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Thread: Fuse Box Melt

  1. #1
    Left The Driveway
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    Fuse Box Melt

    We purchased a Reflection 5th wheel last March at the Ocala RV show. We had an electrical issue right off the bat when the hot water heater wouldn't work on electric. We hauled it the hour and 1/2 drive from where we were staying back to the dealer. They removed the panel access in the storage area and saw the electrical wire laying on the floor next to the heater. Apparently a walk through with a checklist doesn't mean make sure everything works even though box is checked off. So, got that fixed and drove up to New York about a week later to our home. The camper sat in our barn all summer plugged in to keep the batteries charged. A week ago, we fired up the furnace as we are getting ready to head back to Florida and wanted to run things. After the furnace ran for about an hour, my husband turned the furnace off and came in the house. About an hour later he went back out to the barn and thought he saw smoke in the trailer. Then he smelled something burning. He immediately unplugged the camper and went in the trailer and sourced the smoke and smell to the fuse box. The DC side was melted. We called Grand Design the next morning and they expedited a new distribution box next day (which was the day before Xmas). A technician from the local dealership came and replaced the burned out distribution box and then started testing. The fuse for the lights and refrigerator circuit blew 3 or 4 times. My husband and he checked everything on that side of the trailer. Sometimes the fuse blew when a slide was moved. They pulled the electric fireplace and checked behind the fridge and couldn't find anything obvious. There was 1 loose connection that they did fix but not sure that was the actual cause.
    We are very uneasy now as the fuse box is in the mid bunk where our daughter (who is special needs) sleeps. We are going to get another smoke detector for in her bedroom as the one in the hallway wasn't activated. Her bedroom is a slide with a cathedral ceiling so would have to fill with a lot of smoke before it spilled out into the hallway. The big question is why did the fuse box melt and not just do its job and burn out the one fuse? Has anyone else had this happen?

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  2. #2
    Site Team WhittleBurner's Avatar
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    That is a frightening picture , there are many wiress in the basement crawl space that could cause problems. I haven't seen anything like that posted here , but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

    The dealer should to take down the choroplast and inspect all the wiring. Who knows what damage that could have done had your husband not caught it. I would feel quite uneasy until a reason was found.
    Hope they get it all fixed and safe for you and the family.
    Last edited by WhittleBurner; 12-30-2019 at 07:38 AM.
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    Long Hauler geotex1's Avatar
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    Common misconception that fuses and breakers are ultimate protection. They are not.

    I have seen this several times over my years of camping from different causes. By chance, have you been running a surge protector? Also, given the concentration on the 12VDC side, did the tech check for a shorted battery?
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    Left The Driveway
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    Quote Originally Posted by geotex1 View Post
    Common misconception that fuses and breakers are ultimate protection. They are not.

    I have seen this several times over my years of camping from different causes. By chance, have you been running a surge protector? Also, given the concentration on the 12VDC side, did the tech check for a shorted battery?
    The trailer is parked in the barn and was plugged into 120 outlet. Nothing was running. Batteries are fine. The panel to the underbelly was off and my husband and the tech have both been in there looking for a short and so far have found no burned wire or any shorts. My husband plans on entering the belly again today. Bought 2 smoke detectors yesterday to install.

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    Rolling Along LV Naturist's Avatar
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    What usually causes fuses and connections to burn like that is excessive current (Ampere) draw. There are two things that cause excessive current draw, power wires shorted to ground, and low voltage conditions. Think of it this way, loads (fridge, furnace blower, etc.) draw a certain amount of wattage (amps times voltage). As voltage drops, current increases. My thoughts are you have a low voltage issue. You stated above that the batteries are fine. I would double check them, isolate them from the system and have them rechecked. Reason being, if the trailer was plugged in, the batteries were charging and may have overcharged if there was no load on them. This could boil the water out of them and caused an internal short, causing low voltage. Another way you can check for excessive current draw is to get a clamp on amp meter and measure the current draw on the circuits that you said blew the fuse multiple times. If those circuits are drawing close to or more than the fuse rating, then those particular circuits need further tracing. Hope that helps...

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    Rolling Along LV Naturist's Avatar
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    I wanted to further clarify my post above. Just because the batteries show 12 volts (they should actually show 12.8 volts) doesn't mean they are good. If there is an internal problem, they may show 12 volts, but that voltage will drop off under load. It's best to take them to an auto parts store and have them properly load tested.

    John
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    Site Sponsor andrewssteve's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WhittleBurner View Post
    I would feel quite uneasy until a reason was found.
    I'd go further: Get Grand Design involved. Low voltage batteries could be the problem, but with that much significant 12V-side melting damage on so many circuits, batteries being the only problem seems unlikely to me. I'd be concerned about a major manufacturing flaw. The failure reason needs to be identified and corrected, and Grand Design should some how signify that the problem has been identified and resolved. It's OK if the dealer does the work, but GD should be taking responsibility for solving the problem.

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    Seasoned Camper
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    Quote Originally Posted by andrewssteve View Post
    I'd go further: Get Grand Design involved. Low voltage batteries could be the problem, but with that much significant 12V-side melting damage on so many circuits, batteries being the only problem seems unlikely to me. I'd be concerned about a major manufacturing flaw. The failure reason needs to be identified and corrected, and Grand Design should some how signify that the problem has been identified and resolved. It's OK if the dealer does the work, but GD should be taking responsibility for solving the problem.


    -Steve
    1000% agree. This is a “potential” serious situation. Do not take this lightly (not saying you are) and find the EXACT cause. To much as stake here including health and safety. I would let a dealer know but would also personally contact GD and keep a paper trail of your conversations. Good luck and keep us updated.
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    They could also have low voltage (under load) at the plug in the barn. Just another thought.

    And I would find the cause before I used the trailer too.

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    From what the OP said all this happened when he tried to run the furnace. Maybe the furnace wiring and connections are the place to start.

    Things melt and fuses don't blow when there is too much current being drawn at the maximum fuse rating (ditto for circuit breakers), not from shorts (they pull a lot of current and, hence, trip). And, I don't think things melt from low voltage; I'm not sure about that one tho.

    I think the place to start would have been a good inspection of the DC panel to see if all screws were tight. I would also have plugged the unit back in while watching, testing, checking temps in that fuse panel to try to isolate the cause. I wouldn't leave it on long, but it might have helped.

    A good amp meter could be used as well as a temp gauge (the kind you point that provides temps) to help isolate things.

    Mostly, check for loose connections and bad crimps/connections.

    Finally, if any of those 12v wires into our out of the DC panel got chased or overheated it would be wise to cut them back to good insulation/copper and reconnect.
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