Well, Croft resolved my electrical issue for me through some of my own Googling.
Turns out I could have solved this problem myself on Thursday evening in about 10 seconds without even going outside.
The problem I was experiencing is that none of my 12V appliances–furnace blower, fridge, lights, or water pump–were working. The battery was good, but no power was going out. Everything had worked fine until late afternoon on Thursday. I couldn’t fathom what had happened in that time to kill my electrical system.
The first thing I suspected was a loose connection. I thought that maybe I hadn’t wrenched the main connector enough because I didn’t have much room to work. So, I went out and bought a teeny wrench. It didn’t help.
I then went and bought a battery terminal cleaning tool and some special gel. They didn’t help.
We blamed the cables. We blamed the converter. I ran I don’t know how many tests with my multimeter. I triple checked my fuses. I quadruple checked my breakers.
Then I did some Googling and found reference to a battery turn off switch.
Croft asked me if that switch could possibly be the great big yellow button on the dash board I’ve referred to a few times.
Indeed. When it’s pulled out, the 12V system works fine. When it gets hit by someone’s knee because it’s at a silly height and location, it shuts off the 12V system.
WHO DESIGNS THESE THINGS?!
I’m choosing to laugh even though I am profoundly embarrassed.
But the upshot of this is that my battery job was good!
No need to be embarrassed Rae! All the troubleshooting we did was right on the money and slowly narrowed the problem down.
It would have been far more embarrassing to have replaced the converter before you found the real problem because that was the track we were headed down! Good work!
The good thing to come out of this is that we now know a TON more about RV electrical systems than we did a week ago!
In hindsight, I am thinking that knob was put there to allow the driver to quickly shut off the electrical system in the case of a crash. Brilliant and frustrating at the same time!
The most important thing that came out of this was the reassurance that there are people out there who are willing to help when something simple needs to be done and then stick it the issue when it becomes problematic. Croft, I am indebted to you. Thank you so very much.
At the start of this problem, I automatically assumed the issue was my battery job. It wasn’t even remotely related to that. So even though the solution turned out to be positively idiotic, it really boosted my confidence level in the sort of work I can do. All the troubleshooting and tests will surely be useful at a later date. I have a good RV troubleshooting manual, but it doesn’t really detail how to do the necessary tests. That book is now a lot more useful to me.
I’m just glad that I didn’t burst into tears on Thursday night, but rather kept my chin up and did the best I could with the knowledge I had at the time. Remember, if your coach battery doesn’t work and your generator won’t start, try to start the generator with the truck running! Having lights and a hot meal on Thursday night made all the difference in my mood.
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Hard to believe this was over three years ago!
Isn’t it?!
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