power converter problems

[lam1317]

while plugged in at the campsite i noticed the ceiling lights were not working
after fooling around with the converter i got them to work. what settings or
should i just leave converter alone? its a 1995 starcraft with air.the only things that run on 12v are the ceiling lights and the frong door light. but what is the converter for i mean i know it converts 110 to 12v but while is there on in first place when they could make everything 110. and how should i set mine and then leave it alone?

[wavery]

while plugged in at the campsite i noticed the ceiling lights were not working
after fooling around with the converter i got them to work. what settings or
should i just leave converter alone? its a 1995 starcraft with air.the only things that run on 12v are the ceiling lights and the frong door light. but what is the converter for i mean i know it converts 110 to 12v but while is there on in first place when they could make everything 110. and how should i set mine and then leave it alone?

The lights are 12V to accommodate dry camping and running your PU off of the battery. The converter is there to convert 110v to 12v while you are plugged into the CG power, allowing you to use your 12v lights without using your battery.

It may be that you have a loose connection in or around your converter. I would check the ground wire first.

[tlhdoc]

what is the converter for i mean i know it converts 110 to 12v but while is there on in first place when they could make everything 110.

They could make everything run on 110, but then people couldn't dry camp without a generator.  Except for an air conditioner, all the electric appliances in a camper run on 12 volt.  
 
Does your camper's converter have a switch on it?  If so what are the options, AC, Battery and Off?  If it does, it should be set on AC if you have the camper plugged in.

[lam1317]

iam going to open it tomorrow its very low to the ground and hard to see
iam not sure whats it supposed to be set at but ill let your know and thanks

[JimS]

It may be that you have a loose connection in or around your converter. I would check the ground wire first.

This is exactly what was wrong with mine in the same situation.  I corrected all of the ground wires (they were ALL loose) and the opened up the access plates on the converter and re-did the wiring.  All of the wires to the grounding strips were loose and several bad wire nut connections.  Everything works as it should now.

And the obligatory disclaimer: Don't have any power to the camper while doing this!  Battery or otherwise.  Don't want a nasty shock :yikes: .