Running a ground from the Alde to the battery

TerryV6

I wrote the company and mentioned blowing glass fuses.  Marvin wrote and said that yes, they have a tendency to blow easily.  He suggested that I could run my current ground on the Alde all the way up to the negative on the battery.  That might help.  Has anyone done something like this?  Not sure about any of this... where is the ground etc...  

Photomom

This feels a bit dodgy. I just checked the schematic and while one of the Alde's 3.15A fuses is on the +12V line, the other is on the ground line. It seems to me that running a separate wire direct to ground would bypass that fuse. 

Verna

@TerryV6, Marvin knows these T@B's inside and out. If he says to run a ground to the negative side of the battery then it is a good idea to follow his instructions. 

You can run a temporary ground wire to the battery to test to see if it helps. 

Please call Marvin again and ask his advice on what gauge of wire to run, where to start with the wire at the Alde and then you can just lay the wire on the driveway to the battery's negative side to see if this helps. 

Tell us us what happens, please. 

Photomom

All I said was, it feels a bit dodgy.
I'd want to understand why Marvin thinks this may resolve the issue.

Dalehelman

Why is there a fuse on the ground side anyway? Is this a   European thing because they use 220 and not 110? I don't recall ever seeing a fuse on the ground side of a 12 volt or 110 circuit. Can someone explain.

Verna

@Dalehelman, I, too, have never seen a fuse on the negative side of a D.C. circuit. I do not understand. 

Verna

@Dalehelman, page 24, 25 of the Alde 3010 Operating Manual that is in the PDF files in the User Manuals/PDF Files/Videos & Resources Category.

Page 21 appears to show the wiring seems to go directly from the fuses to the 12V battery with an additional 5V fuse on the positive side. It does not show a converter in the circuit, but the 5V fuse would probably be in the converter on the nüCamp T@Bs. 

If the ground wire is loose or broken from the Alde, there would be inconsistent symptoms present. By running a ground all the way from the Alde to the battery, you would be adding a complete wire from the Alde to the battery, therefore proving whether the existing wiring is defective. 

TerryV6

Well, here is the quote:  “The Alde fuse is the smallest fuse in the whole trailer so if there is any back-surge in the ground wire it will blow first to fix this you can run the ground wire for the Alde system all the way up to the negative post on the battery.”  

Now, I might follow up on Verna’s suggestion and get more info.  I’m not feeling very comfortable with this procedure though.  My timid response would be... I can carry spare fuses... grin..

Verna

@TerryV6, read my last statement above. Looking at what schematics we are given, what Marvin told you is feasible. You just need to know where to connect the ground wire. 

dsatwork

It certainly seems feasible and could help with stability. There's only one problem, it's not that easy to get wires from inside to outside on the 2017 models. I at least have access now, because I had to get cables from the electrical compartment to the battery. But, it did require drilling a hole through the floor inside that compartment.

jctangney

I just talked to a service person at Alde and got a similar response. I was trying to add an electric tongue jack and couldn't get it to work. As I started searching for what was wrong, I found that when I put my volt meter between the negative terminal of the battery and the frame, it was showing 12 volts! Not good!!! Started pulling fuses one at a time and when the Alde fuse was pulled, it "almost" went away, now it was down to about 2 volts. Checked the Alde further and found the 3.14A ground fuse of the Alde was blown (second time). When I replaced that, I was down to 0 volts. Was going to take too long to get into my dealer since I have a trip coming up, so I tried Alde. He couldn't explain the 12 volts, but did say that they have had back-surge problems on T@B's blowing the 3.14A fuse. He said using a 5A fuse on that ground side would be fine and should avoid having them blow so easily. He also said that on newer T@B's (mine is 2016), they are running a ground wire up to, or closer to the battery to avoid the surge problem. On my T@B, there are currently 9 wires connected to a metal grounding block. For now I am considering changing the fuse to 5A and possibly adding an extra wire from the negative battery terminal to the frame near the tongue jack. My current battery cutoff switch cuts both the positive and negative when off, so if I go direct to the frame it would eliminate the negative cutoff. I may be able to run the wire from the frame to the post-cutoff wire negative wire.

Comments?

TerryV6

“using a 5A fuse on that ground side would be fine and should avoid having them blow so easily. ”
Wow...  could this the cure for my occasional fuse blowing...?

TerryV6

Anyone have thoughts about using a 5A fuse for the alde?

dsatwork

TerryV6 said:

Anyone have thoughts about using a 5A fuse for the alde?

