Yes, I intentionally bought a camper with electrical issues. Issues that led the previous owner to buy a different unit, and the have the need to unload this one. The local RV dealer refused to take it as a trade-in or consignment unit, due to the obvious electrical issues. And because of it... I was able to buy it at my price.
The camper, a 2007 Starcraft ST - 29 foot, has a good roof, a good awning, recently replaced tires and wheels, and no signs of leaks. The upholstery and carpet inside are clean and spotless, with no sign of wear. This camper appears to have been used very, very little in the past. A nice, solid, clean unit with little use.
However, it had electrical issues... electrical issues bad enough for the previous owner to get spooked over it. Turn on one light, and it doesn't go on... but the light next to it comes on. Plug the camper into 120 volt power, and some of the outside clearance lights come on. Run the furnace, and the air conditioner makes a clicking noise. And the refrigerator/freezer was super slow to cool down. When the lights were hooked up to the truck, when activating left turn signal... the left one on the trailer wouldn't blink, but the right one would.
Nothing inside the camper that was powered by 12 volt power would work, even with a brand new (and known good, fully charged) 12 volt battery installed. Swapping batteries made no difference.
A mischievous gremlin, indeed.
I simply assumed that it would need a new power center (converter/charger/distribution unit) from the behavior that I was seeing. Since Dad has been an electrician for 40 years, and I worked for him when I was younger, I knew that I could buy everything would be needed for right at $125, and then install it myself in around 2 hours. An RV repair shop would charge at least $600 to do this.
Before ordering anything or tearing anything apart, I did a basic inspection. And what did I find underneath the camper? The ground wire for the inverter (#8 bare copper), wasn't attached to the frame... at all. It was dangling in mid-air. The screw that had attached the ground to the frame had been over-tightened (likely at the factory), and the head had snapped off of it at some point in time. And that's likely when all of the problems started.
A little sandpaper and a new 1/4-20 bolt... and the gremlin is gone. So, I took an extra hour and found all of the other ground connections to the frame, took them apart, and cleaned them all up while I was at it.
A couple hours of troubleshooting and effort, and a 25 cent bolt... saved me hundreds and hundreds of dollars. A great deal when I bought it, and a repair that cost me next to nothing.
When nothing makes sense... always check the condition of your grounds.
The camper, a 2007 Starcraft ST - 29 foot, has a good roof, a good awning, recently replaced tires and wheels, and no signs of leaks. The upholstery and carpet inside are clean and spotless, with no sign of wear. This camper appears to have been used very, very little in the past. A nice, solid, clean unit with little use.
However, it had electrical issues... electrical issues bad enough for the previous owner to get spooked over it. Turn on one light, and it doesn't go on... but the light next to it comes on. Plug the camper into 120 volt power, and some of the outside clearance lights come on. Run the furnace, and the air conditioner makes a clicking noise. And the refrigerator/freezer was super slow to cool down. When the lights were hooked up to the truck, when activating left turn signal... the left one on the trailer wouldn't blink, but the right one would.
Nothing inside the camper that was powered by 12 volt power would work, even with a brand new (and known good, fully charged) 12 volt battery installed. Swapping batteries made no difference.
A mischievous gremlin, indeed.
I simply assumed that it would need a new power center (converter/charger/distribution unit) from the behavior that I was seeing. Since Dad has been an electrician for 40 years, and I worked for him when I was younger, I knew that I could buy everything would be needed for right at $125, and then install it myself in around 2 hours. An RV repair shop would charge at least $600 to do this.
Before ordering anything or tearing anything apart, I did a basic inspection. And what did I find underneath the camper? The ground wire for the inverter (#8 bare copper), wasn't attached to the frame... at all. It was dangling in mid-air. The screw that had attached the ground to the frame had been over-tightened (likely at the factory), and the head had snapped off of it at some point in time. And that's likely when all of the problems started.
A little sandpaper and a new 1/4-20 bolt... and the gremlin is gone. So, I took an extra hour and found all of the other ground connections to the frame, took them apart, and cleaned them all up while I was at it.
A couple hours of troubleshooting and effort, and a 25 cent bolt... saved me hundreds and hundreds of dollars. A great deal when I bought it, and a repair that cost me next to nothing.
When nothing makes sense... always check the condition of your grounds.
