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Topic: No Power at North End of Coach (Read 705 times) previous topic - next topic

No Power at North End of Coach

Issue: no power to dash, captains chairs or HWH. Everything else works.

Details: Working on my batteries. I have 3 8Ds all coach batteries no start batteries. A month or so ago started having issues with PD9280 charger. Charger would blow 30A fuse on charger. Replaced with resettable fuse. Would work for days at a time but would then blow. Noticed one battery had water on top. Assumed charger was boiling that battery and maybe it was bad so took it out of string. Thought it might be what was causing the charger to blow fuse. Fuse kept blowing. Replaced charger with Sterling 60A. No more problems.

Yesterday I put the 3rd 8D back in the string. Did a lot of work with cable management. I have a water system on it and have to route cables around it. So had to do multiple connections disconnections. Got everything setup the way I wanted, closed everything up, and went inside. Noticed no lights on dash. Radio & cigarette lighter voltage gauge not on. Hummm. Went back and checked resettable 12v fuses. That was the easiest thing to check and figured the connecting disconnecting had blown one and found one that had blown. Reset it and it immediately blew again. Pulled the fuse and the blades where pretty warm. Did some research on the circuit diagram and found this fuse powers the dash & chairs. I was a little surprised that the whole dash is powered by that circuit. The wire only looks like a 12 or maybe a 10. Anyway the wire "C10" disappears into loom and up and over the wet bay tanks. The circuit drawing I have mentions a couple of other drawings B2035-B2037 not sure what those would show me. Probably the dash wiring?? Anyone have these for 90's Grand Villa?

I disconnected the seats thinking maybe a wire got mangled in the gears but no luck. Then pulled every fuse in the dash (all 40 of em') and breaker still blows. So now thinking short has to be somewhere between wet bay and dash. I am a master of the obvious! :) Not sure how to test. I'm toying with running a hot wire from wet bay to dash fuse block but not sure where to attach at dash fuse block. Not much room under under there. If this works at least I know it's a dead short somewhere.

Don't really know how the work on the batteries would have caused a short on this circuit but it did show up right after I finished the project.

I do have a deadline. Need to leave the campground in 2 days. If wire trick works could at least start and move coach. Yes will put a 30A fuse in bypass wire for safety. Would appreciate any suggestions.

see ya
ken
   

Re: No Power at North End of Coach

Reply #1 –
It looks like that wire supplies the whole dash fuse block. You should be able to find that wire. With the fuse out unhook that wire at the dash and see if it reads ground. That will tell you if it is shorted. Jumping it would work with the safety 30 amp fuse attached at the battery or whatever source you use.

Re: No Power at North End of Coach

Reply #2 –
Ken out at the ranch, will look at my drawings when I get back about 30 min or so.

Re: No Power at North End of Coach

Reply #3 –
OK everyone can stand down. Found issue. Pilot error.

Somehow I mistook the boost cable for the negative start battery cable. Anytime you hook a positive cable to a negative post bad things are bound to happen. Discovered issue when I jumped my boost solenoid and saw angry pixies come out of the cable in the form of a pungent wispy smoke. Arggg...

see ya
ken

Re: No Power at North End of Coach

Reply #4 –
Oops, be careful with that smoke in those wires.

Re: No Power at North End of Coach

Reply #5 –
Unintended arc welding ain't for sissies.

Re: No Power at North End of Coach

Reply #6 –
Or as my kids said when their inverter quit "the magic smoke that makes it operate all leaked out and we need a new inverter."

Re: No Power at North End of Coach

Reply #7 –
Did you jump out of your shoes?

A long time ago on a Minuteman missile site. I was tasked to disconnect a rather large cable that was feeding power into a motor/Generator when it was not supposed to be doing so. That power was from 10 6V Submarine batteries. BIG ones that weigh in at some 2,000 or more lbs each. 5,000 Amps were going through that cable. And I had to unscrew it (Cannon connector) It arced until it was about 8-10 inches away. I nearly pooped myself.
 

Re: No Power at North End of Coach

Reply #8 –
Quote from: bigdog –
It arced until it was about 8-10 inches away. I nearly pooped myself.
I nearly poop myself when it's 1/4". It always scares me. Even when I know it's coming!

see ya
ken