Back in January we posted a question from Rich with an issue of his jacks, awning, and RV slides not working. Here is the original post, and below is the original question.
Dear Dave,
My slides will only work when plugged into my vehicle. They will not work with shore power or battery. Is there a switch I’m missing somewhere? Thanks in advance. —Richard, 2015 Wildwood 32KQBTS
I recommended looking at the circuit breaker for the converter, battery disconnect switch, and checking to see if other 12-volt components were working when the unit was plugged in.
Several comments from readers regarding why RV slides not working
There were several comments from RVtravel.com readers regarding why the RV slides weren’t working, including the possibility of the WFCO converter failing and reverse polarity.
George T. might have had the closest diagnosis:
It’s possible the slide outs are powered directly from the battery and not necessarily going through the distribution center. My Forest River Micro Lite has some circuit breakers under the front end, electrically between the battery and the distribution center. Because of something I foolishly did, one of these breakers, which are supposed to trip from an overload and then reset itself, had burned out, leaving me with no power from the battery. However, when I plugged into the truck all 12-volt systems worked. Once I replaced that $10 breaker everything went back to normal. There was nothing in the owner’s manual about that.
I got a response from Rich with photos.
Everything works on trailer except for slides, jacks and awning. All fuses are good.
Then I got another response today:
I just figured it out. There is a small breaker up by the tongue with a small reset switch I didn’t know about. Pushed in the reset. Now the slides, jacks, and awning all work. Thanks for your time and help. Look forward to your future RV tips.
So, it looks like there was a bypass of the batteries and George was close! And guess what? There was nothing in the owner’s manual about that reset!
You might also enjoy this from Dave
Interior lights in RV only work when plugged into shoreline power. Is that normal?
Dear Dave,
My RV’s interior 12v lights work when the motorhome is plugged in to external power and the converter is on. When running off of the battery, they don’t work unless the ignition key is turned to Accessory. Is this normal? We just bought it recently and are trying to learn how to operate things. —Jeffrey, 1986 Itasca
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”
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Thank you, Rich and Dave! More information for everyone! Thanks again, and safe travels! 🙂
A bad culprit for batteries is the junky WFCO converter’s 12 volt side which in many cases either doesn’t charge the batteries enough or just flat quits. Best thing is to swap out the 12 volt side of the converter to a well known provider of replacement drop in units, no need to buy a complete new converter. Sure solves a lot of 12 volt problems. Just saying.
Hey Richard thanks for the follow up so we all can learn something! You mentioned there was nothing in the owners manual, thats not unusual at all. They might have added that breaker after they had printed your manual. Ya know it makes you feel good when you actually find the issue & fix it!
Snoopy
It sure seems to me, after three trailers, from cheap to expensive Montana fifth wheel, that the so-called “Owners Manuals” are pretty much worthless.
Beyond fuse blocks and circuit breakers for the cab and chassis, fuses and circuit breakers in the battery control center, fuses and circuit breakers in the electrical panel of the coach power control center, there are inline fuses scattered all over my RV, under the coach and in accessible compartments inside, just anywhere it was convenient to splice one in during construction. Doubtful an owner’s manual could capture this jumble of protective devices for every unit built. Possibly an electrical schematic would not show them all either.
Owners manuals in general are so generic it makes them nearly useless. I bet Thor only prints two. One for driveables and one for towables.