Loss of Power when Furnace Blower Shuts Down??? Help!!!

[ArkansasWeekend]

We are having to use our furnace....seems fine...gets going, heats, heat shuts off and blower continues for a bit. It seems that this is happening when our blower shuts down....we lose power. Everything but the coffee pot, microwave and TV has no power. It stays off for a few minutes, then comes back on. When it does come back, some of (or all of) our touch lights come on...waking us in the middle of the night last night....and it's still happening tonight. Any ideas? We are hooked to a 50 amp with surge protector.

[opnspaces]

wnjj wrote:

maillemaker wrote:
Yup do what opnspaces said. Check your battery voltage when connected to shore power and when not.

Or if you don’t have a voltmeter, just see if the cheap indicator lights go from full to charge after plugging in the shore power.

You can also observe the battery level lights after a night running the furnace. If they show low start the generator. If they now read full then the converter is charging the batteries.

[maillemaker]

Or if you don’t have a voltmeter, just see if the cheap indicator lights go from full to charge after plugging in the shore power.

My status panel does not indicate charge, only voltage. When on shore power, it will read max (12V). With full batteries, it will read the same when you disconnect shore power. But, it's 30 years old.

Steve

[CA_Traveler]

wnjj wrote:

maillemaker wrote:
Yup do what opnspaces said. Check your battery voltage when connected to shore power and when not.

Or if you don’t have a voltmeter, just see if the cheap indicator lights go from full to charge after plugging in the shore power.

They are called idiot lights for a reason...

No voltmeter? $20 will buy one in many places. Even the $5 or sometimes free ones at HF will do the job.

[wnjj]

maillemaker wrote:
Yup do what opnspaces said. Check your battery voltage when connected to shore power and when not.

Or if you don’t have a voltmeter, just see if the cheap indicator lights go from full to charge after plugging in the shore power.

[maillemaker]

Yup do what opnspaces said. Check your battery voltage when connected to shore power and when not.

[opnspaces]

I hate to say it but it might be too early to claim victory. It is entirely possible that your converter is not charging the batteries when on shore power. The systems are all working now because the new batteries are fully charged. But if the converter is not working then the problem will come back to haunt you in the next day or so.

The best bet is to use a multimeter to check the battery voltage when not plugged in and the generator turned off. Then either plug in or start the generator and check the battery voltage again. The voltage should now be higher than in your first check.

If no change in battery voltage you probably have a bad converter/charger. If you are away from home on vacation but have access to a generator then you could go to Walmart and buy an inexpensive automotive battery charger to charge them up during the day. Once you get home you can worry about replacing the converter.

[maillemaker]

We replaced the batteries (they were a couple years old anyway) and when my husband went to take them out, the connectors were completely loose.

That very well may have been your problem all along.

[CA_Traveler]

Good job.

[ArkansasWeekend]

Thank you to everyone!!! We replaced the batteries (they were a couple years old anyway) and when my husband went to take them out, the connectors were completely loose. So I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. Better safe than sorry when we dip below freezing tomorrow, so batteries were replaced to be sure. Everything is working great now and I so appreciate your help!!!!

[time2roll]

Yes I agree it is time for new batteries. However a dying charging system may have cause the batteries to fail. Once those new batteries are in check and monitor the charging voltage for a few days. Voltage should never dip below 13.2 volts while plugged in and should always register as full on the monitor. Get a small voltmeter if you do not have one.

Might help to post what equipment is charging the battery. Is it a simple converter? Or do you have an inverter-charger? Either way post the make-model number for best answers. If you don't know where to look ask the battery guy to look. Some are good but don't expect too much if he looks confused.

[maillemaker]

We are having to use our furnace....seems fine...gets going, heats, heat shuts off and blower continues for a bit. It seems that this is happening when our blower shuts down....we lose power. Everything but the coffee pot, microwave and TV has no power. It stays off for a few minutes, then comes back on. When it does come back, some of (or all of) our touch lights come on...waking us in the middle of the night last night....and it's still happening tonight. Any ideas? We are hooked to a 50 amp with surge protector

What it sounds like to me is that the furnace is pulling the batteries down dead, and then everything shuts off. But if you are plugged into shore power, all your 12V systems should be powered by the converter.

but they show full with that battery disconnect turned on so we still may just need to unplug the whole camper?

...

We just cut power to the whole camper and checked batteries and they showed 1/3 and that quickly went away, too. So...changing those today.

Here's the thing - if your rig is plugged into shore power, even with bad batteries you will show 100% on the internal battery charge display. That's because your converter is putting out 12V from shore power. But I don't know why your power is going out if you're plugged into shore power.

The fact that you disconnected from shore power and your batteries dropped down to 1/3 and died tells me that your batteries are dead.

Most converters charge the batteries, so I'm surprised your batteries are not getting charged. How long have you been plugged into shore power?

In any case, even if you remove the batteries entirely if you are plugged into shore power your 12V systems should be powered by the converter. There may be some systems that won't function if you remove the batteries but I'm not sure about that. I think the converter should power 12V systems (via 120V) even if there are no batteries or if they are dead.

Steve

[cavie]

You need to tell use what system goes on and off 12 volts or 120 volts. The word POWER and EVERYTHING does not help us. You have 2 POWER systems. Are the touch lights 120 volt lamps? If so unplug and put aside until the problem is fixed to stop confusion. So far all I can determine is you have a loose connection somewhere. Without proper information I can't help you. If the Surge protector says it ok then remove it for testing purposes. If it is an EMS and you have a low voltage problem then it is turning off the 120 volt power until it comes back into the 108 to 132 volt range. The lights will explane this for you. Look at the directions for uses. As a Master Electrician I would love to help.

[BFL13]

When the furnace fan stops the 12v voltage does a bounce back. Now the 12v things won't work, but then they do. Does the 12v bounce back too high (how could that be--is there a setting on the ? set wrong?) and trip something (inverter?) then the battery (getting low) takes over? Now 12v voltage lower so inverter works again? They are on shore power. No idea what the converter is really doing. All very mysterious.

[ArkansasWeekend]

Yeah.....everything. The TV stays on, but no power for antenna? Sorry....I dont know a lot about it...but it seems that the outlets stay on...and everything else just quits working....and it's only for a few minutes...then everything powers back up. But, when it powers back up, it turns on some of the touch lights...or all...or none...and that part might be what caused a lot of the confusion when I originally posted... I just thought that might be a clue for someone who knows a lot more about it than I do. 😉