I think I would try running the ground back to the battery first. But I just bought a 10 pack of fuses and haven't had an Alde fuse blow out but one time. We have camped close to 40 nights and over 7,000 miles of traveling in our first 6 months of ownership. I know that when I blew my fuse it was likely because I pulled the 30 amp connection, before turning the Alde off at the panel. This happened while connecting and unconnecting the battery a multiple times, while working on one of my modification projects. So, I may wait to see what the public opinion is on this one. At this point, I think I just need to quit being a dummy, instead of dummy proofing my Tab. But that's just me...I'm not suggesting that it's anyone's fault if their Alde fuse blows.

jctangney

Well, I just put a 5A fuse in my T@B and added an extra ground connection from the battery to the frame using one of the bolts holding the tongue jack in place. I also attached the positive wire for my new electric tongue jack to the switched side of the battery cutoff. I had thought my cutoff (installed by the dealer) was cutting off both + and -, but discovered that it only cuts off the positive. I don't see a problem with that and it made me more willing to add the extra ground wire up front. Sometime this winter I plan to install the high altitude kit for the Alde (extra pressure regulator mounted in back near the Alde) that I got from the factory. At that time I may also look at moving the Alde ground wire to a separate connection to the frame away from all the other devices.

TerryV6

“At this point, I think I just need to quit being a dummy, instead of dummy proofing my Tab. “

Thats is very true.  I can easily say that it might be my fault..

TerryV6

Verna said:

@TerryV6, Marvin knows these T@B's inside and out. If he says to run a ground to the negative side of the battery then it is a good idea to follow his instructions. 

You can run a temporary ground wire to the battery to test to see if it helps. 

Please call Marvin again and ask his advice on what gauge of wire to run, where to start with the wire at the Alde and then you can just lay the wire on the driveway to the battery's negative side to see if this helps. 

Tell us us what happens, please. 

Wow, it’s been a while since this issue has been discussed.  At first I thought it was my inertia ability that allowed this not to be followed up.  Then I gave myself an excuse and said it was near the end of the season.  Anyway, still here, still experiencing intermittent blown fuses. I follow all safe procedures btw, but after setup, fuse was blown and new one needed.  We were in Madison last week to visit a very ill friend in hospital.  We decided to make a side trip to our dealer and took a tour of a 400.  It was very nice and we were offered a new one for our current camper and $11000.  Tempted for sure but......  I mentioned our fuses deal and was told  they knew how to fix it, by doing the ground thing.  So, at this point we could drive back down and have them do it.  I don’t want to do it myself actually.  I was wondering if just a general camper place around here could do it.  Things to mull over.  

Dalehelman

I just finished attending the East meets West Rally at Lincoln Rock Washington State Park. The Alde fuse issue came up. One of the participants had contacted Alde about the problem. I understand he was given a 5 amp fuse to replace the original ground fuse. I would contact Alde directly in Mount  Vernon WA. to see I’ve this is proper.

TerryV6

Wonder if it is this kind?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008OZ4U7C/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526931456&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=5+amp+so+blo+glass+fuse

TerryV6

I left a note on the Alde site.  They replied:

Hey Terry,

I have herd of people installing a 5 amp fast blow fuse on the ground side of the circuit, you want to make sure that is on the ground side and not the power side. The large white label in that service hatch will have which fuse is on what side of the circuit. If it’s the power side of the circuit thats blowing I would recommend having the system turned off when plugging into shore power, I have herd this has helped with that issue.

I think the proper fix would be to run a ground wire directly from our boiler to battery, this will fully ensure we are not getting a voltage spike back fed from some other appliance in the trailer. I have done this repair myself and I ran the ground wire to the trailer frame, I think as long as it’s not in the common ground block with other appliances that should prevent the ground side fuse from blowing.

Let me know if this helps or if you need some further information.

Thank you,

Spencer Tangeman

Service Technician

Phone: 360-597-3017

Fax: 360-718-7077

Alde Corp.

6700 NE 152nd Ave Suite 160

Vancouver, WA 98682

www.alde.us

duckblind123

When we bought our 2016 T@B, the first two trips, we were blowing Alde fuses like crazy.  I contacted the dealership and also T@B.  Both advised they would run a ground wire from the Alde to the battery and this would solve our issue.  Well, they ran the ground wire and we have not blown a fuse since.  So, if the issue is grounding, then this will provide some relief.

dsatwork

So what if I ran the Alde ground to the 4-gauge ground wire on my inverter, that goes directly to the battery? Good idea or Bad idea. Not an electrical genius....just a so so hacker. The Red wire with the black ends.

Mega

Last fall (2020) Austin gave me the same advice...run ground wire from Alde directly to negative post on battery then disconnect ground from converter.  I'm unsure how to run it through under the floor to the battery though without having a visual of what I am doing.

gbell

Any one know the gauge wire to use , tired of blown fuses tab 2016 .to the frame or to the negative on battery, seeing both, nucamp email to me said to the battery. Is frame better?