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Old 06-24-2014, 03:04 AM   #1
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2004 aerolite A27BH no AC power

have no AC power except power to microwave. reset breakers numerous times. Do not see any lose wiring at electrical panel. I have 3 breakers. One runs microwave, the other 2 I reset with no luck. Is it possible that 2 breakers could be blown? All 12v fuses OK. I heard a pop at panel after plugging into house electric when charging camper battery before a camping outing. Any help would be appreciated.
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Old 06-24-2014, 03:53 AM   #2
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have no AC power except power to microwave. reset breakers numerous times. Do not see any lose wiring at electrical panel. I have 3 breakers. One runs microwave, the other 2 I reset with no luck. Is it possible that 2 breakers could be blown? All 12v fuses OK. I heard a pop at panel after plugging into house electric when charging camper battery before a camping outing. Any help would be appreciated.
Welcome to the forum.

Yes it is possible that you could have two bad breakers, but the problem is likely something other than the breakers.

The pop sounds like a dead short snapping the breaker of instanly.

When you try to reset the breakers do you get anything at all? To test plug in a lamp to on a receptacle flip the breaker and see if you get a light. If the lamp lights and and the goes out it would mean that you have problem in the wiring.

Other things that can cause a no power situation could be broken wires or bad connections.
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Old 06-24-2014, 04:25 AM   #3
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checked interior and exterior lites after reseting breakers and still no luck. the only power is to the microwave. how to test whether breakers blown? used camper last year had no issues with electrical system. problem seems to have occurred after sitting all winter and getting ready for this season when i plugged in to house electric to charge battery.
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Old 06-24-2014, 04:40 AM   #4
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By checking interior lights and exterior lights are you talking about you 12V system? My unit only has one 120V light and that is the lamp between the recliners.

The 120V system is mainly your wall receptacles, AC, entertainment system and Microwave.

If you have narrowed it down to the 120V system and not the 12V system, then get a new breaker to match your service panel and swap out a breaker to see if that is the problem. 15 amp breakers are reasonably inexpensive at the big box stores.

If you find that it is your 12V system, the first place I would look is the batteries. If they are good, next is the 12V converter breakers and then the converter itself.

Electrical problems are no fun and you need to go through things in a methodical way eliminating things one at a time.
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Old 06-24-2014, 11:56 AM   #5
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have power to outlets but no AC unit power. will check battery area. not sure where 12v converter breakers are
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Old 06-24-2014, 12:41 PM   #6
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I seem to remember another thread a couple of months ago where someone was only getting power down one leg of their cord. Are you plugging in to 30 or 50 amp or just using an extension cord off the house?
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Old 06-24-2014, 01:17 PM   #7
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i am running power cord from my house electric
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Old 06-24-2014, 01:26 PM   #8
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Is your trailer wired for 30 or 50 amp power? 3 prong or 4 prong plug?
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Old 06-24-2014, 01:37 PM   #9
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it is a 3 prong plug. all outlets work. microwave works. air conditioner unit does not work. interior/exterior lines do not work.
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Old 06-24-2014, 01:49 PM   #10
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Couple of other questions. Were you hooked up to your house last year the same way when everything worked or were you at a campground? Do you know what the amperage is of the circuit you're plugged into? Sounds like you're getting 110V power in if the outlets and microwave work. If its just the Air Conditioner that's not working look specifically for the AC breaker and troubleshoot around that. Bad breaker possibly, mice could have chewed wires over the winter, hard to say.
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Old 06-24-2014, 01:55 PM   #11
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have power to outlets but no AC unit power. will check battery area. not sure where 12v converter breakers are
I assume as you say you only have 3 breakers, we are talking a 30 amp service.

Are you hooked up to 30 amps right now, or are you using a 15 amp adapter.

As you have power to the receptacles and microwave, should eliminate those 2 breakers. Now we are dealing with the AC, turn off the recept and micro breakers and try the AC.

If your AC starts or tries to start then you are OK, your just trying to use too much power all at once and the AC is kicking off. Now that leads me to another possible problem, that is why isn't the shore power breaker kicking off. Something I would check in the future.

When you are hooked up to a 15 amp service and try to use more than the fridge on 120, you are probably going to blow something. Your AC takes a big bite to get started and once it is running it draws most of the 15 amps that you are providing.

The 12V breakers on my camper are mounted on the A-frame, right where the road debris and muck can get to them. I have replaced them a couple of times, one of my to do list projects is to move them somewhere that will provide more shelter.

As we are talking 120V that pretty much eliminates the 12V breakers, but good to know where they are and what size. I have 2, one 40 amp and one 50 amp. Always carry spares in the camper.

I hope you find the problem is not a problem, but just trying to draw more power than your shore power is providing.

One other thought are you using an extension cord between the camper and the house. If you are the minimum wire size should be 12 gauge and be as short as possible. Light extensions can't provide the load needed to kick in the AC.
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Old 06-24-2014, 02:00 PM   #12
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I seem to remember another thread a couple of months ago where someone was only getting power down one leg of their cord. Are you plugging in to 30 or 50 amp or just using an extension cord off the house?
Sawpilot,

Sounds like we've done this before.

