Burning smell from electrical panel

[SconesyCider]

So here is the skinny;
Travel trailer is hooked up to shore power. Battery disconnected. The furnace and television were on one day when I noticed an electrical smell from the panel. Noticed it’s from the 12v fuse board. The negative lead is warm to the touch, soldering points for negative are blackened. Negative screw terminal has some wiggle to it.

I’ve noticed that the lights have been intermittently dim with a light flicker from time to time. This is accompanied by a light “whine” from the 12v fuse board. Once I turn on an additional switch, the trouble goes away. My furnace fan has given me trouble in the past year. It’s a little louder and blows with less force.

Where should I start?

[wa8yxm]

time2roll wrote:
Burnt areas probably have a loose connection. Replace the burned components and tighten/inspect the rest.

Otherwise what is the make and model of the panel? Might be best to replace the entire unit.

Bingo. You may need do nothing but re-solder but without seeing the board I can not be sure..

I just bought a new soldering toy (Benz-o-Matic) eats butane like a torce -a-fire but man does it get 'er done.

[Almot]

SconesyCider wrote:
I disconnected it upon advice that it would drain the electro lights while hooked up to shore.

? There is usually nothing contained in the lights that could be drained.

[SconesyCider]

Here’s an update
Just finished putting in the new 12v fuse panel. I noticed that the neutral coming from the converter was burnt, ridged and discolored at the terminal on the panel. I stripped it back and torqued to the new panel. I took the converter out of the panel and there was no burning closer toward the converter. Torqued it all to 14 and buttoned it back up. The battery is back on and everything is running normal so far. No smell or warm wires at the moment.
One thing to note is that the voltage was jumping from 11 to 12 to 13 and back down while the furnace, refrigerator and lights were working. After the renwiring everything is a solid 13 with things running or not. The battery test at 12v.

[MitchF150]

I've got a 2003 Prowler with the OEM converter that can run just fine without a battery connected. Been doing it while parked on the side of my house for what... 16 years now.

Sure, I put the battery in when on the road. But at home, the battery comes out because it seems to grow legs and walk away if I leave it in..

As I understand it, even with a battery connected and connected to shore power, it's the converter that is still providing the 12v power to the trailer and not the battery.. The battery is just being charged from the converter, not providing the 12v power. Sure, once you disconnect the shore power, the battery is now your 12v power...

Anyway, like was already said, the loose ground connections are probably not good, so start there. But, if you already have burnt connections then replace those and go from there.

Good luck!

Mitch

[CA_Traveler]

SconesyCider wrote:
I thought the battery might play a part. I disconnected it upon advice that it would drain the electro lights while hooked up to shore.

Run the next time that person gives you any advice!

The converter should supply house loads (ie lights, etc) and charge the battery. And you need and want both.

One important step and to often overlooked is to know the condition of your batteries. Have them load tested, often free at a auto store.

For about $10 you can buy a voltmeter and check your voltage which would provide you and us so MUCH more information.

Loose connections, solder issues, burning smell, etc. posts from you and others are all good and need to be addressed.

[time2roll]

7300 does not need a battery connected

[BB_TX]

I agree with above about the connections. Loose connections and poor wire crimps cause resistance and resistance and current create heat. Too much resistance and too much current results in overheated wires. Disconnect all power and check wire coonection on all AC hot, neutral, ground, and 12 volt wiring in your circuit breaker and fuse distribution panels. I checked mine shortly after buying new and found about half not properly tightened.

If it was more current than the wire was deigned for the fuse should have blown before it overheated.

[BobsYourUncle]

SconesyCider wrote:
So here is the skinny...snip

Negative screw terminal has some wiggle to it.

I’ve noticed that the lights have been intermittently dim with a light flicker from time to time.

There is a clue in what you said about the negative terminal;
If the main ground wire is loose there, then you will get an increased resistance and it will heat up there. This will cause the symptoms you describe.

This needs to be addressed sooner than later. There is a fire potential with a loose ground.

Disconnect all power, shore and 12V (I know you have the battery out of the mix, but be sure its not connected.)

Then loosen the ground terminal and pull the wire out of it. Check to see if it is blackened. If you have enough slack, cut the end off and bare a new part of the wire, ensuring it is clean and bright copper in color. Pull the terminal screw right out, try to get in where the wire goes and scrape it clean with a tiny screwdriver or similar, scrape the end of the terminal screw too.
Put it back together and make sure the terminal screw is very securely tight onto the wire.

Really important to have a good solid ground.

But of course, if your converter is on its way out you will get this issue too.

[road-runner]

Unless it's a really ancient converter it shouldn't need a battery hooked up. A loose connection is certainly a prime suspect, and a screw terminal that wiggles is a loose connection. No offense intended, if you don't know where to start, you should probably have somebody with some electrical experience look at it. It might just need cleaning up and tightening, or it might need some parts replaced, and it's awfully hard to make that judgement in a forum setting.

[SconesyCider]

Ok I’ll go ahead and install the new 12v fuse panel that has the burnt solder tonight and get the battery back on.

[SconesyCider]

I thought the battery might play a part. I disconnected it upon advice that it would drain the electro lights while hooked up to shore.
I picked up an exact replacement 12v fuse panel for my Paralax 7300 series electrical panel today.
Reconnecting battery now.
Come to think of it, I had the issue of lights flickering(not dimming) and a lie whine/buzz prior to taking the battery off.

[neschultz]

newman fulltimer wrote:
Your converter is frying itself with no battery hooked up

I agree it should have a battery hooked up. It also sounds as if you are describing a loose solder connection on your terminal. And that will cause heat and a poor connection. If true, you need to get an electrical tech to repair it before it gets worse or starts a fire.

[time2roll]

Burnt areas probably have a loose connection. Replace the burned components and tighten/inspect the rest.

Otherwise what is the make and model of the panel? Might be best to replace the entire unit.

[newman_fulltime]

Your converter is frying itself with no battery hooked up