Community Forums

physicsgal · 08-23-2021, 04:14 PM

Hi all! I hope someone here can help. We just bought our first trailer on Craigslist and this past weekend we got batteries and a generator, as we are planning to leave for a trip next weekend. When we hooked up the batteries the lights started working, but there was no power to the outlets in the trailer. Then we got the generator plugged in and turned on, but it still wasn't sending power to the outlets or the AC or microwave, although the lights were still working fine, but I think they were running on the battery not the generator.

Our neighbor (who has an RV and sold us the generator) said we need to find the battery disconnect switch, but we couldn't find it anywhere in the trailer. I called the closest Fleetwood dealer and they said I should contact Fleetwood. But when I contacted Fleetwood they said that my trailer is from the old company that went bankrupt and they have no way to give me support. They gave me this forum's information and said I should ask here.

Does anyone here know where the battery disconnect switch is on a 2004 Fleetwood Prower 27' trailer?

Also, the dealer I talked to told me if the switch was off the batteries would not be connected to the trailer at all, but the lights were still working. So do you even think the disconnect switch is the issue? Are some trailers set up so that, even if the battery disconnect switch is off, the lights will work? I hope so, I hope all I need is to flip the switch. Fingers crossed someone on here can help.

Thank you so much for your help!!!! I hope we can get the power working or we aren't going to be able to go on our trip.

NewBlackDak · 08-23-2021, 04:41 PM

Outlets are AC power. Batteries provide DC power. Lights run on DC. Air conditioner and Microwave run on AC power. The batteries will run the control boards for the propane fridge, furnace, and water heater.

As for the generator running…
Have you checked all breakers in your panel? Have you checked if GFCI breakers are tripped?
What size generator do you have? It may not be big enough to run your air conditioner.

physicsgal · 08-23-2021, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewBlackDak

Outlets are AC power. Batteries provide DC power. Lights run on DC. Air conditioner and Microwave run on AC power. The batteries will run the control boards for the propane fridge, furnace, and water heater.

As for the generator running…
Have you checked all breakers in your panel? Have you checked if GFCI breakers are tripped?
What size generator do you have? It may not be big enough to run your air conditioner.

Thanks for your reply NewBlacDak! That makes a lot of sense. When the AC is on and working right will it be powering the lights too or they will still be on the DC circuit?

The breakers are all on and I've tried switching them back and forth to see if that helped. I also checked all the fuses and they are good, though I guess those are for the DC power. The GFCI in the bathroom is not tripped. Is there supposed to be a GFCI for the whole trailer somewhere?

My fiance asked the original owner and he was confused about why it wasn't working, so I guess it may not even have a battery disconnect switch.

The generator is 3500 Watts and should be able to power our AC, although probably without much else running at the same time. I checked its output voltage and it's working, although it read high at ~130 Volts. Could that be the problem?

Once we solve this problem and get the AC power working, will it automatically charge the batteries when it's plugged into AC or will I need to do something so the batteries charge?

Thanks again for your help.

tuffr2 · 08-23-2021, 07:17 PM

Lights, radio, controls for fridge, hot water heater, furnace all run off the 12v battery. The A/C, TV, Microwave, outlets should run off the generator.

Agree with check all breakers, and GFI outlets. Maybe they need to be reset.

Fyi - I had a 5th wheel were the GFI in the bathroom control a few outlets in the kitchen.

NewBlackDak · 08-24-2021, 08:06 AM

When plugged in, the converter should be providing a charging current for the batteries, which kind of powers the DC side with the batteries acting like a buffer.

You might have GFCI outlets in the kitchen and outside causing weirdness. I would try to find and reset each one.

Does your fridge(usually on its own outlet) work on electric with the generator running?
Are you plugged directly into the generator, or are you using an adapter? Maybe a bad adapter?

