fuse out?

Hey guys,

Just got back from our first trip in the new TM, but we experiences a problem. Plugged into the electrical hookup at the site, power went to all systems fine. When it came time to put the kiddos to bed all power in the rear of the unit went out (lights, lp detector). A quick check of the fuse box showed a red light next to the 20amp fuse for the rear of the unit but the circuit breaker was fine. I thought that the fuses were for 12V power, which should not have been active when I was plugged in correct? any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Red light indicates the 20 amp fuse is blown. All the lights in the TM are 12 volt. Doesn’t matter if you are plugged in to shore power or not. The converter supplies the system with 12v when you are plugged in.

[Bill]

Digger has given you the right answer. However, we've had a couple discussions lately that suggest we need to go over the difference between fuses and circuit breakers in the TM.

The circuit breakers are the black-handle things. There are 4 or 5 of them, and they look just like the ones that are probably in your house. They control power to all the household-type outlets, as well as any 120-volt appliances. The 120-volt appliances include the air conditioner, the 120-volt setting on the refrigerator, a built-in microwave if you have one, and the input to the converter. When a circuit breaker trips, you reset it by moving the handle to OFF, and then back to ON.

The fuses are the small brightly-colored plastic things. There are 9 or 10 or them. They control power to all the lights and all the 12-volt appliances. The 12-volt appliances include almost everything else in the TM. When a fuse blows, you can see it by holding it up to the light and looking through the plastic at the broken metal link inside. Fuses cannot be reset - they must be replaced, which means you should be carrying some spares.

Hope this helps unravel some of the confusion.

Bill

Ok, that makes sense. my assumption was that when plugged in all power would go through the 120v system, which was obviously incorrect.
Bill- one of my first thoughts after this happened was " guess I'll need to put a small box of spare fuses in the trailer". - live and learn!

thanks, much appreciated.

Jim,

I think most of us carry a specific tool box with us when we go that has all of the goodies you need if something goes amuck. Fuses are one item. I carry an assortment of white head stainless screws, caulk and wrenches big enough to work on the hitch and tires. I also carry a Volt Ohm Meter and various electrical pieces. You might consider something like this. All my stuff is in it's own tool box so I just through it in the TV when we go.

If you look at the electrical system in the TM, you'll realize that all of things that work when you're not "plugged in" are 12V devices...water pump, lights, furnace fan etc. AC items are pretty obvious since they only work when you're plugged in Air Cond, AC outlets and the inverter itself. BTW, If you accidentally reverse the battery leads (which I have done when re-installing the battery in the spring), it will blow the main inverter fuse. Mine came with an Orange 40A fuse. If you do blow that one, don't bother looking for them- they are nearly impossible to find. The dealer told me it was supposed to be a 30A anyway so that's what I replaced it with and I haven't had any problems.

Phil

[ferdoh]

NAPA carries 40A fuses for the converter

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by ferdoh

NAPA carries 40A fuses for the converter

I wouldn't suggest using higher amp fuses then are designated for the job. If someone were to stick a 40A fuse in the lights (for example) it could start a fire it there was enough resistance to heat up the wiring (like from a corroded connector or socket) but not enough to blow the 40A fuse. 40A is pretty extreme.

The converter in my TM also came with two orange 40amp fuses. The schematic in the TM manual doesn’t show them but they are labeled as reverse polarity fuses in the converter. Curiosity got the best of me so I removed them both then tried all the 12V systems in the TM, everything worked. Looks like they are a link between the converter and the 12V buss
so no surprises there. I wasn’t connected to shore power at the time. Next time I’m on shore power I’ll disconnect the batteries before removing them and see what happens. I’m guessing that none of the 12V systems will work. Like ferdoh, I found spares at NAPA.

The reverse polarity fuses protect the battery and converter in case you connect the battery with reversed polarity. With the fuses out, you will not charge the battery when connected to shore power.