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dthfsa's avatar
dthfsa
Explorer
Sep 16, 2016

Elctrical Circuit Issue

So today I did a stupid thing. I hooked my battery up backwards and now I have no lights working off one circuit. I blew the two fuses on the converter. Before I replaced them I had no power for frig, light, slides, etc. When I replaced the two fuses everything works except for this one circuit.
The 15 amp fuses will blow in the bad circuit every time I hook the battery up or if I try to put in a new fuse. I have tried to trace them back to from the fuse box to the switches but everything looks fine.
I don't have a tester, but I will need to go and get one. I
Could this be short now in the circuit or just a short in the converter?
This last time I tried it the frig did not work again.
Any suggestions would be helpful, if not it will be off to the dealer for several weeks which kills camping for us this weekend and next.
  • @Mike

    Since you can not even provide a simple flow diagram be it Block, Schematic or Pictorial, you are simply plucking something out of thin air. I'm still waiting for the diagram not your expletive-laden response.
  • happycamper002 wrote:
    Since you can not even provide a simple flow diagram be it Block, Schematic or Pictorial, you are simply plucking something out of thin air. I'm still waiting for the diagram not your expletive-laden response.
    I have one, you obviously don't. You want a diagram, find it yourself, Googletard.

  • I'm waiting.

    I want the schematic not the one you lifted
    from the manual or Wikipedia.

    I'd suggest that if you want to discuss the circuits in the OP's trailer down to the different electronic devices, you do that through PM's. The OP is trying to get his 12V system working and the expanded discussion only confuses matters.

    And yes, I've had hands on experience with positive ground systems. That is totally an interference with the subject at hand.
  • Op, With the TT unplugged from shore power, check for 12Vdc on the DC side of the distribution panel with a multimeter. You should have voltage on both sides of the reverse polarity fuses to the negative terminal. If voltage is only on one side of the fuse, the fuse is blown. If no 12vdc voltage is present, check each side of the fuse or autobreaker near the battery. If you have an autobreaker, and voltage is only present on the battery side, replace it.
  • I took into the dealer for them to trace it, but here is what I know.

    The #2 fuse on the 12V side feeds the main living area LED overhead lights, the Island lights, LP detector and the radio in the main living area.
    The wire from the fuse panel feeds three wires that supply power to above mentioned areas. When I disconnect them all from the circuit and add one at a time, the only feed that blows the circuit is the LP / Radio feed. When I disconnect the radio from the circuit the fuse does not blow. While I had it apart I did not check the fuse in the radio, wish I would have. The radio and LP detector is the only two items on this part of the feed.
    Off the #8 fuse, the power awning is fed, the fuse is good but I have no power to the awning. Maybe a fuse in the awning, but I could not locate it.
    In the outside rear kitchen the radio seems to have no power. I do not have a meter to check, but the fuse in the radio was not blown. I am not sure what circuit feeds that radio either.
    I have no 12V power when disconnected from shore power. When I have shore power the lights will pulse, which tells me they are only being powered by the converter and not being fed from the battery. Hopefully the converter was saved by the fuses.
    Everything in the trailer seems to work on like it should other than the awning and two radios. The frig and water heater will light on gas, which tells me the 12V power is going to those.
    I will see what the dealer comes back with. Not sure how much this will cost, but I hope it is not to expensive of a lesson. I will update when I get it back in a couple of weeks.
  • hopefully they will resolve your issues at a reasonable cost... :-)
    The summary that you have provided is very good. If you would have tried checking things with a meter (mostly simple checks), odds are that you would have found the issue. Having said that, based on the summary, it appears that the "resetable breaker" in the main line going to the battery needs to be either replaced or reset. It is possible once that is done, your converter may then see an "appropriate load" and "clean up" the resulting 12v output such that your "lights observation" (pulsing) will be reduced / gone. I can't say that my weco converter (same model I think) shows this symptom but I have never run it without a battery... and if I did, I don't think I would have look close enough at the resulting lights. Hopefully, that is all that happened.
    As for the radio, you might be "screwed" a bit. Your "reversal" would have been no different that doing the same on your TV. Odds are high that you would have taken out some / all electronics that would have seen the "difference" even for a bit. Saving grace on a vehicle might be the ignition would normally be off which stop most but not everything.
    On your trailer, it is likely that your radio was in "standby" which has lighting and possibly memory hold... meaning those circuits would have been live for the "unplanned reversal"... :-( Of course, it can be fixed but electronics like those these days are more throw away / replace as the labor charges will likely be in the $50-100 even for simple dismantle / check. A diy techy guy could probably track down the issue internally and resolve it though.
  • Sorry, don't have time to read through the posts to see what was suggested. So if I am suggesting the same as others, my apologies....
    The WFCO panel (if it's the one I am thinking of) should have 2 40a main fuses to protect it from power surges or reverse polarity. If the converter is stand alone it will have it's own fuses. There will also be a fuse at the batteries, or a self resetting 30a breaker which may not be visible which could be the fault. My last trailer had 2 of them hidden under the trailer. I had to remove an access panel under the trailer (which didn't look like an access panel) to gain access to them.
  • What I'd suggest is to buy a cheap hand held meter ( Harbor Freight gives them away)and learn the basics of using it if you don't. The first place I would check is the outdoor kitchen radio and see if all the wiring is good.