12 volt problem

[darbyjudy]

My brother-in-law has a 2003 BT Cruiser that he is having problems with 12 volt electrical system. None of the 12 volt lights work unless it is plugged into shore power or the generator is running. At first I though it must be the battery but the battery must be ok for it starts the Generator. any ideas?

[earljan34]

Darby, There must be a fuse that has blown on the 12v feed from the batt. to the lights as the converter is doing its job when pluged in or on gen.

Earl

[darbyjudy]

Earl, I just talked to my Brother & he tested the battery today and it is fine. so I think like you do that there has got to be a fuse or circut breaker between the battery and the 12 volt lights. He has only had this for a short time and he is not too familar with it so I guess he will just have to do some looking starting at the battery. Thanks for you input.

[RJ82much]

DarbyJudy,

Your problem is very difficult to diagnose (12volts to lights ONLY while gen or shore).

Based on the info in front of me, I'm not sure I can see a way for that to happen. Without generator or shore power, turn your internal DC lights on.... Press the battery switch on your front drivers console & see that the DC lamps stay dark. Doing that energizes a relay in your electrical compartment. This will test if a relay is hung up. I suspect though, that nothing will happen & the lights will stay dark.

Next, on my Sun Voyager, there are a "bunch" of relays mounted helter-skelter about in the electrical compartment. One of those goes to your DC fuse panels (under a bed or near a kitchen counter?) It is called the "Bed Base Relay" DUH. Check ALL the relays very carefully for a tripped one. It is very difficult to tell if they are tripped. There is a little arm that sticks out when tripped. Push the arm back into the "hidden position" and see if your dark lights are lit.

For the lights to be lit sometimes says that it is not a burned fuse. I cannot find a converter bypass around the above relay.

Let us know if you happen to find a relay in the tripped position. That happened to me. I've since put a florescent dot on each relay arm to easily see if one has tripped.

[djqualls]

I had a similar problem on my Tour Master and the relay between my convertor\charger and the battery bank was tripped. It was hidden by my surge protector and I found it when I metered the line to the batteries while the convertor was running.

Legs out of charger had 13+ volts--- Cable bolted to batteries 11 volts. Hmmmm... "Well darn...There is a breaker there and its tripped..."

This may be your problem.