Lost power to monitoring panel and fridge

[Corey450]

Hi all,
First time hear. Have read a lot of posts here and been very useful. My question is last year i put our 87 funchaser down for storms with everything working fine. Somebody previous modified the front end and getting to battery is difficult when top is down so I left the battery cables hanging out. When I went to put cables back on there was a tear in the rubber coating and it shorted out on the frame. Since then the monitoring panel doesn't work nor the fridge and the converter isn't converting to 12 volt. I'm thinking a fuse problem but can't find a fuse panel. All fuses in converter are fine and circuit breakers are not tripped. Fridge will not work on gas or 110 either. Really baffled here. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[JackandJanet]

Corey - welcome to the forum.

I don't know much of anything about your model year trailer, but is it possible the circuit breakers in the battery box were destroyed by what sounds like a "massive" short circuit?

I seem to recall there being an inline fuse to the refrigerator too, but I don't know where it is.

Do the interior lights, water pump, furnace, power tongue jack, top lifting motor and anything else that is 12V work? If NOTHING works, I'd start checking continuity on the +12V battery cable. Go from there through the battery box circuit breakers.

- Jack

 

[Corey450]

Yes everything else works.

 

[JackandJanet]

OK, it COULD be a damaged converter then. But, I'm puzzled that ONLY the refrigerator and monitoring panel are not working because of that. If you have a multimeter, check for voltage at the inputs to the non-working items.

If the converter is not producing a charging output, the battery would read below 13V if you are plugged into shore power. This would mean the charger section of the converter is inop. It gets 117V AC power from the converter through a circuit breaker.

But, the lights, water pump and so on are working directly off the battery, through a fuse panel on the converter. As I read the circuit diagram, the converter itself is not really doing anything for 12V except holding the fuse panel.

And, does the refrigerator work on 117V AC shore power?

Since other 12V items work, I don't see why the fridge would not also work on 12V too.

There probably IS a 30 Amp inline fuse to the refrigerator on the 12V input. It's shown as a blue wire in the 2006 Model Year diagram. I don't know where it actually is, but suspect it's behind the refrigerator - possibly you'd find it if you took the outside ventilation panel off the bottom half of the trailer. If nothing else, you'd at least have access to all the backside wiring of the fridge.

You could probably remove the monitoring panel and apply 12V DC to the various inputs, using a car battery. That would tell you if the panel itself is dead or functioning.

Good luck! This kind of circuit tracing can take quite a bit of time, and you have to understand circuits pretty well to do it.

- Jack

 

[Corey450]

Thanks Jack. I appreciate the input. It will at least give me a place to start. Thank you for the warm welcoming also. The fridge does not work when plugged in either is what really puzzles me also. I appreciate the help. Electrical is not my specialty but I can read schematics somewhat and know how to test for 12v D.C. And 110 ac. I'll keep you posted what I found out.

 

[hilltool]

I have a rather high amp fuse to the refrigerator ( i think 30) in line and it is accessible from my battery box. It blows everytime I try to turn on the 12v refrig and I just haven't had the gumption to tear into the circuits to figure it out. I would look for that. I once shorted out on the battery box, also, ( lowered the trailer with my my wdh bars lying on top and it just crushed the battery box lid down to the terminals. It welded a hole right through the lid....) but nothing blew. I dont think the monitor is one the same circuit, though, as I have a monitor even though Idont have the DC refrig.

Rick

rick

 

[maestro123]

try just a battery and then try a different converter with 10 amp fuses in it. it sounds as if fridge fuse is toast. like jack said you need to track it down with multi meter. long process. but sounds kinda simple to track down. fuse to fridge some place be my guess too. nice to meet you mike

 

[sam-HILO]

Welcome to the forum

Love the tech guys on the forum. Best advice for free. We have a 1990 25ft. HiLo and had experiences with electrical where a fuse looks good but replaced anyway,maybe a bit of corrosion.If you trace everything then you might consider reflacing fuses and breakers. Realitively inexpensive to do. We carry spare fuses for every thing in the HiLo.

 

[Yerg]

EXACT same thing with my fridge right now. I figured I'd check in with the forum and here you are discussing it. Thanks. I'll start looking for an in-line fuse. I've already checked the circuit breaker box and fuses - all good. My fridge works fine on gas and DC, but I can't get it to recognize AC. Hope it's not the control panel on the fridge front.

 

[RichR]

If your trailer is like ours the fridge wire does not go to the converter but rather to the battery or the terminal strip in the battery compartment. The monitor panel does get its power from the converter fuse strip. Fuses can look good but can be burned out on a spot out of sight. Either test them or replace with a good fuse. Remember, when checking for electrical problems always start from the power source be it the battery, the shore power outlet, or the tow vehicle receptacle then work your back toward the part that is having trouble.

 

[JackandJanet]

EXACT same thing with my fridge right now. I figured I'd check in with the forum and here you are discussing it. Thanks. I'll start looking for an in-line fuse. I've already checked the circuit breaker box and fuses - all good. My fridge works fine on gas and DC, but I can't get it to recognize AC. Hope it's not the control panel on the fridge front.

Yerg, if it's not working on AC power, it's on a line that is protected by a circuit breaker on the converter CB panel. The 30A inline fuse we were talking about is for DC power.

Mine is a little "fussy" about switching to the desired power source. It will go to DC fairly easily, if the AC and propane supplies are not present, but it always seems reluctant to go to propane from DC. It has also wanted to transition to AC when I've had the generator plugged in, even though it was already running on propane. I know this is not exactly your problem, but maybe the switching circuit is faulty. And, if it's that, I don't know how you'd fix it without replacing it.

Double check the circuit breaker in the refrigerator circuit and follow RichR's advice about how to check for voltage. With the trailer unplugged from shore power and with the battery disconnected, you may be able to open up the converter enough to find the input to that circuit breaker. Plug the shore power cord back in and check for voltage there as a start.

- Jack

 

[Yerg]

Thanks RichR. ThanksJandJ.

It does have to do with my battery charging section. I'm hooked up to shore power but my batteries aren't charging. That explains why the fridge control panel won't recognize AC.

When I shut down all the circuit breakers and then switched them back on my monitor test shows I'm charging again. A few minutes later the test shows no charge. When shut down completely everything is working fine off AC including the fridge. It must be a bad circuit breaker.

 

[JackandJanet]

Thanks RichR. ThanksJandJ.

It does have to do with my battery charging section. I'm hooked up to shore power but my batteries aren't charging. That explains why the fridge control panel won't recognize AC.

When I shut down all the circuit breakers and then switched them back on my monitor test shows I'm charging again. A few minutes later the test shows no charge. When shut down completely everything is working fine off AC including the fridge. It must be a bad circuit breaker.

OR, it COULD be a high Amp draw on that circuit. But, I'd replace the circuit breaker as a first step. Good testing!

- Jack

 

[maestro123]

stick a fork in it it's done LMAO