Battery question


NHRalph

New Member
I just bought a used Wilderness Yukon. There is a place for two batteries in back of the propane tank braces and some wiring for a battery. The red wire does have a fuse in it but I can't fnd a switch to run lights off a battery. I am eventually going to put a solar panel on top with two deep cycle batteries and an invertor for AC. If it is already wired for batteries, so much the better. Can anyone tell me if it has a battery switch for the lights?
Thanks. I wrote to Fleetwood for a users manual but hat may take a while.
 

NHRalph

New Member
Re: Battery question

Thanks for the reply, there is a fuse in the line right after the battery. I hooked up a 12V battery but nothing, I figured since the interior lights were 12 v they would work, they didn't but they will work if I plug in the AC power. I am at a loss as to why a there is a battery hook-up if ther eis no switch to utilize 12V.
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: Battery question

The 12 volt lights are powered by a 'converter' which takes 120v AC and provides 12v DC. It also is supposed to charge the batteries.

So, with the AC plugged in, check the voltage across those battery cables.

If you are getting >12 volts, the charger seems to be ok.
If you are getting 12 volts, then the charger may be bad, but that's a later project.
If you are getting 0 volts, then the battery cables are not hooked into the 'house' system. This could be due to a battery disconnect switch or relay, or a broken wire or a detached connection. It might be interesting to do a continuity test to see if the battery ciruit is completely open, or has some load on it.

About all you can do is trace the battery wires and see where they go (or don't go as the case may be).
 

NHRalph

New Member
Re: Battery question

Thanks for the input, looks like I am going to take your advise and try and trace those wires back. I hate getting on the ground but what the heck! :)
Thanks for the reply.
 

s.harrington

Senior Member
Re: Battery question

The problem may lie in the converter. What brand and model do you have? If you have a Magnetek 6300 series the problem may be the microswitch inside. If so it is NLA (no longer available) new. I used to rebuild these units untio the parts ran out. Now I try to coble some together (make one out of two) when ever I can. They were common equipment before Parralax Power bought them out in the mid to late 90's.
 
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