Request help with electrical problems with 07 2720SL

[Goodyear Travels]

Greetings. We've just returned from an 8 day camping trip up on the Arizona Rim (7700 ft). We suffered intermittent failure of 3 essential pieces of electrical equipment - our water pump, Thetford toilet, and furnace. All 3 would, intermittently, go out at the same time when running on our 6V Trojan batteries. We have had the same issue in the past but it seemed to have healed itself and we, rather naively, thought the problem had passed. They never actually went out while running; but would, inexplicably, not turn on.

If they would not turn on - switching to the generator would not bring them back to life. I checked breakers, fuses, wire connections to the monitoring panel under the kitchen sink, and disconnected and reconnected power from the batteries. I replaced the converter some time ago - with a PD4655TV converter-replacement - along with a Charge Wizard. The converter has not been an issue and has maintained the battery and DC needs.

I'm not very electrically savvy and I could not find an electrical diagram that might help a real electrician figure out what's going on. But my wife noticed that when I accidently closed the bathroom door fairly hard - the vibration seemed to reactive everything. So, we were especially gentle with the bathroom door and its wall for the duration of our stay, and we had no more equipment failures.

I suspected a loose connection - coming from a source or wire that serves power to all 3 pieces of equipment. All 3 also happen to be served by the same 20 amp fuse but I have no idea where to look or how to test for a loose connection (although I do have a Klein MM200 tester - which I hardly know how to use).

I would be most grateful for any help that can be offered. In return, I'll happily add you to my prayer list .

 

[Wavery]

Greetings. We've just returned from an 8 day camping trip up on the Arizona Rim (7700 ft). We suffered intermittent failure of 3 essential pieces of electrical equipment - our water pump, Thetford toilet, and furnace. All 3 would, intermittently, go out at the same time when running on our 6V Trojan batteries. We have had the same issue in the past but it seemed to have healed itself and we, rather naively, thought the problem had passed. They never actually went out while running; but would, inexplicably, not turn on.

If they would not turn on - switching to the generator would not bring them back to life. I checked breakers, fuses, wire connections to the monitoring panel under the kitchen sink, and disconnected and reconnected power from the batteries. I replaced the converter some time ago - with a PD4655TV converter-replacement - along with a Charge Wizard. The converter has not been an issue and has maintained the battery and DC needs.

I'm not very electrically savvy and I could not find an electrical diagram that might help a real electrician figure out what's going on. But my wife noticed that when I accidently closed the bathroom door fairly hard - the vibration seemed to reactive everything. So, we were especially gentle with the bathroom door and its wall for the duration of our stay, and we had no more equipment failures.

I suspected a loose connection - coming from a source or wire that serves power to all 3 pieces of equipment. All 3 also happen to be served by the same 20 amp fuse but I have no idea where to look or how to test for a loose connection (although I do have a Klein MM200 tester - which I hardly know how to use).

I would be most grateful for any help that can be offered. In return, I'll happily add you to my prayer list .

There is a safety switch at the bottom of the folding bathroom wall. It's the part of the wall that attaches to the bed frame wall. That switch has a black plunger that must be depressed when the wall is lifted into place. I had to make a spacer for mine so that the switch would depress far enough to activate the electrical system.

Hope that helps.

 

[Goodyear Travels]

Thank you for your input. I'm aware of that switch but never considered it might be the culprit. It WOULD be subject to vibration from the closing of the bathroom door or a bumping of the wall - so it's a possibility. It would be great if that was it - the most simple fix possible. But the trailer's cleaned and tucked away in the garage for the next few weeks. It's 113 F outside right now but I'll test your theory as soon as it gets down into a more reasonable temp -- like sub 100 F. Thanks again.

 

[Bill]

Well maybe. But unless someone has rewired something, that switch plays no part in powering any of three items that are failing. There are complete wiring diagrams in the Blue Book (Owner's manual), posted in several places here in the Forum including the Technical Library. Although they are complete, the reader needs to realize that TM made minor connection changes almost every year. For example, a fuse that powered the radio and the water pump one year might power the radio and TV antenna next year, with the water pump moved to a different fuse.

The good news is that in the diagram posted by Rickst29 in the Tech Library (copied below), the water pump, toilet, furnace, as well as the bathroom fan, are all fed from the same fuse, so I think you are on the right track. It is possible that the fuse itself is defective - swap it out with another of the same rating, and see if the problem goes away. It is also possible that the metal tabs that grip the fuse blades are grubby or spread apart. Disconnect all power (battery and AC), remove the fuse, spray a shot of electrical contact cleaner into the slot, and try to find a way to push the contacts closer together - a small screwdriver, a pocket knife blade, etc. It is also possible, though less likely, that the wire leading away from the board and toward the pump, etc, was poorly soldered to the board. It is also possible that the fuse socket itself has come unsoldered from the circuit board, or the circuit board has cracked. These are harder to deal with. So let's see what you come up with first.

