Beeping and lights

[Toni1168]

Hi there, we're new to travel trailer ownership and recently purchased an 05 keystone hornet sport for weekend use. This is our 3rd weekend in it and when we plugged it in today (using a generator), it beeps and all of the lights go our for maybe 30 seconds, then another beep and the lights return. This is happening approx every 2 to 3 minutes. When the lights go out we still have power at the outlets. The only thing plugged in is a small fan. Currently trying to figure out where the beeping sound is coming from, but the whole situation has us stumped! Any ideas on how we can fix this?

[Max23]

Wish I could help you but I have no idea. Hang around and someone will know, there are some pretty darn knowledgeable elec guys on here. Welcome and good luck.

[JRTJH]

You have two electrical systems in the trailer. 12 VDC (battery/converter power) and 120 VAC (shore power).

You say that shore power is working as evidenced by the fan working when the lights go out. So, it looks like you have a problem with the battery/converter system, not the shore power system.

Your lights are 12 VDC and run from either the battery or the converter. The beep you hear is probably from the "low voltage warning signal" in the LP Gas (propane) leak detector. It is designed to beep when a low voltage condition occurs to warn you it is not working properly without power. The problem is likely either a dead/dry battery that is shorted out and causing the converter to overheat, then turn itself off until it cools and then when cool, turn back on until it overheats again... The lights turn on when the converter runs and go out when the converter overheats and turns itself off.

I'd first check your battery to see if the electrolyte level is low or even dry. I'd do this sooner rather than later because if you burn up your converter, you'll need to buy another one and they run around $250 plus installation.

You can completely disconnect the battery, isolate the cable ends so they won't short out and run the camper lighting from the converter output. My guess is that the lights will stop "going out" as soon as you take the battery out of the system...

If this doesn't work, post back what you did and the results you obtained, we can offer more suggestions with more information, but your first and immediate steps should be to check the battery and isolate it from the converter to see what results you get. I think it's probably a dry battery that's causing all your problems.

[flybouy]

As stated above, check the battery. An '05 unit should have had the battery replaced several times and you don't know how old it is.

Also check the 2 fuses that are separate from the others in the fuse panel. They will instantly blow if the battery cables are reversed. The cables in that Era are likely black and white. The black is the positive and white is ground.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by flybouy

As stated above, check the battery. An '05 unit should have had the battery replaced several times and you don't know how old it is.

Also check the 2 fuses that are separate from the others in the fuse panel. They will instantly blow if the battery cables are reversed. The cables in that Era are likely black and white. The black is the positive and black is ground.

Not enough coffee this morning ?????

The BLACK is POSITIVE and the WHITE is GROUND.....

[flybouy]

It's been a rough week. Thanks for catching that!

[Toni1168]

It didn't have a battery! When we first purchased the trailer, we went to buy a battery and were told in store that we "technically don't need one if we're running a generator" seems like it was bad advice. Thanks for your reply, hooked up a battery and problem solved

[LHaven]

Huh, that's still odd. Technically, you don't need a battery (as long as the battery cables are separated and taped up). It's specifically the presence of a bad battery that typically presents the symptom described. So you may or may not have some other problem in reserve, such as a converter problem.