No 110v power

fred1609 · 07-06-2012, 07:29 AM

My friend, who is new to RVing bought a used 2011 Cougar 326MKS. He put new 6V batteries in it but on the first trip out at a local CG he found he had no 110 power. As a result the batteries and his weekend.....well it kinda got messed....all his frozen food had to be thrown out and to round things out someone backed in into his pin.....Does this sound like a convertor problem and where would he find the convertor and a replacement

SAABDOCTOR · 07-06-2012, 08:16 AM

hold on thar bobba louie!!. let start at the begining! breakers turned on at the post at the campground? if yes move to the breakers in the camper when you find the breakers the converter is close by. if allthe camper breakers are good there are 2 40 amp fuses usually on the back of the converter. gotta dig for those also listen for a hum from the converter. if all the breakers and fuses are good you may have a issue with that unit.also several members have had problems with the plug on the power cord they come apart inside good luck lets us know what you find out

**hankpage** · 07-06-2012, 08:50 AM

If he had two 6v batteries wired properly he should have been able to run his fridge on propane for the weekend with no problem.?????? If they are not wired properly .... there is the problem and hopefully the converter fuses are blown.

SAABDOCTOR · 07-06-2012, 09:25 AM

Hey hank i have never done much dry camping so i never gave it a tought hooking up the battery(s) bass ackwards would pop the fuses but what would 2 six volt batteries do wired in parallel do would the fueses

po or the coverter go insane trying to put 12 volts into a big 6 volt battery?

**hankpage** · 07-06-2012, 09:35 AM

Barney, Good question and one I don't have an answer for. Like I said, I hope only the fuses are blown. Hank

SAABDOCTOR · 07-06-2012, 09:39 AM

i hope so for his sake. maybe some one will give us an answer to that question. i would think the charge circut would see the low voltage and try to charge at a higer rate, but if so the 110 should work... if the fuses are still good.oh well not gonna try it to find out! ha ha ha.

SteveC7010 · 07-06-2012, 09:42 AM

Always have the fridge set on AUTO.
Always have the propane tanks on and propane in at least one of them.
Always start the weekend with fully charged batteries.
If you have a battery ON/OFF switch, it should be ON even in a CG with electric hookups to charge them or keep them charged.
Observe the fridge from time to time. That CHECK light means something is wrong.
No lights at all on the fridge control panel is equally bad.
If the light inside the fridge doesn't come when you get something out, that is a sign of a problem.
Make sure your breakers in the TT are ON.
Make sure there is good power at the CG power post when you hook up.
Look at the microwave from time to time. If the lighted clock isn't lighted, you don't have any 110vac in the trailer. That's bad.

About half of my list is simple awareness of what's going on in your own home-away-from-home.

And with a pair of decent 6vdc batteries, he should have been able to run the fridge on propane for a lot longer than a weekend.

So my recommendation is two fold:

First, by all means, have a competent RV shop check it over to make sure all the systems are working properly. I seriously doubt the problem lies with the rig, but it's worth a check.

Second, learn how to use the RV systems and how to deal with really minor bumps in the road. No 110vac for part of a two or three day weekend should not have spoiled anything.

(Note: Some folks are kind of obsessive about not using any propane when in a CG with electric because of "added cost". I look at it differently. If the power goes out and you don't discover that, with the propane OFF, you're going to lose a whole bunch of food. With the propane ON, instead of tossing out a hundred bucks worth of food that is spoiled, you're consuming a few cents worth of propane. All this is dependent on having your batteries turned ON and charged up.)

SAABDOCTOR · 07-06-2012, 09:58 AM

i'm with you steve. propane is cheap compared to a fridge full of food. kinda like flying nothig worse than the fuel you left behind to save weight and the you run into a headwind. ugh! but do we really know about his friend. almost sound like when he picked it up the seller said well enjoy it see ya around and he got little or no advice. i like yor list by the way

. hope he gets back to us and lets us know what happed.

SteveC7010 · 07-06-2012, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAABDOCTOR

i'm with you steve. propane is cheap compared to a fridge full of food. kinda like flying nothig worse than the fuel you left behind to save weight and the you run into a headwind. ugh! but do we really know about his friend. almost sound like when he picked it up the seller said well enjoy it see ya around and he got little or no advice. i like yor list by the way

. hope he gets back to us and lets us know what happed.

Yup, you got it.

In hot weather in a CG with hookups, everyone wants to run all their A/C's. It makes good sense to me to take the fridge and hot water off 110vac and run them on propane. My reasoning is that pulling less amps means I am not taxing the CG's power so much and that protects my rig and its contents better. If just a few of us do that, the chances are good that we won't see voltage drops so often and other problems caused by pushing the CG's system to the limit and beyond.

And frankly, I trust my batteries, 12vdc, and propane systems more than I trust many CG's wiring.