Bill

 

[Goodyear Travels]

Bill, thanks for your response and thank you for that diagram. I already tried a different fuse in that slot even though the fuse I removed had not popped. I did this while we were still at the campground. The blades of the fuse were held so tightly that I had to use a strong hemostat to pull the fuse out. I don't think I have a weak contact but, you're right, I could have a hidden issue behind the circuit board. I'll check that as soon as it cools off a bit outside and I can pull the trailer from our garage. I know you are very familiar with our Phoenix summers.

 

[cjminear]

Bill, thanks for your response and thank you for that diagram. I already tried a different fuse in that slot even though the fuse I removed had not popped. I did this while we were still at the campground. The blades of the fuse were held so tightly that I had to use a strong hemostat to pull the fuse out. I don't think I have a weak contact but, you're right, I could have a hidden issue behind the circuit board. I'll check that as soon as it cools off a bit outside and I can pull the trailer from our garage. I know you are very familiar with our Phoenix summers.

I would check when the things don't work if you have power at that fuse with the test light or a Volt meter. There's also a possibility it could be a bad ground or a loose ground as well. If you have power at the fuse then I would look further Downstream and check your grounds. I think if you pull your converter out there's actually a grounding bar on that device where all the white ground wires come together. (See attached) all the white wires are grounds in the photo. I just pulled mine out of the garage today and I'm heading up to the rim to get out of this heat down here.

 

[Bill]

One easy check. The fact that the fuse blades were held so tightly in the socket suggests that some corrosion might have been binding them. You can easily clean the blades with a bit of sandpaper, but cleaning inside the socket is not so handy. Did you try a shot of contact cleaner, as I suggested earlier? A can of the stuff is only about $5, and even if it doesn't solve the problem, it will eliminate one possibility, and will always be useful in the future.

 

[Viprjoe]

If fuse corrosion was the problem that red diode that indicates a blown fuse would probably be illuminated.

 

[Goodyear Travels]

I would check when the things don't work if you have power at that fuse with the test light or a Volt meter. There's also a possibility it could be a bad ground or a loose ground as well. If you have power at the fuse then I would look further Downstream and check your grounds. I think if you pull your converter out there's actually a grounding bar on that device where all the white ground wires come together. (See attached) all the white wires are grounds in the photo. I just pulled mine out of the garage today and I'm heading up to the rim to get out of this heat down here.

It's been too hot for me to setup the trailer but I'll follow your advice and pull the inverter soon. I also have to pull the toilet and replace the gate valve . Thanks for the advise. Hope you have/had a great time up on the Rim.

 

[cjminear]

It's been too hot for me to setup the trailer but I'll follow your advice and pull the inverter soon. I also have to pull the toilet and replace the gate valve . Thanks for the advise. Hope you have/had a great time up on the Rim.

I had to deal with the gate valve issue its a nasty job. I just decided since I was pulling the toilet that I would just upgrade it. I did the poor man's sealand upgrade. The upgrade made me and the wife happy.

 

[Shrimpburrito]

Make certain that the screw holding in the wires for that circuit on the DC distribution board is tight. If it's not, that could easily explain your problem. And triple check to make sure you are checking the right circuit, since someone may have moved some wires. You might as well just check all of them, since if one is loose, others may be too.

Dave

 

[Goodyear Travels]

One easy check. The fact that the fuse blades were held so tightly in the socket suggests that some corrosion might have been binding them. You can easily clean the blades with a bit of sandpaper, but cleaning inside the socket is not so handy. Did you try a shot of contact cleaner, as I suggested earlier? A can of the stuff is only about $5, and even if it doesn't solve the problem, it will eliminate one possibility, and will always be useful in the future.

Bill, I haven't taken the trailer out of the garage yet. Hoping for little break in the oppressive heat - extended forecast suggests cooler temps next week (we'll see). But I have a spray can for cleaning the Mass Air Flow sensors on my vehicles. I'll probably use that on the blades. Thank you, Sir.

 

[Goodyear Travels]

Make certain that the screw holding in the wires for that circuit on the DC distribution board is tight. If it's not, that could easily explain your problem. And triple check to make sure you are checking the right circuit, since someone may have moved some wires. You might as well just check all of them, since if one is loose, others may be too.

Dave

I'm glad you're still here, Shrimpburrito. You're one of the oldest and most knowledgeable members.

 

[Shrimpburrito]

Happy to help as best I can!