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Odd power issues on 2000 Jayco Eagle

jaycoman89
Explorer
Explorer
Hello,

I have a 2000 Jayco Eagle TT that I have at a campground on the lake nearby. The last couple of months, I've run into some electrical oddities that I'll try to describe as simply as possible, hoping someone has some suggestions/ideas on what could be causing them. They appear to happen at random and most aren't reproducible, they just seem to happen sporadically but increasingly are inevitable. It's been over a month since we've gone down and not dealt with at least one of these problems. I don't know what sort of connection there is between these problems, if any.

1. Even when the Norcold fridge is set to "AU AC" (meaning automatically running on AC power), when I turn on the bathroom light or the light just outside the bathroom, I will get a the "DC lo" fault code on the fridge. This doesn't always happen, but once I'm in the camper for a night, the next day this will happen 100% of the time. That fault code won't appear with any other light in the RV, just the two that appear to be closest to the fridge.

2. Another problem we run into: every now and then, flipping a light switch will kill the rooftop air conditioner if its running. After 15-20 minutes, flipping another light switch will turn the A/C back on. The breaker doesn't trip at any point.

3. This has only happened once, but there was an instance where, just before we were going to sleep, I turned off the bedroom overhead light. This was the only light on in the trailer. This killed the A/C and the power. I can't remember now if the microwave and fridge went off, but no lights or air would turn on. After maybe 30 minutes, the lights and air conditioner came back on by themselves. The breaker didn't trip at any point.

4. There was an instance where during a shower (running hot water), the lights and air conditioner turned off by themselves. I can't remember if the breaker tripped here as she had to come fetch me off the water to take a look, but everything came back on after turning the main breaker on and off again.

No one in the campground seems to have much idea why these things would be happening, and while I know of converter/inverter, battery, breaker and fuses, I'm not electrically skilled in a way where I can really think about the connection between the lights/air/appliances to the extent where I can mentally or physically troubleshoot. I had a couple of electricians who have campers out there look at the breaker and battery, and they said there was nothing out of the ordinary there. I have read that the old lightbulbs can be electrically "noisy" which may explain the odd connection between the a random light switch, air and fridge, but that's all i've really been able to find. Any ideas are helpful!
15 REPLIES 15

jaycoman89
Explorer
Explorer
Update: Used a battery charger this weekend, didn't run into a single problem the entire time.

jaycoman89
Explorer
Explorer
Lynnmor wrote:
jaycoman89 wrote:
Lynnmor wrote:
You have a very bad connection somewhere in the 12 volt wiring. I would start by taking down any affected fixtures and checking connections. Also check ground connections near the battery and any frame grounds underneath.


Thanks! In your opinion does it sound like the poor connection is potentially to blame for each of these issues?


Yes, did you check any of those connections yet, or are you still taking a campground survey?


Just a weekend warrior but will be down this weekend to check it out. Seems to be a few different lines of thought floating around between wiring, battery and converter.

jaycoman89
Explorer
Explorer
Flute Man wrote:
May also have a bad battery or battery connections.


The local tech I talked to said it sounds like a bad converter, which is why he suggested placing a charger on the battery. Will see what he says after troubleshooting.

Lynnmor
Explorer
Explorer
jaycoman89 wrote:
Lynnmor wrote:
You have a very bad connection somewhere in the 12 volt wiring. I would start by taking down any affected fixtures and checking connections. Also check ground connections near the battery and any frame grounds underneath.


Thanks! In your opinion does it sound like the poor connection is potentially to blame for each of these issues?


Yes, did you check any of those connections yet, or are you still taking a campground survey?

eHoefler
Explorer II
Explorer II
Most likely a bad battery, causing the convertor to make up the load for the changing load. Battery acts as a capacitor to buffer the changings loads as the come and go.
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cavie
Explorer
Explorer
A/C uses 12 volts for control circuit. Remove the battery and have it load tested whit an old fashion resistive load tester. Not a newer computer version. All auto parts stores have one. Find the main battery ground connection to the frame and remove it. Clean good and replace.
2011 Keystone Sprinter 323BHS. Retired Master Electrician. Retired Building Inspector.

All Motor Homes are RV's. All RV's are not Motor Homes.

Flute_Man
Explorer
Explorer
May also have a bad battery or battery connections.
Jerry Parr
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enblethen
Nomad
Nomad
Yes, the air conditioner runs on 120 volt AC power, however some use 12 volt DC control from the thermostat.

Bud
USAF Retired
Pace Arrow


2003 Chev Ice Road Tracker

jaycoman89
Explorer
Explorer
ok, all of these responses are starting to paint a picture of what i'm dealing with.

AJR - that makes lot of sense now because everyone at the campground was adamant that the air was AC and the lights were DC which is why that strange connection between turning a light on and the air turning off didn't make sense to them. But turning the light on impacted the thermostat, not the air itself. At least that is my assumption.

I talked to a local tech who's coming to troubleshoot next weekend. He said to put a standard battery charger on the battery in the front of the camper, need about 10 amps, to get everything online until he can get there to take a look. This guy has good reviews and is apparently very knowledgable - does this temporary charger fix sound logically consistent?

tempforce
Explorer
Explorer
you may be dealing with a low voltage condition. low voltage makes electronics wonky.... your water heater, fridge and a/c/ all have circuit boards or relays. that require a certain amount of voltage and current. when they don't receive it, they do weird stuff. most camp grounds run off one or two transformers. the power company sets them. in the parks I have used. they had to have them set before and after each season to maintain correct settings.

somewhere in the texas 'lost pines'


currently without rv.
'13' Ford Fusion
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downsizing from a 1 ton diesel and a 32' trailer, to a 19-21' trailer for the '56'.

AJR
Explorer
Explorer
All I can say is my 2004 TT thermostat was DC. It looked just like the thermostats on older ones I looked at. In fact my 2013 class C had the same looking thermostat.

The air conditioner runs on 120VAC but is controlled by DC.
2007 Roadtrek 210 Popular
2015 GMC Terrain AWD

jaycoman89
Explorer
Explorer
enblethen wrote:
Sounds like as suggested earlier a loose connection. I would be looking closer to the 12 volt DC distribution panel or converter connections.
Yes, as many newer units have a combination thermostat that has 12 volt DC control.


Everyone out there was saying the air con runs on AC only, does a 2000 model count as "newer"?

enblethen
Nomad
Nomad
Sounds like as suggested earlier a loose connection. I would be looking closer to the 12 volt DC distribution panel or converter connections.
Yes, as many newer units have a combination thermostat that has 12 volt DC control.

Bud
USAF Retired
Pace Arrow


2003 Chev Ice Road Tracker

jaycoman89
Explorer
Explorer
Lynnmor wrote:
You have a very bad connection somewhere in the 12 volt wiring. I would start by taking down any affected fixtures and checking connections. Also check ground connections near the battery and any frame grounds underneath.


Thanks! In your opinion does it sound like the poor connection is potentially to blame for each of these issues?