Inline fuse keeps blowing

[dedwards63]

I'm trying to troubleshoot why my 30-amp fuse, which is inline right behind the battery compartment, keeps blowing out on my 2012 Jayco Octane 24zx.

I love the layout and the features of the trailer. But, I started having some electrical issues after about 10-11 months of ownership. First, the power quit working in the trailer. I thought maybe the batteries were bad, so I took it back to the dealership. They checked batteries and said they were fine. So, I got home, and power did not work again. Finally, I found that the inline fuse was blown, that sits right behind the battery compartment. By the way, I have 2 deep cycle 12v batteries.

Then, my running lights quit working about 3-4 weeks later, right about the time the 1-yr warranty was up. Then, while on a four-day trip, the inline fuse kept blowing out whenever we seemed to run the generator, or run the microwave/convection oven. I had to replace the inline fuse about 6-7 times in the 3-4 day period. We were out in the middle of nowhere in southern Utah, just outside of Moab, and I was getting a bit nervous I was going to run out of fuses.

I just went out today to plug the trailer in, then start the generator for a bit, and again, the fuses blew!!!

Anyway, anyone have suggestions on where to start troubleshooting? Again, I keep blowing the fuse, and my running lights don't work either.

[Grumpy]

It sure sounds like a pinched wire someplace that is shorting out. All you can do is start tracing the wiring harness and check everyplace there is a wire clamp or where it goes through an opening.

[RoyBraddy]

Are you sure the battery terminals are installed correctly and not reversed. This is very easy to do. Find the stamped word "NEGATIVE" or symbol "-" on the battery case and make sure this is the terminal cable going to FRAME GROUND.

When mine got reversed it blew the in-line fuse and also two fuses in the 12VDC power distribution panel labeled 'REVERSE POLARITY'..

This also may mean your battery is starting to go bad with a shorted cell. Check the fluid level in the battery to see if ONE CELL may be boiled out. Your battery will get very warm if it has a shorted cell in it.

Roy Ken

[Mustang65]

Interesting!!!
Like Roy said, check the batteries to make sure that they are wired together properly, Then check the Reverse Polarity fuse in the panel and FRAME Ground.
Next, I would start by pulling the MAIN fuse by the battery box and checking the voltage on the BATTERY side of the fuse container. Disconnect the batteries from each other and take a voltage check on each battery, independent of each other. If you have good voltage you eliminate the batteries as your issue. You may want to try testing your main fuse panel by using the "process of elimination"! Pull ALL your low voltage fuses and plug in your generator to see if the main fuse blows. If not start adding one fuse at a time and starting the generator after adding each fuse. I would also check the main leads on the TT's charge controller to see if they are loose or may be touching.

As for your running lights, there are no fuses on the TT for them. They are directly wired to the TT/TV connector. You may want to connect a FUSED lead off of the TT battery and touch it to the connector on the TT's electric cable to the truck to see if they light up. If they do you may have a bad circuit in the TV.


One more thing, are you using the 120VAC outlet plugged into the TT's shore cable to charge the batteries, or is there a 12 VDC lead on the generator to charge the batteries? Check the generators OUTPUT voltages, just to make sure.

Hope this helps

Don

[Jagiven]

Lots of good advice. In regards to the running lights, as noted it gets its power from your TV’s 7 pin connector. If you have a corroded connector you will not get a good power connection. If the lights do not come back on after cleaning, check your TV fuse box (most likely the one under the hood of your TV) most vehicles now have separate fuses for the 7 pin connector. I blew a fuse for the right turn signal when I jackknifed my utility trailer a few winters ago. I could not locate the issue and had to bring the TV it into the dealer.

[Seann45]

ONE year warranty?? I thought all new Jaycos came with a 2 year warranty..

[dedwards63]

You guys are great! And quick with response! Very impressed!

These are good ideas. The battery should be connected correctly, I haven't played with it much since getting it from the dealer installed as is. But, will check that.

I supposed a one-year warranty, so I will also chat with dealership tomorrow again.

And, I've got a handy brother who can help me with the other troubleshooting ideas.

Other than this annoying little thing, I really like the trailer and the versatile layout of it.

I like to dry camp and get lost in the mountains of Utah or hit the red rocks down south, so I need to rely on the generator, etc.

Thanks again. I will keep you posted...

