Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Thor Forums > Thor Tech Forums > Maintenance and Repair
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 10-24-2018, 07:48 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Oregon
Posts: 8
THOR #12959
House DC Power Issues

Hi Guys,

I've got a Four Winds Chateau Citation 23A that is having issues with the DC power and I need some help troubleshooting it!!

Here's the problem - when I'm on Shore Power, or Generator everything internally runs great (lights, water pump, etc) but as soon as I disconnect Shore Power, or turn off the Generator then there is no power inside the RV.

The House Battery is fully charged and I've tested it and made sure it's working great (it's only 3 months old). The House Battery seems to come into RV via the Red Cable (from the floor) in the picture below:



It connects up to the switch that I marked with an arrow and when I check there is 12.6 v on both sides of that switch. I'm using the copper ground cable pictured as my ground for testing.

The red cable goes from the switch into the breaker box pictured below:



I get the same voltage when testing at the right and white cables. I also tested by grounding the tester on the big white cable and then testing on the silver screw heads next to each fuse and got 12.6v there too.

So I'm not sure why there is no power inside the RV.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm not good with electrical, so if my testing is on the wrong cables, please let me know what I should be testing!!

Thanks so much!
Steve

__________________
StevoDevo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 07:58 PM   #2
Site Team
 
16ACE27's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: ACE 27.1
State: Florida
Posts: 16,490
THOR #7035
Put your USE/STORE switch in USE.

Are your voltage measurements made with or without the RV connected to Shore Power?
__________________
Ted & Melinda
2016 ACE 27.1
2020 Chevy Colorado Z71 Trail Runner Toad
2024 Chevrolet Trax 2RS - Soon 2B BU TOAD
16ACE27 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 07:59 PM   #3
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Oregon
Posts: 8
THOR #12959
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tfryman View Post
Put your USE/STORE switch in USE.
Where would I find that switch???
__________________
StevoDevo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 08:04 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds
State: Ontario
Posts: 265
THOR #9081
Quote:
Originally Posted by StevoDevo View Post
Where would I find that switch???
They are normally right beside the door when you come into the RV.
__________________
_____________________
2018 Four Winds 31Y
Peterrrr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 08:10 PM   #5
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Oregon
Posts: 8
THOR #12959
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peterrrr View Post
They are normally right beside the door when you come into the RV.
I don't think my MH has one of those! I can't find any switch like that anyway. I do have a control panel as I enter the RV but that just has switches for the water pump, generator etc.
__________________
StevoDevo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 09:55 PM   #6
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 24F
State: Arizona
Posts: 23
THOR #8058
I kind of have the same problem?? My inverter doesn't put out enought valtage to kep the batteries up.
__________________
sluiceman2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 10:32 PM   #7
Site Team
 
16ACE27's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: ACE 27.1
State: Florida
Posts: 16,490
THOR #7035
Quote:
Originally Posted by StevoDevo View Post
I don't think my MH has one of those! I can't find any switch like that anyway. I do have a control panel as I enter the RV but that just has switches for the water pump, generator etc.
What year is your coach?
__________________
Ted & Melinda
2016 ACE 27.1
2020 Chevy Colorado Z71 Trail Runner Toad
2024 Chevrolet Trax 2RS - Soon 2B BU TOAD
16ACE27 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 10:34 PM   #8
Site Team
 
16ACE27's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: ACE 27.1
State: Florida
Posts: 16,490
THOR #7035
Quote:
Originally Posted by sluiceman2 View Post
I kind of have the same problem?? My inverter doesn't put out enought valtage to kep the batteries up.
Inverters don't "put out" DV voltage or current, they use DC voltage and current to create 120 Volts AC.

Some larger inverters may have a built-in CONVERTER, whose job it is to take 120 VAC and CONVERT it to 12 VDC for DC loads and to charge the batteries.
__________________
Ted & Melinda
2016 ACE 27.1
2020 Chevy Colorado Z71 Trail Runner Toad
2024 Chevrolet Trax 2RS - Soon 2B BU TOAD
16ACE27 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 11:00 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds
State: Ontario
Posts: 265
THOR #9081
Quote:
Originally Posted by StevoDevo View Post
I don't think my MH has one of those! I can't find any switch like that anyway. I do have a control panel as I enter the RV but that just has switches for the water pump, generator etc.
So I think we are looking at an older Citation here, not a recent one on the sprinter chassis. The item you call a switch is the circuit breaker. The disconnect is usually connected between this breaker and the converter. Looks like in your picture you do not have one. On the side of the circuit breaker there is a little button. Have you pressed the button to reset the breaker?

Now when you say you measured voltage and you had voltage on both sides of the circuit breaker, is that with no shore power and no generator? Same question for the voltage measuring on the fuses?
__________________
_____________________
2018 Four Winds 31Y
Peterrrr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 11:21 PM   #10
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Oregon
Posts: 8
THOR #12959
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peterrrr View Post
So I think we are looking at an older Citation here, not a recent one on the sprinter chassis. The item you call a switch is the circuit breaker. The disconnect is usually connected between this breaker and the converter. Looks like in your picture you do not have one. On the side of the circuit breaker there is a little button. Have you pressed the button to reset the breaker?

