RV Repair: 12 volt system, fuse panel, dc side

Question
I bought an older '77 Midland - 26'. The main things I was looking for were in great shape, the rest, like the coach, I was going to spruce up. I was told that if the interior lights went out to just twist these two little wires under the sink cabinet back together. Big deal, that was just laziness, I'll fix it later. I hooked up to 110V so I could use my tools, drop lights, etc. But when I did want to use the 12V, i.e. interior lights, my 12 volt was non-existant. I soldered the wires in question together -- yet no 12V. Would my problem be in the converter and not just some mad-man wire twisting. I find nothing on these rv's to help trace a problem and there seems to be miles of wire, switches, and nightmares just lurking. Thanks

Answer
Curtis, I guess the best way for you to find out what you have is to try and find the converter and make sure that it has 110 volt ac power to it. Then with a meter you can test the out voltage, or the 12 volt dc side. If there is power there between say 10 and 14 volts you should at least get some lighting. You will also want to check the batteries to see that they also have 12 volts in them. If everything is so far good then I would check and find your fuse panel for the interior and see that the fuses are all good and that there is power present on the out going wires there. Then I would go to the switch and the lights after that. You will find out where the power is being lost if there is even any power there at all. If you are finding power but still not getting lights then you will need to check the ground to see that it is good. I hope this helps, Bill