Community Forums

tlrxj11 · 07-18-2016, 11:47 AM

so I recently bought a late 80's kit road Ranger. I'm fixing it up to live in it for a little while and recently the inside lights have stopped working. the trailer is plugged into the house and the batteries are reading 12.5ish volts. my fridge hasn't worked since I got it either, but it worked before I bought it, not sure if the issues are related or not. also the converter under the sink has always buzzed since I bought the trailer, I don't know if that's normal or not. all the outlets work as well as the ac. I've checked fuses and breakers and all check out. the only thing I can think of is the converter went out but I'm no electrician. any help would be appreciated!

bdpreece · 07-18-2016, 03:57 PM

You say batteries read 12.5 is. Have you tried taking a voltage reading at any of the lights themselves or only at the batteries? Also pull the batteries and have them load tested. Even a dead battery can show 12 volts on a meter with no load.

Many lighting/voltage problems will come from bad ground connections since in many cases the batteries are tied to frame ground and then the lighting and other devices will tie to the frame elsewhere.

Your refrigerator will require 12 volts to run the control board even when on shore power. My first guess is that you have no 12 volts anywhere. Your converter will also have fuses/breakers, have you checked those?

tlrxj11 · 07-18-2016, 05:29 PM

I haven't checked voltage at lights themselves, I will check that then check the batteries while disconnected. the converter looks to me like it's inaccessible and there's nothing on the outside other than the wires going into it. I will check again though when I get home later tonight

tlrxj11 · 07-30-2016, 08:20 AM

so I took the converter in and it tested good. i cleanded one ground that i could find. plugged the trailer into my truck and no luck with inside lights. I've had a jumper box connected to the batteries, as wells as a battery charger and no luck there. I've tested voltage at the lights themselves and I'm getting around 1.4 mV on my multimeter. I'm not sure how much they need to light but I'm getting some power to them. I'm completely stumped. bulbs are still good by the way as well as fuses and breakers.

dustyone · 07-30-2016, 01:33 PM

1984 is probably older than I know anything about. That being said I would ask have you checked to see if the battery isolator switch has been turned on or off. If it's a straight manual one. It may be defective. If it is the one sort of like my 2011 , it uses a solenoid you may have a defective solenoid. Things to check

keymastr · 07-30-2016, 03:28 PM

Some trailers have what is called a salesmans switch that shuts off 12 volt as they leave the trailer. Try putting all light switches in opposite direction one at a time.

idnative1948 · 08-02-2016, 08:59 PM

Had an issue as you talking about. Two days later after testing EVERYTHING I following the source. Long story short, the cord plugged into the shop was almost out of the recep not making contact. Me- (Oh now I know why the refrig was trying to connect to propane because the ignitor kept firing).

tlrxj11 · 08-09-2016, 05:51 AM

ok so I've checked for the salesman switch and isolator switches and I don't have either. I charged my batteries while disconnected and hooked them back up after cleaning their nasty connections really good. I had power to them but after a few days they have died and I no longer have any 12v juice. so I'm thinking they can supply power but they aren't receiving and power in return to be charged, so that would either mean the converter or that connection between the converter and batteries is bad right?

dustyone · 08-09-2016, 08:40 AM

Sounds like the converter maybe the problem. check the fuses that are there using a vom meter. Not just a visual inspection. On the short term you could use a charger to keep battery up while using it.