Are correct about the 50 amp thread, there has been a couple of them in the past few months.
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Old 06-24-2014, 02:01 PM   #13
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Start at the source, disconnect the A/C wire and check for 110 volt AC at the A/C breaker.

If you have 110 volts AC at the terminal of the breaker then it most likely is OK.

The next step would be to disconnect the 110 volt AC wires at the A/C itself. Turn on the breaker and see if you have the proper voltage there. If you do then the wires running to the A/C are good.

Turn the breaker off and reconnect the A/C and see if the breaker opens (breaks). If so then the A/C unit itself has a problem or the breaker is weak and can't handle the start load.

Cheapest test would simply be to replace the breaker. If the A/C works then that was the problem, if not, then a problem is the A/C unit itself. You can continue with diagnosis of the unit or take it to a repair shop.

Of course ensure the supply wiring from the house is of the proper size as mentioned above.
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Old 06-24-2014, 02:17 PM   #14
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Sawpilot,

Sounds like we've done this before.

Are correct about the 50 amp thread, there has been a couple of them in the past few months.
Tried looking for those threads but didn't have any luck. Don't think that's what is happening here though. Thought about the AC overloading the small cord but figured it would kick the shore power off like you said.
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Old 06-24-2014, 02:19 PM   #15
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Have you checked the GFI if you camper is equipped with one. Those buggers can trip and mess with your head until you reset them.
Good luck.

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Old 06-25-2014, 02:52 AM   #16
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this is getting interesting. I have power at outlets and microwave but nothing at air conditioner, frig, or interior/exterior lites. checked all fuses. they are ok. main breaker is 30 amp dual pole with a 15 amp. have another dual pole with a 15 and 20 amp. a third breaker 15 amp that powers microwave. I have power at the breakers and put new breaker in for 20/15 amp breaker. I believe that is the Air conditioner unit breaker. still no luck with getting air cond. to turn on.

other issue is 12v lights. checked converter panel model CS6000XL. single fuse on circuit board ok. checked for other fuses,could not find any. there is power into converter, no 12v power coming out to 12v panel where 12v fuses and wiring is. checked voltage at battery wires and no voltage measured.

GFI is ok in bathroom. I think I have a blown converter. I did notice a blackened capacitor on converter circuit board. that cant be good.

will try sundancer 87's suggestions tomorrow. thanks for all your help.
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Old 06-25-2014, 04:00 AM   #17
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this is getting interesting. I have power at outlets and microwave but nothing at air conditioner, frig, or interior/exterior lites. checked all fuses. they are ok. main breaker is 30 amp dual pole with a 15 amp. have another dual pole with a 15 and 20 amp. a third breaker 15 amp that powers microwave. I have power at the breakers and put new breaker in for 20/15 amp breaker. I believe that is the Air conditioner unit breaker. still no luck with getting air cond. to turn on.

other issue is 12v lights. checked converter panel model CS6000XL. single fuse on circuit board ok. checked for other fuses,could not find any. there is power into converter, no 12v power coming out to 12v panel where 12v fuses and wiring is. checked voltage at battery wires and no voltage measured.

GFI is ok in bathroom. I think I have a blown converter. I did notice a blackened capacitor on converter circuit board. that cant be good.

will try sundancer 87's suggestions tomorrow. thanks for all your help.J
Ouch!

I hope that you don't have a blown converter, but if it is you may be able to have it repaired at your local electronics repair shop. I have had a few electronics repaired that I was sure were totally burnt toast.

To throw gasoline on the fire it sounds like your AC could be toast as well. If your lucky it's going to be a bad connection at the AC.
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Old 06-25-2014, 04:53 AM   #18
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keeping fingers crossed its not a/c unit. but frig doesn't work either. how much is new converter cost
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Old 06-25-2014, 05:53 AM   #19
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keeping fingers crossed its not a/c unit. but frig doesn't work either. how much is new converter cost
Your fridge needs 120V or 12V to work so until the electrical system it is working your probably not going get much working the way it should.

The best thing to do is shop online for a converter if you need on. But don't jump in until you see if your converter can be saved.

It sounds like you need to go right back to the beginnig. Start with your 120V system and get that all straightened out.

I would disconnect the converter while working on the 120V system, once that's working, hook the converter back up. Is the 120 still working or does the converter cause problems.

Do you now have 12V, if not then your probably right the converter is fried.

You mentioned no voltage at the batteries, are they dead? If so that's one more wrench in the works.
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Old 06-25-2014, 01:56 PM   #20
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I was just going to post on this item. This exact same thing happened to me yesterday. GFI was not tripped, all breakers were good, batteries good...and then I found the converter. Look at the converter. I blew both 40amp fuses, probably when I hooked up the batteries. Works like a charm now. Hope this helps.
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