Power Out In The Whole RV. What's Causing It?

by Anonymous


One morning we woke up in our parked RV. The Electrical in the entire RV living area had gone out. It is still out( we have extension cord coming from the house in through the windows!!). We have tried the fuse box and flipping the breakers does nothing.

It is a Dolphin RV There is power going to it from the house, but for some reason the converter isnt working right.

We tried to bypass the Converter but this didnt work either!

What is wrong?!


ANSWER: I am very sorry that you are going through this; let's see if I can give you some suggestions on what to look at to solve this problem.

First I want to address one of the steps you say you already took to try to resolve your problem. You stated that you tried to bypass the Converter on your RV. You should never attempt to bypass any electrical components in an RV. When you start trying to bypass converters, etc. you are also bypassing the safety systems built in to them. If you do something incorrectly, you can create a situation where the RV could catch fire.

Your problem could be something as simple as a broken wire in the power cord going to your RV. When you say the converter is not working right. How are you determining that it is not working? If the converter is getting power you should hear an electric humming sound. Depending on the converter this sound could be quite noticeable or very slightly noticeable. If you do not hear a slight humming it is either because the converter is not getting power or there is a problem with the converter itself.

Have you double checked the electric socket that you had the RV plugged into; does the plug have power to it? Is a circuit breaker in the house tripped?

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You did not state whether your problem is with the 120 volt system or the 12 volt system or both systems. I would again go into the electrical compartment in your RV and double check all the breakers and fuses. You may also have a main breaker in your RV that has tripped or been accidently shut off and cut off all power going to your RV. These breakers may not always be in the electrical compartment, they are sometimes located in the house portion of the RV itself. The locations of these breakers vary by RV model, year built, etc. So I could not give you an exact location for yours.

Another problem I am having trying to give you more advice is that you state that you have a Dolphin RV. Well unfortunately there are two totally different types of RVs that are called Dolphins. The first one is actually a Mini-Motorhome that was built in the 80s. These Mini-Motorhomes were built on Toyota Truck Chassis.
The other Dolphin Motorhome is a gas powered Class A motorhome. Trying to compare the two electrical systems is like comparing Apples to Oranges.

If all of this simple troubleshooting does not get the power back on, then I suggest that you get your RV checked out by a qualified RV Technician. A well trained RV Technician should have very little trouble tracking down and repairing the problem. Depending on the problem that is found it may cost you a few bucks. But in some cases like yours, it is better to let the experts repair the problem. If you attempt to repair it yourself, you could cause an electrical fire or damage other electrical components in your RV.

If our visitors have suggestions for you, they can give you those suggestions by clicking on the add a comment link near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

Comments for Power Out In The Whole RV. What's Causing It?

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starstarstarstarstar 		Ms
by: Tammy

We have a 2017 rockwood fifth wheel, we don't have power. There is power at the main plug, all breakers are on. Right now the lights are running on battery. How can I tell if the converter is bad. I was using a power washer earlier when I lost power. I used it once b4 and it flipped the breaker. Can anyone help me
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starstarstarstarstar 		Electric issues
by: Ron

When I plug my rv into my house recepticle it trips my house plug breaker
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starstarstarstarstar 		Battery Shut Down
by: Anonymous

We had the same thing happen to or RV 3 weeks ago after taking my meter and checking everything come to find out it was the Battery Shut down went bad. I bye passed it to see if that was it and it was every thing in the RV went back to working. It need the 12 volt system to tell every thing else it could work. The Battery Shut Down after checking what it is, Is for when you put it in storage. You turn it off and it stops unwanted power drain.
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starstarstarstarstar 		power out
by: rv tech

Al has done a wonderful job explaining what o look for. good job AL! My question is this, you say there are power cords run from the house to the living room. The kitchen gfci normally termnates the front area of the coach, kitchen, coffee pot, etc. on this plug is a reset button.
check and see if off.if so reset. there is also one in the bath due to the closness to water.Blow dryer,water,not good. Check this also,if tripped reset. if these do not fix the issue, some coach makers run 110 volt lines under the coach to reach sliderooms etc. once they reach their next piece, there will be a junction bow. somthing as simple as a loose wire nut can stop the flow of power from one spot to the next. Carefully check the voltage as you go. You as an owner can buy a cheap outlet test for a few dollars that plugs right into outlet. They will tell you if they have power and if the wires and installed correctly on the back of the plug by the code of lights the show. If you still have issues email me at brand_timothy@hotmail.com and I can try and walk you threw a system check and see if we can figure it out before you spend alot at a dealer.

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