Microwave/vacuum

[Rooster Synthetics]

I travel for work and after a move my microwave and vacuum both would not work. Also with furnace running and lights on the lights will Dim and the blower fan slows down. When this happens I can hear another fan kick on I'm assuming on the invertor. When that fan goes off the lights get bright and the furnace fan speeds up. If I turn the lights off it seems to quit. I have 123v at both outlets and 12.6 volts at the battery when plugged into shore power. Any ideas?

[dsol]

Microwave and vacuum both work on 110 volt (AC)and require either generator or shore power. Batteries could be disconnected and they would still work.

If neither the microwave or vacuum are working even with the generator on then I would check the breakers (not fuses as fuses are for the 12v system).

The lights in the coach are all 12 volt dc and will work as long as you have battery power. They will often flicker and then get a little brighter when the converter starts to work when the generator kicks on.

The fan you hear is likely the converter and it will run when converting AC power to DC to charge your batteries. You probably do not have an inverter as an inverter is not standard on these RV’s and is used to invert your DC power to AC. You will see these in high end RV’s that have residential fridges which cannot run on DC while using propane like ours do. They are used when not connected to shore power or when running a generator and you would have a number of batteries in a set up designed for this.

Oh and you might have a tripped GFI outlet somewhere too. Not sure if that would impact microwave and vacuum but it could and keep in mind that Dutchmen is likely very inconsistent with how they run wiring so who knows.

Good luck.

[Rooster Synthetics]

Ya I miss spoke calling it a invertor. I checked the voltage at both locations and getting 123v. After some more reading I'm hoping it's my battery has gone bad. It never done this before this last outing. I'm also going to check a fuse in the microwave I was told was there. I'm hoping a switch has gone bad in the vacuum.

[persistent]

"... after a move my microwave and vacuum both would not work. ..."

Microwave plug behind the micro vibrated loose?

Is the vacuum permanently installed? It may have a plug as well. Look near or behind the vacuum.

Tripped GFI in the outlet, in a nearby daisy chained outlet, in circuit breaker on main panel?

Wire connections vibrated loose somewhere in the system? Dutchman has been known to use wire nuts for 120 volt circuits. Wire nuts are OK for stationary use. Not so good for mobile use.

"Also with furnace running and lights on the lights will Dim and the blower fan slows down. When this happens I can hear another fan kick on I'm assuming on the invertor. When that fan goes off the lights get bright and the furnace fan speeds up. If I turn the lights off it seems to quit. I have 123v at both outlets and 12.6 volts at the battery when plugged into shore power. ..."

Furnace fan and lights run on 12 volts. The second fan starting up means converter is converting more 120 volt line power to 12 volt power.

There may be other devices using 12 volt power. Refer, battery charging, etc. Since batteries are at 12.6 volts when using shore power, they may be drawing the full remaining capacity of the converter to charge. When the furnace fan starts, the voltage drops because the converter is maxed out.

Wait 6 hours and recheck the battery voltage. The voltage should rise significantly if they are charging properly. After 10 hours from the time you plugged into shore power, the current draw from charging should be much lower, maybe 5 amps. The dimming effect will probably not be evident then.

It takes 14 to 18 hours to fully charge a lead acid battery. Current drops as the state of charge increases. Deeply discharged batteries can draw high current. This will max out the converter and it will limit current. Voltage will fluctuate with load.

After a few hours of charging, current draw drops and terminal voltage raises. When voltage reaches about 13.6 (some chargers go to 14.4 volts), the converter switches from maximum current to voltage regulation. Thus dimming effect will disappear.

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

[dsol]

Originally Posted by Rooster Synthetics

Ya I miss spoke calling it a invertor. I checked the voltage at both locations and getting 123v. After some more reading I'm hoping it's my battery has gone bad. It never done this before this last outing. I'm also going to check a fuse in the microwave I was told was there. I'm hoping a switch has gone bad in the vacuum.

Again, your battery will have no impact on those appliances as they are AC. If I was you I wouldn’t spend any more time on your 12v system because they do not have any impact here—as far as I beeline anyway. While it is possible you might have a 12v issue that would be in addition to the AC issue you are having.

Also, I assume they both stopped working as the same time? Of first one then later the other? If they quit at separate times then your plan has more merit but if they both quit at the same time more likely an overload or something. Good that you have 123v at some outlets as that means the power is coming into your trailer but did you check the circuit breakers? It is possible those for the microwave and vacuum have tripped for some reason—I think unlikely but possible. Again, don’t worry about your fuses here—just check the breakers. Even the goofballs at Dutchmen should have labeled them correctly.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

[larrypride]

If the problem fixes itself after you move you probably have a loose connection. Like said before your lights and fan for furnace are 12 volts.