2013 Roadtrek Adventurous - Shower Not Working On 12 Volt

[dianejohnson63]

We are brand new RVers and just came home from our first outing.

We successfully hooked up our shore power and got 110 inside, but could not get the lights to come on. But all the 12 volt equipment worked fine on the battery so we just used it. The KOA campground manager checked out our connection, his power box, and our fuses. What did we miss? Is there some kind of master switch we are supposed to have on? Turning the inverter on or off made no difference. Our RoadTrek manuals were of no help.

Any help you could give us would be greatly appreciated.

[hermanmullins]

dianejohnson63,

Welcome to the forum. There a number of RoadTrek member here and you should be getting a amswer soon. In the mean time you might do a chapter search for RoadTrek Chapters, I know there are several in FMCA. Have you contacted RoadTrek?

Good luck,

Herman

[dickandlois]

dianejohnson63,

Welcome to the FMCA forum!

I'm just a little confused, but that is nothing new! You mentioned that the shower was not working on 12 volt in the title line, but then mentioned that all the 12 volt items where working.

The shower should work if you connect to city / campground water and all the proper valves are opened and the water heater PC board is powered by the 12 volt supply.

When you are connected to shore power, you should have a monitor panel located in the coach that will give you the status of the shore power and if the 12 volt charger is working, water, holding tanks and LP status.

Rich.

[wolfe10]

Diane,

Yes, welcome to the FMCA Forum.

To further Rich's discussion, let's take this a step at a time:

You say you have 120 VAC to the coach. But also say the CG checked their 120 connection, fuses, etc. Do all your 120 VAC appliances and outlets work?

Are your lights 12 VDC or 120 VAC?

If not connected to shore water, your on-board water pump is 12 VDC. Does it work with the switch on? If not, first thing I would do is check battery voltage. A digital voltmeter is a near-necessity on any RV. You can find them for under $20.

[dianejohnson63]

Silly me. Not "shower," but shore power. I should have proofread my question better.

Yes, our water pump worked with the battery on. It is only the 12 volt lights that did not work. The KOA campground manager used a digital voltmeter (I think that is what it was) and said everything was ok.

It is only the lights that are a problem. The microwave showed power, although we didn't use it. We didn't try any other 120 volt appliances either.

I did contact the service dept. at RoadTrek and, if I understand them correctly, they said that if the shore power is properly hooked up, then we still have to have the battery turned on to use the lights. That is because the lights run only from battery power and not from shore power. However, I am virtually certain (although I wouldn't bet body parts on it) that when we had the shore power connected we also had the battery turned on & the lights wouldn't work. That doesn't make sense, but I think that is what we tried. Thank you all of you RVers out there that are responding to my plea for help!

[wolfe10]

If you have the main battery switch on (AKA salesman switch) and other 12 VDC items work, check the fuse for the lights-- check in the 12 VDC fuse box. If that is OK (wouldn't hurt to temporarily "borrow" a fuse from another circuit to test it), next step is to check wiring.

[huffypuff]

There may be another switch other than the manual disconnect on your dash for many 12 volt items. It kicks on a solenoid beyond the manual switch. That is also called by many a salesman switch.

[kaypsmith]

The "salesman switch" that Huffypuff is referring to is usually located at the entrance, usually in a semi hidden place, such as a small door. It was put there so that the dealer can turn

on all lights within for show on the showroom floor, and turn all off with just one switch, handy for the dealers at the end of the day.

[kaypsmith]

After looking up your unit, which is a class B, the switch is probably located within the drivers reach, used for turning off interior lighting while driving. Hope you find the problem soon.

[kaypsmith]

Today I was at an RV show in B'ham, I had the salesman show me where the battery disconnect is located. The unit I looked is a 2015 model, but salesman said they had been the same for several years. The switch is a battery disconnect located just above the side entrance door on a master panel. If the battery disconnect is off, the interior lights will not function. If you have not found it yet, hope this helps.