Bob Landry · 07-06-2012, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAABDOCTOR

Hey hank i have never done much dry camping so i never gave it a tought hooking up the battery(s) bass ackwards would pop the fuses but what would 2 six volt batteries do wired in parallel do would the fueses

po or the coverter go insane trying to put 12 volts into a big 6 volt battery?

It's not a big 6V battery. The two 6V batteries are wired in series so that the charger sees them as a 12V battery.

hankaye · 07-06-2012, 07:19 PM

Bob Landry, Howdy;

Saab Doc was askin' about if they were in parallel ...
what would happen ??? Kinda courious myself .....

**JRTJH** · 07-06-2012, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

It's not a big 6V battery. The two 6V batteries are wired in series so that the charger sees them as a 12V battery.

Bob, What Barney was saying is IF the 6 volt batteries are wired in parallel, it's only a BIG 6 volt battery. They have to be wired in series to make 12 volts. So, IF the OP has them wired properly, then you're correct, but IF he may have them wired in parallel, then he's got a problem.... and the converter only sees a "big 6 volt battery"

Now, as for the two 40 amp fuses in the converter: They are for 12 volts only. They have no function in the 110 volt breaker/distribution section of the converter assembly... So, whether they are blown or not would have no affect on the 110 volt function in the trailer.

Besides, from the OP's post, probably the "inconvenience" of not having electricity is probably not the big issue of the weekend. What damage was done when the "other camper" ran into the trailer?????

Additionally, from this part of the original post, "He put new 6V batteries in it but on the first trip out at a local CG he found he had no 110 power" I'd have to question whether the "new owner" was expecting to have 110 Volt power from his 6 volt battery setup, and if he even plugged his RV into the campground power supply.....

fred1609 · 07-06-2012, 11:34 PM

I'm goin out on Sunday to have a look at his rig and see what the issue is....As i said he is new into RVing and likely has overlooked something but until you get a chance to poke around and check things.....well I know about as much as you all do....lots of guessing......I'll write back when this thing is figured out......

CPE · 07-10-2012, 05:57 PM

I had intermittent power off and on in the night at CG. Moved to another spot ok. I bought a surgeguard unit to protect against all things mentioned here, low voltage etc.

C P E

fred1609 · 07-12-2012, 10:13 AM

still havent gone out to check his rig....but after talking a bit more with him he tells me that his microwave works.....not the TV or entertainment centre, no lights and a power outlet in the kitchen works......I found my convertor no problem and there are breakers there ... so I'm pretty sure its a breaker issue...I'm camping this week in Campbell River, BC so I havent had a chance or the will to get out to his place this week.....

SAABDOCTOR · 07-12-2012, 10:30 AM

WELL Fred hope it is a easy as a breaker that would be nice. or maybe mickey the rat chewed a wire!! . and i do know that it should be 2 6volt batteries wired in series to make 12v. no one has come up with ananswer to my what if they were wired in parralell. we all know anything can happen, it just takes one "hey honey can you" and poof out go the lights.

see the stuff i start!!

SteveC7010 · 07-12-2012, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fred1609

still havent gone out to check his rig....but after talking a bit more with him he tells me that his microwave works.....not the TV or entertainment centre, no lights and a power outlet in the kitchen works......I found my convertor no problem and there are breakers there ... so I'm pretty sure its a breaker issue...I'm camping this week in Campbell River, BC so I havent had a chance or the will to get out to his place this week.....

Fred,

Resetting a breaker in a Keystone is exactly the same as resetting a breaker at home. Keystone uses the same exact circuit breakers used in thousands (if not millions) of homes in the US and Canada.

I can not help but wonder what is really going on here.

byrdr1 · 07-12-2012, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveC7010

Yup, you got it.

In hot weather in a CG with hookups, everyone wants to run all their A/C's. It makes good sense to me to take the fridge and hot water off 110vac and run them on propane. My reasoning is that pulling less amps means I am not taxing the CG's power so much and that protects my rig and its contents better. If just a few of us do that, the chances are good that we won't see voltage drops so often and other problems caused by pushing the CG's system to the limit and beyond.

And frankly, I trust my batteries, 12vdc, and propane systems more than I trust many CG's wiring.

I agree with this statement..I always use the frig with propane as a back up at CG and HWH with propane for a faster recovery time and the frig seems to cool faster/better when on propane??
randy
2011 cougars had a recall on the 120v breakers also??

fred1609 · 07-20-2012, 09:55 AM

Problem figured out....Behind the breakers and fuses sits the convertor...where there are a couple more 30 amp fuses....these fuses were blown.....Convertor looks to be ok....And I have no idea why those fuses were blown...they were likely blown when he bought the unit in May.....

**hankpage** · 07-20-2012, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fred1609

Problem figured out....Behind the breakers and fuses sits the convertor...where there are a couple more 30 amp fuses....these fuses were blown.....Convertor looks to be ok....And I have no idea why those fuses were blown...they were likely blown when he bought the unit in May.....

Somebody hooked up the battery wrong ...... Those fuses are to protect the converter from reversed polarity. The battery may be correct now BUT somebody goofed.

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