Forum Discussion

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-s's avatar
    mike-s
    Explorer
    Sep 16, 2016
    Do you know exactly what's on that circuit? Something blew - unlikely to be a light, and most likely to be something electronic. So, other than lights, what's on that circuit?
  • dthfsa's avatar
    dthfsa
    Explorer
    Sep 16, 2016
    Appears to be the Kitchen area ceiling lights and the over the island lights. I tried every thing else and it all worked. Along with the both AC units. The frig was one.
    When I disconnect the battery and plug into shore power it appears I no power to the 12 volt side. I think I only get power from the battery.
    This does not explain the bad circuit yet.
  • dthfsa's avatar
    dthfsa
    Explorer
    Sep 16, 2016
    The wiring goes from the board to the switches. One set of lights are LED and the island lights are bulbs.
    Short i the switch or a bad light maybe?
    What is the best way to trace down this circuit?
  • mike-s's avatar
    mike-s
    Explorer
    Sep 16, 2016
    It wouldn't short a switch. Does it blow a fuse if all the switches are off? Any 12V outlets in that area which might have something plugged in? One of those 12V outlets with USB charger? LPCO detector? Smoke detector (they're usually 9v battery operated, though)?

    Are there multiple wires going into the terminal block on the converter for that fuse? If so, disconnect them all, a new fuse shouldn't blow (or the converter board got screwed up). Then connect them one at a time to see which one(s) cause(s) the fuse to blow (if you had a meter, a supply of fresh fuses wouldn't be necessary).
  • dthfsa's avatar
    dthfsa
    Explorer
    Sep 16, 2016
    All switches are off and the fuse blows.
    One wire from the terminal block.
    The wire from the terminal block feeds into a wire nut with three wires out of it.
    I think tomorrow I will take that wire nut apart and connect one wire at a time to see if I can isolate that wire if possible, then try to trace that wire and see what it feeds.
    I will also check out the converter and get a meter.
  • budwich's avatar
    budwich
    Explorer
    Sep 16, 2016
    dthfsa wrote:
    Appears to be the Kitchen area ceiling lights and the over the island lights. I tried every thing else and it all worked. Along with the both AC units. The frig was one.
    When I disconnect the battery and plug into shore power it appears I no power to the 12 volt side. I think I only get power from the battery.
    This does not explain the bad circuit yet.


    this doesn't sound right / good. It appears to be a problem with the converter somewhere or you still have a fuse issue. Most converters have a point where you can readily measure the voltage being produced so you DO need a meter to check this. Of course, also indicating specifically what converter you actually have will help narrow down the issue further.
  • PaulJ2's avatar
    PaulJ2
    Explorer
    Sep 16, 2016
    mike-s wrote:
    Do you know exactly what's on that circuit? Something blew - unlikely to be a light, and most likely to be something electronic. So, other than lights, what's on that circuit?


    Agree. Look for something in the trailer that plugs into the round 12 volt outlets, like maybe a flat screen tv, and not only in the kitchen.
  • dthfsa's avatar
    dthfsa
    Explorer
    Sep 17, 2016
    So I took the three wires apart. Two of them are okay and I have all my lights back. The third wire made the fuse blow. The LP detector is on that circuit, but not sure what else is yet. I have isolated that wire for now.
    However the lights are not as bright as they should be and they seem to pulse some.
    If I disconnect the shore power I have noting. The battery is connected and all the jacks still work.
    Could I have a bad distribution block in the front by the battery or there is no 12v power coming through the power panel. Therefore when I am hooked into shore power it is only being fed from the converter.
  • mayo30's avatar
    mayo30
    Explorer
    Sep 17, 2016
    And you double checked your main 12volt fuses even though they are new??

About Travel Trailer Group

44,029 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 13, 2025