[Mustang65]

Let us know what the problem was.. We are always interested... an it is good to know what the solution was
Don

[RoyBraddy]

If the battery is connected correctly then I would definitely check the fluid levels in the battery. If you find one cell alot lower then the others than that is a pretty good sign that you may have a bad cell in that battery.

A bad cell will draw alot of current from your converter/charger unit and that may be what is blowing your inline fuse.

Roy Ken

[dedwards63]

Sorry for not getting back sooner. Here is the latest...

You guys were right, I had the extra warranty, so I just took it in to the dealership. They checked everything and said it all checked out OK, except they said that the battery fluid was a little low, and that might have caused the issue.

I checked fluids before the last trip, so I am not sure that was it, but they seemed to think that low battery fluid was it.

I wasn't so sure with the outcome, so I went to another dealership around the corner from where I worked and picked the brain of one of the service guys there. He suggested that I change to an 30 amp automatic resetting circuit breaker, and told me to install that the place of the original 30 amp inline fuse.

And, I splurged a little and did a couple of upgrades while I was at it. I bought a couple of Trojan 6v batteries, just because I was very happy with the 6v battery setup on my old trailer and I haven't liked how quick they deep 12v batteries have lasted. And, I also bought a Husky Bruteforce power tongue jack and installed it.

After installing all my goodies, I took the trailer in to a local shop to have a mechanic I know give everything a once over and check my installation work. He took a little extra time to really check out my generator and how many amps it was pushing through the system when it started up.

It was registering about 34-36 amps. He felt that I just needed to upgrade my inline automatic reset circuit breaker to a 40 amp version and said I would be good to go.

So far so good! Bottom line is that it could have been a little low on some battery fluid, but more than likely I was just under-protected with the 30 amp fuse and probably should have had at least a 40 amp to handle the startup load that the generator was pushing???

We shall see...

[dedwards63]

Oh, and the running lights were easily fixed. It was a blown fuse on my truck. I thought I was checking the right fuses, but, I wasn't.

So, the running lights are working fine now also. I am good for the season... now just to find some free weekends to get out and about!

[RoyBraddy]

I was going to suggest the same thing about increasing the amperage to 45AMPS. It should be the same amperage as your converter/charger is capable of producing.

Each battery in your bank will want to draw 18-20AMPS of DC Current when you hit them with your BULK CHARGING voltage (14.4VDC).

If you have two batteries in your battery bank then your on-board converter/charger should be the 45AMP model and of course should also be a SMART MODE type charger system. The SMART MODE 45AMP Converter/Charger model will re-charge your two batteries in a quick three hour charge time.

replacing the in-line fuse with a auto reset circuit breaker is a great idea. Most new trailers come out with auto reset breakers now it seems...

Roy Ken

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by dedwards63

So far so good! Bottom line is that it could have been a little low on some battery fluid, but more than likely I was just under-protected with the 30 amp fuse and probably should have had at least a 40 amp to handle the startup load that the generator was pushing???

We shall see...

If the start spec is 30 amp then you could either have a bad starter or a loose or dirty connection somewhere if it is drawing more than it's supposed to.

[bnewbold]

Originally Posted by dedwards63

Oh, and the running lights were easily fixed. It was a blown fuse on my truck. I thought I was checking the right fuses, but, I wasn't.

So, the running lights are working fine now also. I am good for the season... now just to find some free weekends to get out and about!

I have the same issue exactly, on my T24Z OCTANE 2014....not everytime, but most of the time I use my onboard generator, it blows the fuse near my batteries. it seems to do so when it shuts off. then absolutely nothing works even with generator power, until I replace that fuse. it does not charge the battery when this is happening...sometimes everything works great...it is a mystery for sure and my local dealer put new batteries in it, 2 weeks later, I fire up the generator, then turn it off, and bam blown fuse again.

I am intrigued by the auto-resetting 40amp breaker, it just seems as though sometimes, there is a surge after the generator is shut off, sometimes there is not.

[Rvan]

Just curious, did this fix your issue? I have a brand new 2016 Octane SL that I literally just towed home, and the inline fuse blows instantly. Even without being plugged in or without any outside input. Super frustrating! Off to the dealer!

[Rvan]

Mine seemed to be a pretty straightforward fix, the converter is shorted out. Thankful for the warranty!