Now when you say you measured voltage and you had voltage on both sides of the circuit breaker, is that with no shore power and no generator? Same question for the voltage measuring on the fuses?
It's a 2009 and I'm definitely testing voltages with no shore power and no generator.

When I press the button on the side nothing happens. The button just feels floppy (for lack of a better word). Could that circuit breaker be bad?
__________________
StevoDevo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 11:23 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds
State: Ontario
Posts: 265
THOR #9081
I just gave this some more thought. If the voltage you are measuring is 12.6 this is more than likely a battery voltage. The converter/charger voltage should be greater than 13, unless the converter/charger is no longer any good. So with no DC output voltage could be the reverse polarity fuses. Those are the two yellow 12 volt fuses to the left of all your fuses.
__________________
_____________________
2018 Four Winds 31Y
Peterrrr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 11:25 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds
State: Ontario
Posts: 265
THOR #9081
Quote:
Originally Posted by StevoDevo View Post
It's a 2009 and I'm definitely testing voltages with no shore power and no generator.

When I press the button on the side nothing happens. The button just feels floppy (for lack of a better word). Could that circuit breaker be bad?
If your measuring the same voltages on both sides, then it should be good.
__________________
_____________________
2018 Four Winds 31Y
Peterrrr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2018, 11:30 PM   #13
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Oregon
Posts: 8
THOR #12959
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peterrrr View Post
If your measuring the same voltages on both sides, then it should be good.
Am I testing correctly with my voltmeter if I've got the red positive cable on the switch and the black negative on that copper ground?
__________________
StevoDevo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 12:01 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds
State: Ontario
Posts: 265
THOR #9081
Quote:
Originally Posted by StevoDevo View Post
Am I testing correctly with my voltmeter if I've got the red positive cable on the switch and the black negative on that copper ground?
Yes. If you reversed them your meter should show a negative, but the same voltage. I looked that the 2009 Brochure, has nothing for Citation, but says both the battery disconnect switch and emergency start switch are standard equipment on the 2009 Four Winds Chateau. But if you are measuring voltage at the fuses then I can not see why you would not have voltage at any of the devices. Are the reverse polarity fuses ok?
__________________
_____________________
2018 Four Winds 31Y
Peterrrr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 08:27 PM   #15
Junior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Maine
Posts: 28
THOR #13246
Doesn't measuring dc volts on either side of a fuse indicate it's blown?
__________________
redshift is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-25-2018, 08:29 PM   #16
Site Team
 
16ACE27's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: ACE 27.1
State: Florida
Posts: 16,490
THOR #7035
Quote:
Originally Posted by redshift View Post
Doesn't measuring dc volts on either side of a fuse indicate it's blown?
If you measure from one side to the other. A good fuse would show 0 VDC.

But if you measure both sides to ground and they both have the same voltage to ground then the fuse is good.
__________________
Ted & Melinda
2016 ACE 27.1
2020 Chevy Colorado Z71 Trail Runner Toad
2024 Chevrolet Trax 2RS - Soon 2B BU TOAD
16ACE27 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2018, 05:27 AM   #17
Senior Member
 
State: Alaska
Posts: 295
THOR #8813
Use/store switch. Mine is by front door GR22
__________________
carlgorski is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-29-2018, 01:18 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2013 ACE 30.1
State: Alberta
Posts: 1,413
THOR #2631
When you see 12 VDC on either side of that probably 50 amp cct breaker in your picture, do you have shore power connected or the generator running? If yes, then you are probably seeing the converter output 12 VDC and not the coach battery 12VDC. If that is true then my guess is you have a bad or just open latching relay between your 12V coach battery and the cct breaker shown in your pictures (red wire connected). Then you need to find where the latching relay is located......try following the red wire you say seems to come from the coach battery. Trace it out if you can or start at the battery end.



I am attaching a generic schematic which may help anyone visualize a generic coach (with hydraulic jacks; generator and on the right side of the diagram is the typical 50 amp cct breaker (shown in your picture) and a latching relay which is typically controlled by the door use/store switch or similar. This is a generic diagram only. Hope this helps.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	Basic Generic Battery Schematic.jpg
Views:	557
Size:	69.5 KB
ID:	13711  
__________________
javelin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-29-2018, 02:06 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2013 ACE 30.1
State: Alberta
Posts: 1,413
THOR #2631
I should point out that the generic diagram I posted above has the coach batteries wired in series (not parallel) which would make them each 6 volt batteries. You have to look closely for the +/- terminals. Also the diagram represents a generic 12vDC wiring diagram only....that is there is no 120VAC shown. So for example, the generator is showing its 12VDC connection for starting only......the AC output side is not shown.
__________________
javelin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-03-2018, 07:04 PM   #20
Member
 
cmore's Avatar
 
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: FW Chateau Citatiion 23BA
State: Tennessee
Posts: 40
THOR #8316
On my 2007 Four Winds Chateau Citation Series M-23BA 6.0 Liter GMT600, the use store switch is on the right as u enter from outside the door.




__________________
2007 Four Winds Chateau Citation 23BA
cmore is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Thor Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.




All times are GMT. The time now is 09:38 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2