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Wilkie's avatar
Wilkie
Explorer
Jul 07, 2014

Blown Fuse

I have a 24ft trailer that has a 40 amp fuse located at the converter where the power cord comes into the trailer. Twice it has blown for no apparent reason. Any idea what could be causing this fuse to blow?? It has happened twice in the last year and half. My local dealer says it was probably caused by power surge.

Dave...
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Fuses are normally used on the 12 volt side of life in RV's breakers on the 120vac side.

    My guess is this fuse is the converter's reverse polarity fuse, it can blow if the batteries are very low and the converter is bigger than the fuse, THERE MAY BE A 2nd FUSE you need to replace at the same time.

    Many converters have 2 or 3, usually 30 amp, fuses that protect them from batteries installed backwards.

    however my battery bank can, and has, sucked 99 amps off my Xantrex prosine when I accidently disconnected my converter (My primary converter is a PDI 9180 with wizard, it is a plug in model, and sometimes it becomes unplugged, it is usually middle of the night when I figure it out and invoke the back up converter (The charger module in the prosine) Imagine these batteries are that low and I plugged in the 80 amp Intella POwer with only 60 amps of fuses.. Something going pop and quickly.

    I think this is what is happening to you, I think the converter is bigger than the fuse. and with the batteries low.. fusees poppis to make a fake latin phrase out of it.
  • Blown fuse.

    Inspect the fuse and see if it opened because of an over load or a short circuit.

    A power surge? I'll call BS, the dealer didn't want to tell you he doesn't know and/or doesn't have anyone smart enough to diagnose properly.
  • is it blowing just out of the blue, or just after hooking up a battery? When I think 40 amp I think reverse polarity protection.
  • Double check your shore power connection. Look for dirty open.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Provide make and model of CONVERTER/CHARGER unit.

    You also may want to check the FLUID LEVEL in your batteries right away.

    Roy Ken
  • Your description of the fuse location leaves a bit of confusion. If I had to guess, the fuse is blowing because of an excess load caused by a very dead or shorted battery. It could also be a loose or shorted connection point. More information is needed.

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