Elctrical Circuit Issue

[dthfsa]

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.

[westend]

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.

[mikakuja]

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.

[budwich]

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.

[dthfsa]

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.

[krobbe]

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.

[westend]

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.

[mike-s]

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.

[happycamper002]

@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.

[mike-s]

A block diagram is not a schematic, nor is a wiring diagram. WFCO provides a wiring diagram in their installation manuals, they do not provide schematics. You may know a bit about electrical power systems (i.e. residential AC), but that doesn't carry over to electronics. Just what you call things makes that clear - whatever a "charge sentry board" is, not even Google has ever heard of one. You confuse a fuse (even with a manufacturer and type given) with a diode. You think they'd use an SCR to turn a DC current on/off. Not possible - once you put an SCR into forward conduction, it can't be turned off with the gate. They'd use MOSFETs (or GTO thyristors if they just wanted to be different for no good reason). You think there are "automatic circuit breakers" in PC power supplies to protect against shorts. There aren't. They implement overcurrent protection as an intrinsic part of the switching design. What everyone else calls a flyback or snubber diode, you call a "drain diode". Then you bring up a completely off-the-wall comment about old positive ground tractors. :h

happycamper002 wrote:
OP indicated (contrary to what you said)that he did not get power from the pedestal. Hooking up the battery however gets some result.

His most recent statement on that shows you wrong (his power jacks are obviously not wired through the panel):

dthfsa wrote:
If I disconnect the shore power I have noting. The battery is connected and all the jacks still work.

[happycamper002]

If you can read the block diagram (schematic) please show me where you think my opinion is dangerous. I did this (electrical) for a living for almost 40 years and I'm still alive and so are my electricians that worked for me when I was doing contract work.

You don't have to know AutoCad to send the schematic diagram. Just scribble on a piece of paper preferrably white and take a picture with a brief explanation why you think it is what you think it should be.

I'm waiting.

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

[mike-s]

happycamper002 wrote:
A reverse polarity from the battery will NOT cause the main fuse or CB (if there is one) to blow or open the circuit in the case for CB.

Do you know anything about the things being discussed?

The OP said it was a WFCO WF-9855, but that's just a stand-alone converter, so he's more likely talking about an WF-8955, which is a power center which has the circuits and fuses he's talking about. And yes, connecting a battery in reverse will blow the main DC fuses, which are between the battery and the converter/branch circuits.

Straight from the WFCO manual: "If the reverse polarity fuses are blown, it means the RV battery was accidentally connected in reverse, either at the battery or at the converter...These fuses protect the converter from damage in the event that the RV battery is accidentally connected in reverse. A reversed battery connection, even for a second, is the reason that these fuses will blow."

It's clear from your comments that your knowledge of electricity rises only to the "knows enough to be dangerous" level. Please refrain from spreading that danger to others.

[happycamper002]

westend wrote:
Look for a small can attached to the frame or inside a junction box for this battery circuit breaker. You may also have a large fuse and holder on the battery's positive wire but they were mainly used on older trailers.

Good luck on tracing it down.

Also, Happycamper, get some shut eye, sheeesh.

A reverse polarity from the battery will NOT cause the main fuse or CB (if there is one) to blow or open the circuit in the case for CB.

Keep in mind that the battery is a "floating" source of power that has no influence or being influenced by other energy source. You can reverse the polarity and at best you are only fusing the negative terminal rather than the normal fused positive.

Either way the battery will be happy.

The big impact is at the downstream end that is feed from the battery.
Most appliances and electronics are manufactured with negative ground.

With reverse polarity, pumps will run backwards, ammeter needle will move the opposite direction and electronics will not function because mother board/circuit boards use the negative chassis as return path. Transistors are made so that the trigger circuit use positive signal to function.

If you are still skeptical about this, all you have to do is look at some older tractors or construction equipment. Most of them are wired with positive ground.

[westend]

dthfsa wrote:
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.

This indicates that you have an open circuit breaker or open wire connection between the battery and the 12V distribution panel. Look for a small can attached to the frame or inside a junction box for this battery circuit breaker. You may also have a large fuse and holder on the battery's positive wire but they were mainly used on older trailers.

Good luck on tracing it down.

Also, Happycamper, get some shut eye, sheeesh.

[happycamper002]

. . .as current flows through the (not the through) silicon wafer . . . .
My bad.