Lights are dimming

[AppleOaksNY]

Last weekend on at least 2 different occasions our over bed lights and our living room lights would dim, brighten, dim, etc (2020 351M). Turning the living room light dimmer (on the control panel) all the way up seemed to stop the problem with those lights. At the time we were connected to 30 amp service (with the proper 30a to 50a dog bone), not running any air-conditioning, or having any other big draws. Should I try resetting my control panel, assuming it is a dimmer problem, or could this be because I was connected to only 30 amp service? I have a Progressive Industries EMS-PT50x, and there were no error codes displayed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Ynot4me2]

Did this happen at the same camp site? It could just be their grid that got overwhelmed a little. I'd just keep an eye on it for now. Now if this happened at 2 different sites the I'd try a reset.

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[Skiddy]

[QUOTE=Ynot4me2;382609]Did this happen at the same camp site? It could just be their grid that got overwhelmed a little.

Might have been ^^ this. A few years ago we noticed a momentary dim in lights when on 30A shore power at a great little Mom and Pop campground. I noticed our dimming lights coincided with the AC cycling on the rig beside us.

[D2Reid]

Hmmm! I was pretty sure that the lights are all on the 12v electrical circuit, meaning they run off of the battery. While your RV is plugged into shore power the converter charges the battery, so you should never have dimming lights from a variation in 30amp 120v system. So if your lights are on the 120v system disregard this next part.

When my converter started to go bad in my other RV the lights would go dim then get bright again when the converter turned on to charge. This was because it wasn't keeping my battery charged completely. If you unplug or turn off shore power and your lights get dim then you know you have a 12v issue. On my 1 control panel under Monitor Icon at the top my battery voltage is displayed. With the convert running it should read around 13.2V. With shore power off it should read a little more than 12v. If it reads below 12v check you battery water (use distilled water only). Once the level is back up and the battery goes through a charging cycle check it again. If it is still down replace your battery.

You will also need to test your converter. This is a little more challenging as converters usually have three stages, not charging, charging, and float. You'll need to research the specific converter that you have to get the correct values. If it does test bad and you decide to replace it do a little research on smart converters, they cost a little more but will extend the life of your battery.

[Skiddy]

Hmmm! I was pretty sure that the lights are all on the 12v electrical circuit, meaning they run off of the battery. While your RV is plugged into shore power the converter charges the battery, so you should never have dimming lights from a variation in 30amp 120v system. So if your lights are on the 120v system disregard this next part.

When my converter started to go bad in my other RV the lights would go dim then get bright again when the converter turned on to charge. This was because it wasn't keeping my battery charged completely. If you unplug or turn off shore power and your lights get dim then you know you have a 12v issue. On my 1 control panel under Monitor Icon at the top my battery voltage is displayed. With the convert running it should read around 13.2V. With shore power off it should read a little more than 12v. If it reads below 12v check you battery water (use distilled water only). Once the level is back up and the battery goes through a charging cycle check it again. If it is still down replace your battery.

You will also need to test your converter. This is a little more challenging as converters usually have three stages, not charging, charging, and float. You'll need to research the specific converter that you have to get the correct values. If it does test bad and you decide to replace it do a little research on smart converters, they cost a little more but will extend the life of your battery.

So true - it was the boss's 120V table lamp as she was working that dimmed, so dimming was due to AC fluctuations.

[AppleOaksNY]

Thanks everyone for the replies....I will try a reset just because. I am afraid D2Reid may be on to something. We have had battery issues since day one, finally got the dealer to install a new one in May and have not had problems since, other than when we were hitching for this trip and got an inadequate voltage fault on our leveling system. Perhaps it is the converter is failing...man I hope not.

[AppleOaksNY]

Just to put a close on this issue, the lights in the living room and kitchen became very dim for a few hours then went out totally this weekend, immediately checked the fuse and the panel showed it was blown (orange indicator light on). As soon as I touched the fuse the lights were back on bright...loose connection in the fuse panel, not sure how i am going to fix it yet, but at least I know the problem. Now to figure out the issues with the darn fridge

[Dave Nagy]

I'm jumping on this a little late, but I just experienced a similar issue on a 290BH. Of the 6 main living area lights, 3 were dim and flickering. All the other lights in the camper were fine. I ran the AC fans, microwave, etc and everything worked. Unplugged the shore power and restored it. Checked the fuses. Right after I started the main AC fan the lights came back to normal brightness, sometimes with a little flicker and sometimes not. Battery voltage is fine. EMS is reading the 15A circuit as good. Any ideas on this one? There are no dimmers.