Problem cluster
RV electrical and battery problems
Two independent systems — 12V DC and 120V AC. Which one failed is usually obvious once you know to ask.
- RV outlets not working but lights still work
This is the clearest diagnostic split in an RV. Interior lights run on 12V DC from the battery; standard outlets run on 120V AC from shore power, generator or an inverter. Lights working while outlets are dead means the DC side is healthy and the 120V side has failed — which immediately eliminates half the coach.
Safe to drive - RV converter not charging the battery
The converter turns 120V shore power into the 12V that charges the house battery and runs the DC system. If the battery falls while you are plugged in, either the converter is not producing output, it is not reaching the battery, or it is charging to a profile that does not suit your battery chemistry. All three present identically.
Drivable, with precautions - RV battery drains overnight
Some overnight consumption is normal: propane and carbon-monoxide detectors, control boards and radio memory never fully switch off. The real question is whether the draw is larger than it should be, or whether the battery has simply lost the capacity to carry a normal draw overnight. Those are different problems with different fixes.
Drivable, with precautions - RV shore power not working
Shore power fails in one of three places: the pedestal, the cord and adapters, or the coach. They are straightforward to separate, and it matters because the pedestal is a genuine and frequent culprit — campground supply fails in ways that damage RVs, and a fault that follows the location rather than the coach is usually the location.
Safe to drive
For the system as a whole rather than a single symptom, see RV electrical diagnostics.
Not sure which of these you have? Structured triage starts from what you observed instead.
Next step
Work through structured triage for this system and you will end up with a written service brief: what you observed, in what order, and what has not been established yet. It is the document that lets a technician quote properly instead of guessing on arrival.
Being straight about what this is. No technician is signed to any territory yet — not one. We do not match you, dispatch anyone, or promise a call. What you get is the brief, and a request form that copies it to us so we know the demand is real. If you need someone today, take the brief and send it to a local technician directly; it works just as well that way.