12V lights dim on and off

[jreedham]

My first post ... my 12V lights keep going from bright to dim on and off many times. They will stay bright for a while, but all of a sudden they dim and then flicker back and forth. Is my converter bad and if so, what would be a recommended replacement?

[RichR]

I think I would be looking for a poor connection or ground somewhere. Is there another 12 volt load switching on and off somewhere that could cause the lights to dim?

[Outbackmel]

Hi,
Outback Mel is here in central Florida having attended the Tampa RV Supershow. Good news, we did NOT buy so we can back to Europe, travel to Alaska for months and enjoy our retirement ....

Now, your issue. We have a 2011 Outback 329FBH, bought new, single battery. Will be around to adding a dual as soon as we decide to keep it for a longer period of time. (Looking at that Montana 355RE High Country.) Loving it, but not prepared to stroke a check for $28,000 difference.

We had the same reactions of lights, etc in our unit back in October. No stores were available in the area we were in on Sunday morning, except Walmart. Soooo, went over and bought an off brand deep cycle marine, rv battery.

Well, here we were in Tampa with a severe cold snap just 90 days down the road. Same stuff happened. Each time I saved my butt by hooking up the electric input and running the truck to provide heat. Here in Tampa, we were at Lazydays RV fortunately for another reason and I bought a new Interstate Marine, RV battery. Put it in and presto, $145 later all good!

Not sure this is your issue, but, I would suggest you check it out.

I am taking my old battery back to Atlanta this week, checking it out and replacing it under warranty and will be retaining it as a back up.

Sorry you are having these issues.

Good luck on your resolution.

[Wiserway]

I would defiantly be checking all of your connections. Sounds like a bad ground connection to me.

[bobbecky]

Before any speculation on the cause of the bright/dim lights can be made, we need to know what model and year trailer you have. If you have the newer converter that keeps your battery properly conditioned, you will notice the occasional slight dimming and then the lights get bright again, just not as often as you describe. Are your batteries in good condition with the water at the proper level? How old are your batteries? Have you checked the connections in the electric panel, 12 volt as well as 120 volt? And, it goes on, lots of questions, just depends on what you have.

[Bob Landry]

The OP did not indicate if he was plugged into shore power or running off batty. If plugged into shore power, then the converter is suspect as the battery would not be in use at all other than being float charged by the converter.

[dm1401]

If you know your converters location, I would listen to see if you can hear the fan running on it, the more power it produces the faster the fan will run, I wonder if the fan is defective, and it shuts the converter down due to a overheat condition, its easy and free check. Keep us posted.

[bdgmbdgm]

hi,

had the same problem and it was the converter going bad. Better to replace it before it completley fails.

[abneynormal]

your power converter. mine went out before it did the outside lights would flash like a strobe light. find it and put a load on it. you should hear from a buzz to a squeal. I am still using my batteries. 2 years after the power converter went bad. fyi check your batteries water levels for healthy long lasting batteries

[Outbackmel]

read my previous post on this issue. I replaced the converter with the same make, model and unit number through Camping World. No more problems.

I will warn you that before the converter died, I bought a back up battery and a trickle charger to ensure we had power due to cold nights in central Florida.
As a result, the lights would dim more slowly, however, we had other issues which made the replacement converter more pressing.

#1. The furnace fan will run, HOWEVER, the propane igniter in the furnace will NOT OPERATE. First night I changed the battery at 6am, AFTER hooking electric up to the truck directly to get heat exchanger running.

#2. Propane alarm will go off if insufficient current is not fed through the 12 volt system. Not good, trust me.

#3. Refer will shut down as well.

My converter was inside the under belly wall, mounted very openly next to water heater tank. I swapped it out and presto, problems resolved. Of course, it cost me $350 for the same converter. I also read that there is a significant failure rate in my brand after 3 years. Our unit was purchased in 2010 as a 2011 model. Funny, the converter has a 2 year warranty! Think someone has this figured out?
I will be taking my old converter and have it checked out to see if it is worth repair and keep it as a back up unit.

You CAN continue to use batteries as was previously stated by another poster, however, we DO NOT sleep with space heaters in these tinder boxes AND one night at 28 degrees shivering, grumpy wife and you will make the right decision!

YES, I could have saved $100 by ordering on line. HOWEVER, the largest carrier of these had them on FACTORY backorder. Sometimes money is just not that important.

[abneynormal]

mine burnt up. if you have a good battery charger 10/2 amp put it on 2 amp and it will keep things running. the dealer I bought mine through wouldn't make exceptions for full timers. I ran er for a week on a battery charger in the early spring till I could get it in, I still slept on a couch for a week waiting on them since it is now out of warranty I will never grace their doors. if it does go out again I WILL take it to Bankston here in Albertville,