Out of the fire and into the lake

[Ram Montana High Country]

Not mentioned above but important: the trailer will drain the battery in 2-3 days even with everything off. There are parasite loads that do this. Unless you have a small solar, I recommend pulling the ground off the battery.

On a separate thought, most Montana trailers use two batteries to handle hydraulic activity.

I think you can also jump from another vehicle to charge the battery(s).

[BrianVer2]

Originally Posted by Ram Montana High Country

Not mentioned above but important: the trailer will drain the battery in 2-3 days even with everything off. There are parasite loads that do this. Unless you have a small solar, I recommend pulling the ground off the battery.

On a separate thought, most Montana trailers use two batteries to handle hydraulic activity.

I think you can also jump from another vehicle to charge the battery(s).

Yes a second battery is what we came up with this afternoon. We noticed the interior DC lights flickering whenever the Jacks were initiated. I checked the battery voltage after charging for a couple hours; it was still below 12VDC.We went swimming across the street. OMG Santa Rosa is heaven sent. I don't know how much charge the inverter charger puts out, but it doesn't seems like a lot. We bought a second battery and will hook it up in parallel with the other. Also I'll bring my 50 amp charger down to give the system a boost. I also have a little so-called smart charger I can leave on the batteries.

I see there is a circuit panel with a lot of relays on the front facing wall of the battery compartment. It has instructions for reprogramming it. But I have no idea what it does. It has a momentary contact button and either an LED or a receiver for a remote control as it says something about using a remote.

Is there an auxiliary DC input for the Photovoltaic system? Two last questions: Where is the inverter/charger? Where is the AC panel?
Thanks so much,
Brian and Nell

[Carl n Susan]

Originally Posted by BrianVer2

....I see there is a circuit panel with a lot of relays on the front facing wall of the battery compartment. It has instructions for reprogramming it. But I have no idea what it does. It has a momentary contact button and either an LED or a receiver for a remote control as it says something about using a remote.

Is there an auxiliary DC input for the Photovoltaic system? Two last questions: Where is the inverter/charger? Where is the AC panel?.....
Thanks so much,
Brian and Nell

Relays is a pretty generic term and probably doesn't apply to this Montana. The rectangular box up on the back wall of the battery compartment is the "brains" for the remote control. A 2012 came with a remote control that actuated the jacks, hydraulic sides, awning and scare lights. You probably don't have it and they are hard to find. The "brain" has a tendency to fail and make the physical switched inoperative. There is lots of discussion here on how to fix that if should occur.

Also on the back wall of the battery compartment, as part of the 12V wiring, are two 12V self-resetting circuit breakers. They have red plastic caps on them. The one that feeds the hydraulic pump is undersized and should be upgraded from a 50 amp to an 80 amp one.

I don't know what you are referring to when you wrote "auxiliary DC input for the Photovoltaic system?"

The 120V AC circuit breaker panel and 12V fuse panel along with the converter (there was no inverter on a 2012) is located in the bathroom of a 3400RL as I recall (funky spot). The converter is part of the CB/Fuse panel and is probably a Progressive Dynamics 75 amp type.

[BrianVer2]

I made progress yesterday on the hydraulics. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner, especially after mentioning that there is evidence of flood damage... After adding the second battery and charging the DC system for some hours and the same symptoms existed, I realized that it was acting like an automotive system with dirty battery cables! I pulled the most corroded cable I first saw where the cable moved independently from the terminal lug. I thought "Aha!" IO don't have a proper cable crimper here in Santa Rosa. Cleaned the lugs as best I could, them proceeded to another and another. Next trip back to to ranch I will grab my big cable crimper set. In the meantime I'll order a dozen each of the the two sizes cable ring connectors.
Of course after resolving the electrical connector issues, I noticed the hydraulic fluid reservoir was low again. Sigh. One of our cats got out last night causing me to peak under the trailer in search of of the sneaky cat, I saw an oil leak. Thank you cat. [/SIZE]

[rohrmann]

Before you can reliably operate the hydraulics, you will have to address the fluid leak. The red lights on the leveling system panel are just indicators that those areas are low, and once the rig is level, they should go out. Be aware that how you get 120 volts to the two hot legs of the panel doesn't matter, so the source can be 120/240 volts, or can be 208Y/120 volts. Either one will work, and our rig still has the sticker that says so next to the receptacle where the shore cable plugs into at the back of the rig. When you get shore power connected, if the converter is working properly, you should see about 13.6 volts DC.

The converter that makes DC power is located in the same panel where your 12 volt fuses are located and the 120 volt AC breakers are too. It is the side of the panel that has vents and you can see a couple of fans through the vents. This is the link to the current manual for the PD4500 panel with the converter built in, yours will be the 90 amp model, but just ignore the parts talking about a Lithium switch as these didn't have that feature in 2012. https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/po...s/4500-series/
This is the link to the Lippert manual that covers the hydraulic leveling system and everything else that Lippert makes on your rig. https://support.lci1.com/master-owners-manual-towing.


As questions arise, continue to post them and answers will be provided. Good luck.


A fellow 2012 3402 owner,
Bob

[Carl n Susan]

Originally Posted by rohrmann

......The converter that makes DC power is located in the same panel where your 12 volt fuses are located and the 120 volt AC breakers are too....

So Bob, just for my edification, unlike the old 3400, the 3402 has the integrated power panel and it is NOT located in the bathroom?

[rohrmann]

Originally Posted by Carl n Susan

So Bob, just for my edification, unlike the old 3400, they 3402 has the integrated power panel and it is NOT located in the bathroom?

It is also located in the bathroom of the 3402, up high on the wall behind the toilet. The void behind the wall is above the entry closet where the washer/dryer prep area is located. This is the panel hanging by the wiring with the EMS wired in, ready to mount the EMS on the outer wall. The second photo is the mess of wiring in that void.