2020 Reflection 31MB lost 12V power in front half of trailer

[EdwardK]

Hello everyone;
I have a problem. My 31MB has no DC power to the front half of the trailer.
it is parked in my driveway with AC hooked up so the battery is fully charged. Everything works ok in the back half of the trailer but the front half has no light and the bathroom fan is dead. Also the thermostat in the master bedroom is dead. However all the AC receptacles works fine. I checked all the fuses and none are blown.
Any suggestions?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Edward

[howson]

EdwardK -- I'm at work without access to my files. If the other moderators don't respond before I get home in a couple of hours I'll check to see what (if anything) I can figure out. Or maybe there's another 31MB owner here who can chime in.

In the interim, can you take a picture of your Power Distribution Panel showing the breakers and fuses and post it here? Seeing what is in your trailer vs what I may have for information will help.

Howard

[EdwardK]

Thank you for reply.
here are some pictures I took.
Please let me know if you need more.

[Country Campers]

Just make sure to double check the 12 v fuses. I had one on mine that did not look blown and the light that is suppose to indicate a blown fuse was not lit , this is on the distribution panel that you have pictured.
Pull the fuses and check with a multi meter.

Brian

[EdwardK]

Just make sure to double check the 12 v fuses. I had one on mine that did not look blown and the light that is suppose to indicate a blown fuse was not lit , this is on the distribution panel that you have pictured.
Pull the fuses and check with a multi meter.

Brian

Thank you for your reply Brian,
Just checked all fuses, and they were all good.

[Jlawles2]

If all of the fuses are good and the fuse bus has power, the only other thing that would make that much of a change is a ground. Any recent activity under the coach that may have caused a ground to get broken or disconnected? Did you remove any terminals on the frame and paint then put them back? Also have you checked to see if any of the fixtures have power (would verify that there is a bad ground)?

[howson]

Just checked all fuses, and they were all good.

Are all the items that have lost power turned on and off using the Convenience Center Panel? (Please take a pic of it, too, and post.)

[howson]

EdwardK

Check the awning light and step lights--do they work?

Porch light?

Will the awning extend and retract?

[EdwardK]

EdwardK

Check the awning light and step lights--do they work?

Porch light?

Will the awning extend and retract?

All the outside lights and the awning works. I checked the slides and they are working.
During the President weekend I took the trailer out for the first time and I haven’t touched anything as I can remember.
Also picture of the control panel. Everything works from the panel.
Thank you again for your helps.

Edward

[EdwardK]

If all of the fuses are good and the fuse bus has power, the only other thing that would make that much of a change is a ground. Any recent activity under the coach that may have caused a ground to get broken or disconnected? Did you remove any terminals on the frame and paint then put them back? Also have you checked to see if any of the fixtures have power (would verify that there is a bad ground)?

All the AC receptacles are working. I can plug in and there is AC power present.

[howson]

EdwardK -- OK, then it appears your unit is an early 2020 and does not have the CompassControl system in it.

Re-reading your first post it says, Front half of the trailer. Looking at the floorplan and comparing it to the fuse panel, it looks like the issue is in circuit #4 Bath.

Before I proceed, though, please know that if your experience and ability to work around electricity is limited or you're not 100% sure you know what you're doing--consider calling for an RV technician to resolve the issue. There's no point in hurting yourself or damaging the camper. There's no shame in calling in the cavalry when the going is too tough.

Jlawles2 's theory is sound...but finding that elusive ground that's missing could be quite interesting. The only way I know to verify the ground theory is to use a known ground and then check for +12v on an easily accessible positive wire. (The lights in the ceiling snap out fairly easily or the shroud around the fan is easy to unscrew--those are two options.)

The other possibility besides a ground is where the +12v circuit ties into circuit #4 on the Power Distribution Panel. It could be a loose connection on the -12v return line or the +12v power line. It is not unheard of for the screws in that panel to work themselves loose. (Checking them is actually highly encouraged on a routine basis.) A thread documenting this is here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...al-maintenance

Getting late, so I'll check this thread again in the morning. Please be very careful working around live power.

Howard

[EdwardK]

EdwardK -- OK, then it appears your unit is an early 2020 and does not have the CompassControl system in it.

Re-reading your first post it says, Front half of the trailer. Looking at the floorplan and comparing it to the fuse panel, it looks like the issue is in circuit #4 Bath.

Before I proceed, though, please know that if your experience and ability to work around electricity is limited or you're not 100% sure you know what you're doing--consider calling for an RV technician to resolve the issue. There's no point in hurting yourself or damaging the camper. There's no shame in calling in the cavalry when the going is too tough.

Jlawles2 's theory is sound...but finding that elusive ground that's missing could be quite interesting. The only way I know to verify the ground theory is to use a known ground and then check for +12v on an easily accessible positive wire. (The lights in the ceiling snap out fairly easily or the shroud around the fan is easy to unscrew--those are two options.)

The other possibility besides a ground is where the +12v circuit ties into circuit #4 on the Power Distribution Panel. It could be a loose connection on the -12v return line or the +12v power line. It is not unheard of for the screws in that panel to work themselves loose. (Checking them is actually highly encouraged on a routine basis.) A thread documenting this is here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...al-maintenance

Getting late, so I'll check this thread again in the morning. Please be very careful working around live power.

Howard

Thank you Howard for your input.
Actually I have the Compass control in my unit.
The trailer is still under the warranty and I sent an email GD already.
What I want to do is learn more about my trailer so when similar problems arise later in future, hopefully I can tackle it myself.
I read about a 12V circuit breaker from other forums and am wondering if there is one that connects to my front of the trailer.
Thank you again.

Edward

[Country Campers]

What I am thinking there is one 12 v feed line that goes to all of the circuits in the "front half" of the RV. This may just ravel thru the light switch or the small vent fan in the bathroom and then on to the rest of the lights and such. I am not sure how the switches pop out of the wall but that may be where to start , or if you could check for power at the fan. There may also be a hidden fuse behind the convenience center.

Brian

[Jlawles2]

EdwardK the circuit breaker should be supplying power to the fuse panel then from there out to the various components. You either have a bad branch point in the + wire leading out to all of those fixtures, or they used a common grounding point for all of those fixtures.

Using a known good + and known - check the power and ground at each fixture that's not working and then move toward the closest working fixture. Depending on how they ran the wiring, it could be that they ran all of the wires back to one branch point close to the power panel where they joined the power and grounds.

[howson]

Actually I have the Compass control in my unit.

I now see the sticker above the panel. Thankfully, though, none of the inop systems are tied to the OneControl board.

Country Campers and Jlawles2 expounded on what I tried to write in post 11--the problem is either in the Power Distribution Panel itself or after the panel. It is not one of the 12v self-resetting breakers on the front of your camper. If one of those was bad your jacks wouldn't work, emergency brake wouldn't work, or you'd have no 12v power on battery power only (you'd could still have it from the converter). The pic below hopefully shows what I'm trying to write.





The important point to glean from the diagram is if there's evidence of 12v on one circuit in the Power Distribution Panel (PDP) there's power getting to the PDP. As JLawles2 put it, there's a "bad branch" after the PDP, not before. Everything in the pic above is before the PDP.

If you're familiar with schematics the one below (of my trailer's original wiring) should clarify how this works. Your trailer has more self-resetting breakers than shown in the diagram, but the extras are for tank heaters, leveling jacks, and the cap lights--circuits I don't have in my 315RLTS and should not affect your problem.




Let us know what the resolution is!

Howard