110v and charging issues!

Hello guys, I'm a brand new owner of a Cyclone 3513jm. I am currently out on my very first trip with wife and kids, and have a problem. All of my 12v works fine. My inverter is running the fridge just fine. We do nothing but dry camp, so last night we ran the genny but I noticed the batteries weren't taking a charge. Also, we had no usage of any 110v outlets or appliances. So, as you can imagine, my batteries are extremely low this morning even after running the generator last night.

I've had converter issues in the past on another hauler and motorhome. My question is, have any of you guys encountered this issue? And if so, what was the fix? I reset the breakers on the inside powere unit and reset the inverter and batteries. I found the converter behind the basement wall and I know it has fuses in it. Before I pull it out and test it, is there something I'm missing?

Thanks for the help. First trip out, and the wife is not happy!!!☹

Hi sheerider7979,

One possibility is a tripped 12V DC mini-circuit breaker that sits in-between the Power Converter and batteries. It's a manual reset. The mini-circuit breakers are located on a buss bar near the batteries and are usually covered by a red rubber boot. One breaker has a teeny-tiny reset button.

BUT, if you're checking battery charge on the test panel inside the trailer, and it's showing low battery charge, it's more likely you have a problem with the Power Converter, or with generator power getting to the Power Converter. Normally, on shore power or generator power, the Power Converter sends 13.2V DC to the batteries, and that would show up as 4 lights on the test panel. So even if battery charge is low, the Power Converter would normally still cause all 4 lights to be illuminated when running the generator.

You probably have 2 battery cutoff switches; one for the refrigerator circuits, and the other for general 12V DC. Make sure both are turned ON.

The issue with some outlets not working while on generator suggests that only one power leg is energized. Check the circuit breakers on the front of the generator. If one of them trips, you could lose both outlets, and power to the Power Converter.

Another possibility is a bad connection getting to, or through from generator, through transfer switch, to the main circuit breaker panel.

Our owner-written Electrical User Guide will help you through some of this. It's in this folder.

HI sheerider7979,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Be sure and join our Heartland Owners Club. Then join us at a rally when you can meet lots of the great folks here and make friends for a lifetime.

Enjoy the forum.
Jim M

It sounds like the automatic transfer switch is not working. It should sense the a/c voltage source and switch to connect that source, your generator in this case, to all your interior a/c circuits including the converter to charge the batteries.

Check the breakers on the Generator to be sure it's sending power. Then as mentioned above, maybe the transfer switch isn't working properly.

Going to agree with the rest. We have a 3513 and absolutely love it. But... we did not get the residential fridge. It all sounds like a power feed not making it from the generator to a fair amount of devices. Start with the breakers on the generator.

Don’t get frustrated just take it in stride remember a bad day camping is still better then a good day at work.


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I just want to thank you all for the awesome advice. This Heartland community is fantastic and offers great information.

I'm a little embarrassed to tell you that the issue was a 30amp breaker on the generator. I had checked it before we went camping, and also went through all the inside breakers and fuses. With every RV we have owned, I always check them before every trip. However, somewhere between home and our campsite, something went afoul! I spent half a day testing components with my multimeter and tearing stuff apart. It sure was nice to know that it was a simple, overlooked breaker!!! Thank you again!

Mike