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Old 01-30-2019, 09:18 AM   #1
hoplandfire
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Reverse polarity in switches

This one’s got me confused. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Recently, while hooked up to about 200’ of light extension chord, I noticed that my awning and water heater switches worked in reverse. It had been raining hard, and filled up both exterior battery boxes with lids (installed at dealer) . The water level was just below the terminals. A local RV Tech., said that if it’s the converter, a new one would cost $600.00, not what I’ve seen on line. To further complicate things, the insurance adjuster will have to be convinced that this was all caused by the weather. Any thoughts?
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Old 01-30-2019, 03:58 PM   #2
Steveo57
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Why do you think it's the converter? Having a 200' extension cord shouldn't cause any issues if the load was very small. And water in the battery boxes shouldn't cause any issues.

You say the water heater switch worked in reverse? What switch are you talking about as those would be simple off/on switches and can't really operate backwards. Do your other DC loads work okay? Do you have a good battery?

What kind on RV do you have?
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Old 01-30-2019, 04:39 PM   #3
sourdough
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Steveo57 has pretty much touched on most of my thoughts. Running a 200' extension cord to power an RV is too long unless you're using maybe 8 gauge - then you need a forklift to pick it up. You can if you are using a small amount of power as was suggested.

Polarity doesn't just "switch" itself - it has to be done by "someBODY". Did anything happen in the rainstorm that might indicate power was restored but put back backwards? Did you disconnect/reconnect/try to fix something? Was the water in the boxes ever over the posts and covering all of them...together? That wouldn't reverse polarity but would sure cause you some issues.

What is driving the conversation about the converter? What indications, thought processes? Why did the RV tech talk about the converter? Did he check it or did you just ask what it would cost to replace?

I think I need a lot more detail to what has happened to have any idea what is going on. The insurance adjuster is going to say the same thing. When you actually figure out what the sequence of events were you can then zero in on the culprit and that is what the insurance adjuster is going to go by.
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Old 01-30-2019, 04:53 PM   #4
hoplandfire
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Thank you for the responses!

I mentioned the long extension chord and water in the battery boxes thinking that they may be clues to someone as to the cause of the problem. I'm not sure if the water in the battery boxes actually flowed over the terminals. No internal fuses were blown.

The tech. mentioned the converter, to let me know that IF the problem was there, then the expenses would jump up.

While the toggle switches are for the elect. or gas water heater, they will heat the water when in what was the "Off" position.

The trailer is a 2018 Keystone Springdale. The batteries are new, and were hooked up properly. All exterior electrical connections are clean and tight. I've not done any work on the trailer that might cause this mess. One thing I did do, was to unplug the stereo, when it wouldn't turn on. When I reconnected the power to it, that problem was solved.

I'm expecting to hear back from the adjuster as to what exactly "Comprehensive" coverage means.
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Old 01-30-2019, 04:59 PM   #5
Steveo57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hoplandfire View Post
I mentioned the long extension chord and water in the battery boxes thinking that they may be clues to someone as to the cause of the problem. I'm not sure if the water in the battery boxes actually flowed over the terminals. No internal fuses were blown.



The tech. mentioned the converter, to let me know that IF the problem was there, then the expenses would jump up.



While the toggle switches are for the elect. or gas water heater, they will heat the water when in what was the "Off" position.



The trailer is a 2018 Keystone Springdale. The batteries are new, and were hooked up properly. All exterior electrical connections are clean and tight. I've not done any work on the trailer that might cause this mess. One thing I did do, was to unplug the stereo, when it wouldn't turn on. When I reconnected the power to it, that problem was solved.



I'm expecting to hear back from the adjuster as to what exactly "Comprehensive" coverage means.
What were the symptoms of the awning switch being reversed?
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Old 01-30-2019, 05:44 PM   #6
JRTJH
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hoplandfire View Post
...
While the toggle switches are for the elect. or gas water heater, they will heat the water when in what was the "Off" position...
If you're speaking about the electric switch located on the outside face panel (under the steel door) on the water heater, that switch is installed "upside down" pushing in on the bottom turns the electric heating element on, pushing on the top of the switch turns the electric heating element off.

If you hold the awning "extend" switch past the point of maximum travel, the awning will start rolling up "backwards". Then, when you choose to extend it, the switch will not work until you push the bottom to "retract the awning" in which case it will "roll out backwards". You can verify if that is the situation by looking at the awning stored on the side of the trailer. If the fabric rolls "OVER" the awning tube, it's correct. If the fabric rolls "down UNDER" the awning tube, it's rolled up backwards.

Now, a question about the battery boxes filled with water. How did you empty the boxes? If you disconnected the batteries, took them out of the boxes, dumped the water from the boxes, placed the batteries back in the boxes and reconnected them, are you CERTAIN that you connected them properly? If you didn't, even for a "split second" then you blew the reverse polarity fuses on your trailer power center. They are located on the face of the 12 VDC fuse panel, just to the left of the vertical row of 12 volt fuses. They are the two red ones.
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