Issues with 20A battery fuse

rjneufeld

Fuse blows when I plug in shore power.

With shore power plugged in, everything works fine with no battery fuse.

If I replace the battery fuse after unplugging shore power, everything runs off the battery fine until I plug in again, then 'poof', fuse is gone.

Is this very obviously something in particular? We're taking a week long boon dock soon and would love to (need to?) have battery power.

deputydog

I found if trailer battery gets run down the the fuse Blows when I plug into tow vehicle. To much power ? to the trailer battery. I don't know if this would apply to your situation but this continued occurring until tab battery was fully charged back up by a plug in 110 system.

rjneufeld

Appreciate the comment, thank you.

To deduce the problem, one thing I did was recharge the battery. Didn't help.

I took the cover off the electric box under the trailer and it was full of water.   Dried it all out and that didn't solve the issue either. I do recommend you check the box, though! Any crack or opening in the wire tubes and they start acting as a funnel into that box, ha ha.

I'm guessing the converter must be sending too much power to the battery when it wants to charge. That's my layman conclusion.

I'll have to arrange for service after camping season is done.

RetAF

It could be a direct short, stranger things have happened.  Make sure the ground is grounded to the right terminal if you are electrically proficient.  It's pretty simple, have it unplugged from shore power and then take a look.

rjneufeld

Thanks for the comments guys. Deputydog's post sent me down a path to resolution. The battery was more-or-less completely discharged, which was blowing the fuse when the converter wanted to send a charge.

What was throwing me off previously was my multi-meter was indicating a full charge because I wasn't aware you had to wait for surface charge to dissipate... As well, the various appliances appeared to run fine off the nearly discharged battery.

Regardless, trickle charged the battery at 2A for about a day and a half, all is well and I'm a little wiser from the experience!

deputydog

   This is Deputydog.  Did I help???? This is GREAT. I try but usualay fail.  This is a first.    A first.

Wanderoo

Way to go, Deputydog!!!  I love it when people contribute to the Forum, even if it's just a hunch or a guess.  

radren

How long do you have to wait for the surface charge to dissipate?

rjneufeld

I think if you hook up the battery to the trailer and run lights or something, it'll be minutes.

Otherwise, give it a few hours.

You'll actually see on the multimeter the slow discharge. If you can hold a constant measurement to two decimal places for 10+ seconds, I'd say you're discharged.

This is of course coming from a guy who just found out surface charge is a thing.

Michigan_Mike

Look at your converter name plate and read the rating of the converter.   It sounds like the converter isn't fused heavily enough and the initial surge from the converter trying to charge up the battery is blowing the fuse.   You can either call the factory and speak to Ed Kauffman for a resolution or call the converter manufacturer and ask them what the correct fuse size should be.   It sounds like the converter manufacturer installed an incorrect or smaller fuse size and it is blowing as opposed to operating the way it should by charging the battery.  You probably need a 30 amp fuse in the circuit but need to speak to a factory rep to protect the converter and the wire on the circuit.  

People need to do the following in advance of hooking the trailer up:

1. Check the campground pedestal to ensure that the disconnect is "open."  

2.  Attach the trailer power cord to the trailer and plug it in at the 30 amp receptacle at the campground pedestal.  

3.  Flip the breaker switch at the pedestal to "close" the circuit in and to bring power to the trailer.  

You SHOULD NOT plug the power cord into the campground pedestal while the circuit is energized.   It's best to have the circuit off, plug the power cord into the pedestal, then flip the switch.