LP Detector electrical question.

Trails And Tails wrote:
The detector is 12v, but honestly I'm not sure if the wiring runs through the panel box or not. I was under the impression that it is wired straight to the battery.

The chirping you got when you installed the fuse is telling you that the detector wiring runs through the panel box. Anything that is wired to the battery needs a fuse somewhere in the circuit, to protect that circuit.
A propane or CO alarm would be similar to a float switch and bilge pump in a boat, in that even when your ignition and battery switches are off they are (normally) still "on". On a boat you would have a float switch that would activate your bilge pump if water reached a certain level. They are usually wired directly to the battery but will still have a fuse somewhere in the circuit.

Okay Trails and Tails here is my take on your electrical situation. I don't think your lights are 120VAC, they are probably 12DC and when you pull the 15 amp fuse, you lose 12 VDC to one side of you rig. Not all things you might expect to be wired directly to the house battery will be. We have an on/off switch on our detector, it is not intended to be active all the time, it was designed to be active when the propane solenoid is activated and propane if flowing into the house. When that solenoid is deactivated, there isn't any propane flowing into the house.

Your detector is piggybacked onto the house light wiring. Rewiring to have it operated directly from the battery may or may not be simple but it is feasible. The only caveat is that to eliminate the parasitic draw you will have to remove the 5 amp fuse you would install when hooking directly to the battery or have an on/off switch to turn it off. Of course then you would have to remember to turn it on when using propane and off when you are done.

I think if you could find someone with set of schematics for you rig you would find it was designed to run off the converter or house battery whichever is providing power.

I classified it as dead due to that fact that it is a 2 year marine battery that was installed in 2002. But you make a good point that I don't know yet if there are underlying issues with charging. I'll be installing a new battery soon and then the tale will be told!

It depends why your battery is dead. If it is discharged due to a lack of charging, and your converter is good, The battery could be just discharged. It may or may not be dead, unable to hold a charge. Have you tried charging your battery with a different charger or having it tested?

On the other hand, your battery may be dead because of a problem with your converter or it's associated wiring. You may need a known good battery to determine if your converter is good or bad.

Yes, I was on live shore power at the time. The detector is 12v, but honestly I'm not sure if the wiring runs through the panel box or not. I was under the impression that it is wired straight to the battery. At any rate, when I replace the dead house battery, all should be good ... agreed? Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm really new at all this, and I appreciate any help and advice that is offered.

Mine is also wired the same as Mich F's. When I pull the fuse the only thing that happens is the lights on the monitors go out, no noise. Once the fuse is unplugged, the monitors have no way of knowing if the battery is good or not.

You don't say if you are plugged in or not. If you are, the converter may be still supplying 12v power.

Trails And Tails wrote:
But why did pulling an AC fuse make it quit chirping? I just don't see the connection (no pun). I guess I didn't elaborate on that. This fuse also controls the entire AC system on that side of the RV. Without the fuse, none of the outlets on that side are hot which was the reason we even looked in the panel box to start with.

Were you plugged into shore power?
If you were the fuse was probably getting low 12V power from the converter or Inverter which ever you have.
Fuse in place the power passes from one side to the other then the monitor as long the fuse isn't broken. Fuse out no way for power to get from one side to the other to the monitor.

Is the monitor powered by 12V or has a house AC monitor been installed?

Or the AC fuse powers the converter or Inverter. To give the monitor power.

I don't know how your detector is wired, but the combination co/propane detector in my Itasca 31K is on a dedicated 5amp 12volt (DC) circuit. Nothing to do with the AC circuits. When you install or remove the fuse it makes or breaks the circuit.

But why did pulling an AC fuse make it quit chirping? I just don't see the connection (no pun). I guess I didn't elaborate on that. This fuse also controls the entire AC system on that side of the RV. Without the fuse, none of the outlets on that side are hot which was the reason we even looked in the panel box to start with.

It is hard wired to the battery, but it will still have a fuse in the circuit, to protect the circuit.