1Blue78 · 08-24-2021, 08:21 AM

All good advice above - I was a little confused with the use of AC ( the cooling unit or the power supply?). I don't think the air conditioning unit will be connected to the GFCI circuit though so I think your problem lies with the power from the gen. Maybe there is an EMS somewhere in there and you need a neutral grounding plug to allow current to flow. Have you tried to plug the trailer into your house to see if it changes anything?

physicsgal · 08-24-2021, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Blue78

All good advice above - I was a little confused with the use of AC ( the cooling unit or the power supply?). I don't think the air conditioning unit will be connected to the GFCI circuit though so I think your problem lies with the power from the gen. Maybe there is an EMS somewhere in there and you need a neutral grounding plug to allow current to flow. Have you tried to plug the trailer into your house to see if it changes anything?

Thanks everyone!!!!!! We tried plugging the trailer into our house and it worked! At least we know the trailer electrical system is ok!!!!

My fiance bought the generator from our neighbor and he really likes it, but if it won't work to power the trailer then it's not very useful to us. Any ideas for quick fixes that we can try before we have to have an awkward conversation with our neighbor?

swampdog2 · 08-24-2021, 07:39 PM

Start the generator and check the outlet you were plugged into to see if its putting out voltage or not ! I bet it's not and I bet the breaker on it is tripped !!!

Tightwadted · 08-24-2021, 07:42 PM

What swampdog said. see if the gennie will run something, radio, light, etc

physicsgal · 08-24-2021, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tightwadted

What swampdog said. see if the gennie will run something, radio, light, etc

The generator has some normal 3 pronged outlets that worked fine to power my cell phone charger, so that's why I figured it was working fine, plus I tested the voltage at the end of the plug that goes directly into the RV and measured 130 Volts on my multimeter. But maybe there's something wrong with the 30 Amp output on the generator that we are plugging the trailer into?

I'm also wondering is if there is some sort of internal protection circuitry in the trailer that would cause the power to be shunted if the voltage coming is has spikes or is somehow not the normal expected frequency and voltage it expects?

Oh and I just talked to my dad, as we used to have a generator running our trailer and later our house when we were kids. He suggested grounding the generator to the trailer, so we'll give that a try tomorrow. Apparently the generator manual says to ground the generator if you're using the 30 Amp output, opps!

The other question we just came up with is whether we need an inverter generator instead of a standard generator? Someone on the internet said we do and you know the internet never lies

Tightwadted · 08-25-2021, 05:50 AM

What kind of generator did you get from the neighbor? Whether or not you need a inverter type generator depends on a number of things. Open frame (non-inverter) types are much noisier and do not provide 'clean' (pure sine wave) power. sophisticated electronics don't like modified sine wave. If you are only camping with the generator by yourself out in the boonies and only want to run the air conditioner, microwave, toaster, etc open frame will be probably be ok. If you are in a group setting, where there are other campers around, or you want to power a computer, any medical equipment, etc. you would be better off with an inverter type. JMHO Another test would be get an adapter (dogbone) to plug your 30amp RV plug into the 15 amp circuit on the generator.

1Blue78 · 08-25-2021, 08:48 AM

Rather then grounding the gen to the trailer try making (or buying) an neutral bonding plug. There are lots of videos on this on the internet. The trailer may have an electrical management system (EMS) that will not allow power to the trailer if it does not see a neutral bond to ground.

As for open frame vs inverter, you will not be popular if you run an open frame for very long. Spend the extra $$ and get an inverter gen - you will be much happier and so will your neighbors.

Jay D. · 08-26-2021, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Lights, radio, controls for fridge, hot water heater, furnace all run off the 12v battery. The A/C, TV, Microwave, outlets should run off the generator.

Agree with check all breakers, and GFI outlets. Maybe they need to be reset.

Fyi - I had a 5th wheel were the GFI in the bathroom control a few outlets in the kitchen.

i don't think the hot water heater is powered by 12 volt my 05 Fleetwood is 110 or gas .
Jay D,

twinboat · 08-26-2021, 09:52 AM

130 volts is not a normal generator voltage, give it back or get it fixed.

You will be better off with an inverter generator. Much quieter. 3600 watts is 30 amps, so a 3500 watt unit should do a pretty good job.