higher than they say, but 33V?!!

Can anyone give any insight into what is going on here? I took a few photos of my circuit box and the battery itself...

[traveldawg]

Originally Posted by staceyffalls

Hi all,

I have been living in my RV for almost 2 years, parked in my friend's backyard. We are continuously plugged into electricity, and we have our propane tanks + one battery.

As of this morning, almost anything that runs on my DC circuit is dead. Everything that runs by being plugged in is fine. So, my outlets work, and my microwave works, none of my lights work. There are things that run on the DC circuit, my bathroom fan, for instance, that works. My air conditioning and radio works.

It seems obvious that some fuses are simply blown, and while there are 2 that need replacing, when I remove the fuse for the bathroom fan, and put it in the slot for "front lights", the lights still don't work.

The most concerning thing is that I am not sure if my fridge is working. It should be on my AC circuit, and when I am not plugged in, it runs on gas. Neither the AC nor the gas systems seem to be down. Is it possible the control panel runs on DC? Loss of a fridge is going to be a real mess.

There are two lights on my circuit breaker that light up: "over load" and "check battery".

My intention is to buy some new fuses and maybe also try to replace my battery, but what works and what doesn't all feels so random. And even my battery is a mystery. It says it is 24 DC, but when I used my multimeter to measure its voltage, the multimeter read 33 V. That seems way too high! I know most batteries are "full" at a few volts higher than they say, but 33V?!!

Can anyone give any insight into what is going on here? I took a few photos of my circuit box and the battery itself...

I am not familiar at all with 24V DC circuits. and I am confused about the words in red ("...almost anything..."; "...some fuses blown...".

I'd disconnect the battery and test it without any charger on it. That'll tell you if it is good or bad. If it's good (I'll bet it isn't) then you can start testing from there - check the converter for proper charge voltage, etc.

It might help if you told everyone what make, model, year RV you are dealing with. Someone may have one similar and have better ideas.

[staceyffalls]

Turns out, my battery is fine, it is a 12 V battery (the label was missing). The main problem was two blown fuses, and they must be wired in series, so just replacing one didn't work. With two new fuses in, it works, and the original problem, I think, is that I put in the wrong light bulb to my light socket.

[PulNSerenity]

Originally Posted by staceyffalls

Turns out, my battery is fine, it is a 12 V battery (the label was missing). The main problem was two blown fuses, and they must be wired in series, so just replacing one didn't work. With two new fuses in, it works, and the original problem, I think, is that I put in the wrong light bulb to my light socket.

Glad you got it all sorted out!

[traveldawg]

Originally Posted by staceyffalls

Turns out, my battery is fine, it is a 12 V battery (the label was missing). The main problem was two blown fuses, and they must be wired in series, so just replacing one didn't work. With two new fuses in, it works, and the original problem, I think, is that I put in the wrong light bulb to my light socket.

Thanks for the update.

[twinboat]

Just for information, DC24 means Deep. Cycle, Group 24 battery.