Shore power not working

[ClimberRob]

Glad you got everything working!

 

[agate]

I have a 2010 Hawk......I get power charging the battery in the camper when the truck is running, but not from my generator or shore power? I have an Iota I am fairly certain. I did notice that in past when I was plugged into generator or shorepower, little green lights indicated that the 120 plug ins were hot, or worked. I do not see these lights and my battery power stays on 2 lights if plugged into shore power overnight......I need to look inside and see if there is a fuse on back side of iota or not? Any other ideas would be great.

 

[Old Crow]

I have a 2010 Hawk......I get power charging the battery in the camper when the truck is running, but not from my generator or shore power? I have an Iota I am fairly certain. I did notice that in past when I was plugged into generator or shorepower, little green lights indicated that the 120 plug ins were hot, or worked. I do not see these lights and my battery power stays on 2 lights if plugged into shore power overnight......I need to look inside and see if there is a fuse on back side of iota or not? Any other ideas would be great.

Hello, agate!

Given you used to see the little green lights (on the AC outlets, I presume) and no longer do, the problem could be a tripped circuit breaker. That may or may not be the case but it's a good place to start.

According to the 2010 owner's manual on the FWC website, it appears you have an Iota load center, most likely an IDP-30.

If that's the case, the circuit breakers for your 120-volt AC circuits are under the larger cover on the left side of the load center.

(Click to enlarge)



First, look at them. If any are in the Off position, turn them on. If the switch on any of them appears to be in between the off and on position, that indicates a tripped breaker. Note which it is, turn it fully Off, then fully to the On position. If the circuit breaker will not stay in the On position, it's either broken or reacting to a circuit-overload condition. If the breaker stays firmly in the On position, check for power at your AC outlets (with the camper plugged in to shorepower)

If you now have power to your AC outlets, check that the red/silver master 12-volt switch is pulled out to the outer position. The manual tells us that's needed to allow the DLS-30 to charge your batteries.

Also- on the back side of the cover you removed to access the circuit breakers, you should see a list of what your circuit breakers and fuses control. I've seen a photo of it (here) but can't read the detail. Could you reply with what that says (or post a photo of it)?

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[Swamp Creature]

If your circuit breakers seem fine the next step would be locating the converter (note, this is different from the load center). Mine was located behind the two monitors where you would see the green lights. Once I removed the two monitors I was able to reach in and pull the 30 amp fuse on the back of the converter. I actually reached in through the load center cut out. Note that the fuse is held in place by two Phillips head screws which should be loosened before attempting to pull the fuse. I was able to pull the fuse with a pair of long needle nose pliers. Hope this helps!

 

[agate]

Thanks Old Crow and Swamp Creature......I am out of town, but tomorrow I will look and post to here what I see. I took note of those two Phillips screws from OP.....thanks again, I will check in tomorrow.

 

[Old Crow]

On the topic of shore-power in general--- I thought I'd mention two diagnostic tools I find useful for 120-volt (AC) problems in the camper (or around the house)... an outlet tester and a non-contact voltage tester.

I keep an outlet tester (like this one on Amazon) on the end of my camper's extension cord so it's handy for a quick safety check before I plug in to an unproven shorepower source. Just the fact that it lights up tells me whether the outlet is dead or alive immediately. And I always look for the 'correct wiring' indication lights. When I first bought it I checked all the outlets in my home and found two of them had reversed wiring so I was sold on its usefulness right away.

The non-contact voltage tester is a way to check whether an AC voltage is present without plugging something in or touching multimeter probes to bare wires or terminals. The tester lights up and/or makes a sound when it detects the electromagnetic emanations near an energized circuit or component. Holding it up to a wire, outlet, switch, circuit breaker, etc, will tell you if it's live (there are a few exceptions-- like some dimming switches).
I wanted one with a built-in flashlight and dust and moisture protection so went with a Klein NCVT3 model. (Note-- non-contact voltage testers do not work on DC systems. You may see some advertised as working on both high and low voltage circuits but that refers to AC voltages. The lower-AC voltage functionality is used to troubleshoot doorbells, security systems, irrigation systems, etc. Also-- be sure to read the instructions and perhaps watch a few videos on non-contact voltage testers before depending on it to give you a go-ahead to work on any AC circuit.

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[agate]

Thanks for that Old Crow...I finally got back to this issue. Deer hunting got in the way! We only have 21 days here in N. MN for gun season and it is something I do with friends and family every year, so all has to stop for this in my world. Anyhow, I do use the camper every year at deer camp! So, I got there with "four lights" of a full battery, do not use lights in camper typically a candle/small LED battery operated, use the propane fridge, and the furnace fan. It got to 16 or so most of the nights and I would awake to "1 or 2 lights" When leave deer camp I usually come back at dark, run the truck for 1-2 hours while cooking dinner, starting a fire in fire ring, or visiting others in their campers/cabin...then charged back up for the night of running fan...PIA, but works. I have even done this in past down to -12 or so, all works fine in a pinch. But, I gotta fix this and be done not that big of a project, and there is always great advice help here!!! Tomorrow, I have the morning to see again what is in there....I looked at all circuit breakers they are fine, I looked at the fuses and they are fine. So, now I have to find the converter.....behind the two monitors, I assume that is the water/battery monitor? The only green lights I have are the two little ones that indicate the A/C plug in is "hot" ....I hope it is just a 30 amp fuse!

 

[agate]

Well, I got in there this am. I can not get the darn fuse out. I see those little screws, seems like two, is that one for each fuse port, or do you unscrew both? The other fuse port there is a small yellow plastic looking tag in it, no fuse, at least I do not think that is a fuse. The other one is definitely a green 30 amp fuse. I have to pull the whole thing to get at those little bugger screws.

 

[agate]

Well, I am throwing in the towel until Spring. I was out there for several hours this AM and could not get the screws out without pulling all wires off the unit, unscrewing it from the all and then dealing with said screws and fuse. I am just not into that in 22 degree weather and snowing! I will use camper tonight, run my truck tomorrow to get me enough fan juice for Saturday night coming home Sunday take camper off and winterize it till spring. I know what needs to be done in Spring. Thank to all the help/suggestions..........I would be curious tho if others have that little yellow tag looking thing next to the 30 amp fuse?

 

[Old Crow]

Sorry to see it didn't work out, agate. Hopefully things will go easier in the Spring.

You haven't mentioned it but I presume you have the red/silver master 12v switch in the out position when you are plugged in to shore power.

This DLS Tutorial video says the yellow tag or spacer is there in some models to maintain tension on the fuse during transit (at the 3 minute mark in the video) and it can be left there.

Post 24 says there are two Philips screws and you loosen them to allow the fuse to come out. And I know the manual says 'loosen', not 'remove'. I don't have a DLS-30 so that's all I know. I've not been able to find a good photo or video of those screws.

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[pvstoy]

I remember looking at my 2015 hawk flatbed and they have put in a jumper and a external fuse holder for my unit. That will sure eliminate the need to try to get screws out in a awkward place in the future. Might think about that when you get the fuse out.

 

[agate]

just a quick note, the screws are loosen, not remove......you can see the plastic bulge out a bit around the area where the screw is when you get to loosening it! Thanks for the info on that yellow tag......