Where Are We Today
Blown Fuses
Yesterday, December 20th, 2017, we
left Lake Havasu City " On Our Way" to Pilot Knob RV Resort in
Winterhaven California. While I take care of the outside, Pat closes up the
inside. The last thing that she does is to turn on the inverter, which she did, lock the door and off we go.
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| Our spot at Rose & George's Lake Havasu City |
We were about half way to our
destination when we stopped for a break, entering the trailer and opening one
of the slides, I noticed that the inverter remote switch lights were off. A quick check right at the inverter
verified that this was indeed the case. Not being able to do much about it at the
side of the road, we carried on.
After setting up, I started to
scratch my brain to see if I could figure out what had happened. One of the
first thoughts was an internal fuse of
the inverter, after checking the manual, it is recommended that a qualified
technician should replace it. Calling it
the end of the day. I'll sleep on it and scratch my head in the morning and
hope I don't get slivers under my finger nails.
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| There are two 100 Amp 32 V. Fuses |
Early this morning, the light bulb went off and I remembered that there is a fuse block between the batteries and the inverter. That was it, or I should say they were it. There are two 100 amp buss fuses, that were blown, problem solved. I will replace them and we should be back in business for dry camping in January.
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| Ohm Meter confirms that they are blown |
I started to wonder why they blew,
after two years of no problems. It came to me this afternoon what the cause
could be. We had been running the heat pump , it was off when we closed up, but
the thermostat was still on. Being the outside temperature was below the thermostat
setting of 65* F for the heat pump, at some time after we were on the road it
tried to start on the inverter power, the current it would draw was greater than
the inverter could handle, the fuses blew to protect the inverter from
damage, that's why they are there.
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| This is where the fuse block goes between the batteries and the inverter. |
I'm glad that problem is solved and I won't lose any sleep over it tonight.
As I said, we did travel yesterday
and I haven't rated the road yet. Hwy I 95 south from Lake Havasu City to Yuma,
I would rate between a 7.5 - 8 out of 10. Hwy I 8 from Yuma to our campground,
I would rate as a 9.5 out of 10. It was under construction last year when we
were here and still is, that is the only reason it doesn't get a perfect 10.
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| All set up at Pilot Knob RV Park |
That's it for this time, thanks for following along. Love to read your comments, if you care to leave one. Until the next time, take care and travel safe.
Glad you found the problem and the cause, new fuses and you should be good to go again.
ReplyDeleteThanks George, I am too.
DeleteGlad you found the problem. Question? Is there any need for the heating/cooling system to be hooked to the inverter? If not is there any way it could be disconnected from the inverter and just hooked to the shore power circuit. Now I have slivers. lol
ReplyDeleteThanks Lorne. When the system was installed, it covers the whole trailer, meaning it was wired to the fuse panel. The thermostat controls all the heating and air conditioning including the furnace.I could eliminate the air conditioning/heat pump by turning off the breakers in the panel. We don't often use the heat pump, but being we had free hydro, we were saving on propane. Something to think about though.
ReplyDeleteWe had a similar incident where the AC tried to turn on. It is a matter of remembering to turn the Breaker on when Plugged in and Off when using the Inverter. Another one for the Checklist.
ReplyDeleteGlad it wasn't serious.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Yes the breaker is one option. Resetting the thermostat is actually an easier choice. Remembering to do either is the thing.
DeleteGlad you solved your problem.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys.
DeleteBill, we enjoy reading your blog, its good you found the culprit. That fuse is a big bummer. We hope you can dig one up in the area. Noticed your analog meter on the picture. In case it is in your budget you might update to a digital volt Ohm meter, which are now very reasonably priced. It simplifies reading the meter. The analog meter reading can be off by up to 30%. Hug Clemson from us. Benno
ReplyDeleteBill, we enjoy reading your blog, its good you found the culprit. That fuse is a big bummer. We hope you can dig one up in the area. Noticed your analog meter on the picture. In case it is in your budget you might update to a digital volt Ohm meter, which are now very reasonably priced. It simplifies reading the meter. The analog meter reading can be off by up to 30%. Hug Clemson from us.
ReplyDeleteBenno
Thanks Benno. I have a digital meter, when I went to use it, the battery was dead and I didn't have one to replace it. The analog meter I have had for over 30 years ( it's a Radio Shack One )and it's my spare. For checking continuity, the accuracy isn't so important. New battery is on the shopping list along with the fuses. Clemson says thanks for the hug.
DeleteGreat spot you two have there in the park. Glad you're able to figure things like that out by yourself. Ken's pretty good at that stuff too..(thank goodness)..I really like the way you rate the roads!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys, our spot is a nice one for sure. I am glad when I can figure things out and fix them, even with some time and head scratching. It has been fun rating the roads and we can look back at the ratings when we plan future trips.
DeleteGlad you found and solved the problem with apparent ease. A few slivers seems to be a pretty small price to pay. If it happens again you will know right where to look.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the road rating, always good to know.
Bill, batteries die in the most inconvenient moment. Last year in Florida I had to use my fancy Fluke (true RMS) meter and it was on the fritz. The 9-volt battery was deader than dead and on top of that it had leaked into the battery compartment and below onto the PC-board. Yep! Needed a meter quick so picked one up at Home Depot. Nice little meter, digital as well like the Fluke and to a good price. The Fluke I repaired here at home after a serious cleaning and I will keep it here. The small new meter will stay in the RV. You are right, for continuity checking almost any meter will do, even a flashlight battery with a bulb ☺
ReplyDeleteAll the best to you three, Benno
It's usually when you need them, that's when the batteries are dead. I bought a new battery for my digital meter today and we are back in business.
ReplyDeleteThanks Benno, all the best to you and yours.
Very nice your blog and article. I like this blog thank for sharing.
ReplyDeleteหนังชีวประวัติ