1990 B190 water pump and display panel circuit dead

[corgifan]

My wife is in CA with her B190 now. She called me tonight and said today the coach water pump went off, the tank level panel went dark, and the generator won't start. The water pump will activate if the vehicle engine is started.

She's checked the breakers tonight and will try pulling fuses tomorrow after she finds the box of replacement fuses I sent with her.

Can anyone give me a tip on how the water pump, panel, and generator might be connected? I presume that the power to the gen start switch is kaput so it's not really the generator. Which fuse or fuses on the electrical panel under the seat are the likely suspects?

Trying to help her long distance with this is a bit frustrating!

Thanks for any insights you guys can give.

Oh yeah, and ants made it up the short power cord and invaded yesterday too. She's on a roll!

[OnTheRoad]

When the engine battery is started it triggers a relay ("battery isolator") that puts connect the engine battery in parallel with the house battery. That way both batteries are charged from the alternator when the engine is on. When the engine is off the engine battery is disconnected from the house battery.

Since the fresh water pump (and maybe other accessories including the panel?) only work when the engine is on it sounds like they are just drawing power from the engine battery and the house battery may be completely discharged/dead or a problem with the connection to the house battery.

If it were a blown fuse then even when the engine was on the water pump still wouldn't work.

[corgifan]

Thanks for the reply. She's been visiting a friend and is connected to the 110v house power there which is probably a 15A circuit. I'm wondering now if she's overloaded some circuit in the RV by running the A/C, water pump, and who knows what else.

I'll pass along your info.

[OnTheRoad]

It's possible the circuit breaker for the converter was blown, or some other problem with the converter. The AC circuit breakers are in the panel that has the 12 volt fuses under the couch.

[goinmobile]

Theres a transfer switch under the couch that should kick the converter on when plugged into the house. That not working would leave 12 volt dead I think? Mine is slow--after plugging into AC power it takes up to 3 minutes to kick the AC power on in the RV.

[skater]

Thanks for the reply. She's been visiting a friend and is connected to the 110v house power there which is probably a 15A circuit. I'm wondering now if she's overloaded some circuit in the RV by running the A/C, water pump, and who knows what else.

I'll pass along your info.

Keep in mind that the A/C is on its own breaker (well, with the microwave) while the water pump is a 12 volt appliance, so basically two separate systems. The only connection between them is the converter.

Like others said, I'd check the battery is connected, and check that the converter is on and producing power.

Another possibility is that the converter went bad and is producing very little or nothing. I finally gave up on mine when the radio started shutting off every time the water pump ran - i.e., the water pump was drawing enough power to drop the voltage too low for the radio to keep working (in mine the radio is hooked to the coach system; but that's not the default).

I had to help my wife diagnose the electrical system in our trailer over the phone, so I know it's not easy to do over the phone. (Turned out she'd plugged it into a GFCI outlet that then tripped as they sometimes do with campers.)

[corgifan]

Talked to the wife today. A fuse replacement got the water pump and panel working again but the generator won't crank from inside or at the generator itself. I seem to recall that there is a fuse at the generator also so she's going to check that next. The panel is also showing that the coach battery is discharged. Does the generator crank from the coach battery or will it also crank from the chassis battery? Hopefully it's just another fuse somewhere.

[skater]

In mine the generator cranks off the coach battery. She should be able to start the engine then start the generator - that's what I had to do when I'd let the coach battery drain too far to start the generator.

[OnTheRoad]

In mine the generator cranks off the coach battery. She should be able to start the engine then start the generator - that's what I had to do when I'd let the coach battery drain too far to start the generator.

"Me too". I've done the same thing.

[corgifan]

We talked last night and she found the fuse and the breaker at the generator itself and was going to check them this morning. I have not heard from her today so that's a good sign.

I believe this all resulted from too many things running off of a household 110v plug. The coach battery should be good, it's nearly new and I checked it and charged it before she left, I suspect she's run the 12v stuff too much and not driven the vehicle enough to recharge the coach battery although I would think that being plugged into the 110v house circuit would have done that. But maybe that's it, with the A/C running, lights, the water pump, the coach battery charging, something or things had to give and maybe there wasn't enough left to charge the coach battery. Living and learning but no real harm done so far!

All comments and advice are appreciated!