Forum Discussion

scout4trout's avatar
scout4trout
Explorer
Oct 07, 2016

Melted fuse and no running lights

First, I'd like to say that in the 8 1/2 years we've had our Alpenlite, this is the first time we've had a problem. Last month we opened the cabinet door of the fuse panel area under the refrigerator and noticed that we had a melted 15amp fuse in the exterior fuse panel and the wire looked burned. Turned out it was the wire for our running lights. No idea how long we had this problem since we don't normally drive after dusk. We replaced the fuse but the wire started burning again. Had input from several people with electrical experience, and we started to really worry about how big a job it was going to be to find the short and fix it without ripping things apart. Well, we finally took the camper in yesterday to winterize and fix the wiring problem. We were very lucky. It turned out that the fuse panel was the problem. Put in a new panel and all the running lights are working. The technician said that it is not unusual for the panel to go. Perhaps this information might be helpful to others in this forum.
Truck Campers
  • scout4trout's avatar
    scout4trout
    Explorer
    Oct 10, 2016
    The "exterior" panel in the truck camper has six fuses for the following:
    left turn signal
    backup lights
    right turn signal
    running lights
    refrigerator
    solar panel

    The signal and light wires from the seven circuit connector plug that goes from the truck to the camper are connected to the right side of the panel and then the wires that go to the lights and signals are connected on the left side.
    It was difficult to find a panel, only one seemed to meet the requirements - Blue Sea Systems S Blade Fuse Block with 6 independent sourced circuits. It seems heavier duty than the original.
  • Joe417's avatar
    Joe417
    Explorer
    Oct 08, 2016
    Scout4trout,

    When you say "exterior fuse panel" and "running lights" are you meaning the 2 tail lights and 10 marker lights.

    I only ask because none of the campers we've have owned had fuses in the camper for the running lights.

    They were powered and fused by the tow vehicle.
    I just assumed all campers were wired the same as far as running and brake lights.
  • Boatycall's avatar
    Boatycall
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2016
    YC 1 wrote:
    It is not unusual for fuse boxes to need replacement. The contacts can become resistive which can then lead to heat and ultimately a slow disintegration of the box.


    x2

    I personally have repaired two bad fuse boxes for friends. In both cases, a bad solder joint on the fuse connector mounted on the PC board was the culprit. It would cause enough heat to melt the fuse.

    It wasn't an issue with over-current which would then pop the fuse, it was an issue of poor workmanship, leading to a bad connection, which then of course meant circuit failure with the fuse still good.
  • rutzbeck's avatar
    rutzbeck
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2016
    Also if you have a dog. They sleep right in front of the panel. I vacuum mine regularly. Even though it is covered lots of dog hair comes out of it. A couple times a year I take the front cover off and do a deeper clean. In the summer the hair will make it smell hot, I don't know if it would start a fire but I don't want to find out.
  • YC_1's avatar
    YC_1
    Nomad
    Oct 07, 2016
    It is not unusual for fuse boxes to need replacement. The contacts can become resistive which can then lead to heat and ultimately a slow disintegration of the box.
  • WNYBob's avatar
    WNYBob
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2016
    Check what size fuse you are using, the fuse should pop before any issues with the wire!

    Sounds like some one put a 20 amp fuse on 15 amp wiring.

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