2005 Hawk Shore AC power works, No DC power

[Fresh]

I have anew to me camper. Just today an electrical gremlin presented itself where the camper will not power up unless it's plugged into AC shore power. Th battery is charged, no fuses are blown, the circuit breakers don't trip, converter is working, and the main kill switch is also working. I haven't had time to trace most of the wires as this happened later in the day. But I'm hoping the problem lies somewhere downstream of the main on/off switch as it does appear to have power from the battery and allow power to go through when it is pulled out. That's where my troubleshooting ended tonight. I'm hoping there's another fuse in there somewhere, but any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[TacomaAustin]

Where is the push pull disconnect for the house battery located on this Hawk? Can you gain access to the rear terminals to check its operation with a voltmeter?

The reason I ask is that on my build I believe that I'd have remove the stove and the top of the stove cabinet to gain access to the switch. I dread the day I need to access those terminals. So, I leave it pull out and have installed a separate disconnect closer to the house batteries positive terminal.

 

[Fresh]

It is directly below the stove next to the fuse box. Yes, last night I pulled it all out. The switch was allowing power to flow when it was pulled out and stopped it when pushed in.

however the strangest thing occurred this morning, on a whim I thought let me see if it fixed itself over the night. With shore power disconnected upon pulling the master battery switch to the ON position it all worked. I have no idea what is going on other than maybe there is a thermal shunt somewhere inline that I didn't have access to which opened up and during the night it closed. I'm still confused as to what is going on but happy the DC power is working.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Unless I’m missing something, that is normal operation. The push pull switch connects the battery to the battery bus and on to systems. On shore power, the converter sends DC to the battery bus. Have the switch pulled out to charge the battery when on shore power.

 

[Fresh]

Wandering Sagebrush, you are correct. However it was not powering up the DC when disconnected from shore power. I pulled the converter and fuse panel apart last night tracing wires and couldn't figure it out. This morning it was working just as you describe with the only variable being time. That's why I was wondering if there was a thermal fuse in there somewhere where I couldn't get to yet.

 

[BobD]

I have a 2012 Grandby (2nd Owner) and had a similar problem. When hooked to shore power the convertor would not output 12V or charge batteries. I removed the convertor to bench test and it had the correct output voltage (13.4). I reinstalled the convertor and decided to check the outlet which it plugged into. I have the older Iota load center and the bottom breaker was labeled as Not Used and was off. Sure enough the outlet on the back of the Iota that was supposed to power the convertor was connected to the "Not Used" breaker. Turned the breaker on and the magic happened as designed the converter came on, fan started and my volt meter was reading 13.4 volts. The bottom breaker is now correctly relabeled Convertor.

 

[Fresh]

Back to having the same issue again after a couple of years with no problems. I replaced the battery disconnect switch hoping that would be an easy fix. Nothing. When plugged into shore power the Iota converter is powering up the entire camper off of AC power and charging the battery. When I disconnect the camper from shore power nothing. I am leaning towards the Iota AC/DC distribution panel is the culprit but I am getting power across the fuses, just nothing is powering up. Maybe a ground somewhere? If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I am all ears. More troubleshooting tomorrow.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Look carefully at the wire paths (positive and negative) between the batteries and the positive and negative buses.

If you have normal operation on shore power, you must have an open somewhere between that area. Does FWC use a relay as a connector?

 

[Fresh]

A relay as a connector for what exactly?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

A relay is often used to control something that has a larger current flow. For example, car headlights. When you turn them on, it closes a relay that is capable of handling larger current. The starter is another example.

Do you have a wiring diagram for your camper? If so, look for your battery switch, then trace the wires to see how it energizes your positive bus.

 

[Fresh]

The only relay in there is the ON-OFF battery disconnect switch.

So this morning I bypassed the negative and positive bus bars and put in some temporary ones just to troubleshoot some more. Unplugged the camper from AC power and it started up right away and every DC circuit is being powered as it should. So the Iota converter and AC/DC distribution panel is working. It appears the issue was the ground on the negative bus bar.

The stock negative bus bar looks pretty useless as it has maybe a 14 gauge wire running to the camper. I can’t tell what the wire is being connected to on the camper to ground it. Where is it normally grounded to in the camper? I’m going to need to play around with it some more to find a permanent grounding location.

 

[Vic Harder]

I hate to ask, but is the push/pull kill switch for the DC power on?

 

[Fresh]

I hate to ask, but is the push/pull kill switch for the DC power on?

Yes

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

The only relay in there is the ON-OFF battery disconnect switch.

So this morning I bypassed the negative and positive bus bars and put in some temporary ones just to troubleshoot some more. Unplugged the camper from AC power and it started up right away and every DC circuit is being powered as it should. So the Iota converter and AC/DC distribution panel is working. It appears the issue was the ground on the negative bus bar.

The stock negative bus bar looks pretty useless as it has maybe a 14 gauge wire running to the camper. I can’t tell what the wire is being connected to on the camper to ground it. Where is it normally grounded to in the camper? I’m going to need to play around with it some more to find a permanent grounding location.

Good work!