Very strange electrical issue . . . HELP!

[Charles]

Hey guys. It's Charles. I am very new to the rv world and I have found this tread quite enlightening. I recently purchased a 2005 Jayflight 29BHS and I have similar problems. I bought fuses today after realizing I likely did the reverse polarity trick. I bought it from a fellow who could not show me much about the trailer and seems he ( me too) hooked the batt up backwards. It sparked a little when I hooked it up one time and the black was on Neg and the white was on Pos. I am not sure if this is the inline fuse you spoke of but on my system, I have a BUSS CBP-30BA 12V M30 30A circuit breaker inlne next to the battery. ANyway I dont mean to hijack dig4gold's quest but I will continue to follow this and hopefully glean something from it. I have no power to the water heater fridge or the tank and battery levels panel either... on generator or batt alone. the lights work fine tho when the battery is full. Thanks C

[RoyBraddy]

DIG4GOLD - Where do you dig for gold - Here in VA a real old gold mining field that is about 20-30 miles wide and a couple hundred miles long along the east side of the BLUE RIDGE mtns in VA and NC is starting to create a renewed interest. These fields were before the CA GOLD RUSH and for the most part are above ground opened up mining pits...

Folks are panning along the creeks and these not well marked open pits and finding some gold here and there. Check out VA GOLD MINES on google...

Would be a neat way to spend a weekend maybe hehe... We used to do that in ARIZONA high country when working on two or three week electronic system repair trips. The owner had a spot up in the north central AZ mtns and he was all setup to pan for gold. He would bring down a truck load of sand/rocks etc and all of us drunks would go up there on weekends and try to find gold for him. Then he would repay us with free drinks at the hotel bar. What a deal for us hehe... This was back when gold was only $20 a once (Late 60s)... This was at the Hospitality Suites in Scottsdale AZ... Mr Jim Jones and his brother Frank I think it was that ran the place...

[RoyBraddy]

Hey Charles - It amazing isnt it... Just one little bitty spark and three fuses goes poof.... Its the old school thinking BLACK is always ground thing...

I always find the stamped "NEG" or "-" on the battery case case and make sure that battery terminal cable goes to frame ground real close to the battery regardless what color it is... It could be either WHITE or BLACK hehe...

Since you have been running your trailer all this time without a BATTERY on-line you probably have been violating a DOT rule requiring you to have a working run away trailer disconnect requirement. I guess the Honest thing for you to do now is just go turn yourself in haha...

Seriously it is a DOT law and if your trailer has electric brakes on it it is suppose to have a trailer disconnect break-away switch that will connect your trailer mounted battery directly to the trailer electric brake system to immediately stop your run-away trailer. With the blown fuses all these years I suspect that wasn't working. This is an safety inspection item here where I have to get inspected every year before getting my valid inspection sticker for my trailer. Other states probably do this differently.... some of the very light weight trailers don't require electric brakes.

[Charles]

Thanks Roy. I actually have my trailer parked on a piece of land I own, so I wont fret over the DOT stuff. I am in eastern Canada but I am sure similar rules apply here. Anyway I bear good news. You were smack on regarding the rev Polarity commentary. I just got back from the trailer and sure enough the two 30A RP fuese were toasted. I switched the order of business on the terminals, replaced the fuses and voila there is life in my fridge, water heater and tank levels panel. Very cool indeed. Gees my father, God rest his soul, was an electrician. I am sure having a laugh at me trying to figure this out. Anyway. Its all good. I am still behooved by the third fuse you say may be blown. There is that in line BUSS CBP-30BA 12V M30 30A that I spoke of earlier which sits inline about 8" from the battery. I think its a breaker. Anyway I seem to have power to everything now. Thanks very much. I'll try to attach a photo of it. See what you think.

[RoyBraddy]

Charles - Yes that is the one - I guess some uses circuit breakers instead of fuses... You got them all now... You certainly will know where to look the next time haha... It actually happens a lot i think.

[Charles]

Ok awesome. I'll replace this one as it is somewhat corroded tho it must be OK with my new found power. The north atlantic can wreak havoc on these things, esp when it is like 300' away! Thanks again! C

[RoyBraddy]

Charles - You can find those at almost any auto parts places. I always order everything from AMAZON.COM - just type in the part number on google and put AMAZON at the end and it should bring it right up if amazon.com has it available. Being on the outside and hanging off a battery will sure rust those up haha.... Glad all up and running again...

[dig4gold]

BACK HOME!!! When it's all said and done . . . I'd say the ground was loose to the frame. I cleaned it all up, retightened evrything (ground especially) and the camper is working just like the day I got it!

Thanks all.

As far as gold . . . mostly here in SE Wyoming it's up on the Douglas creek area in the Medicine Bow Mountains. The GPAA has some claims there and prospecting the whole area is very popular. Gold mining has a long history up there fromk the mid 1800's and you can find diggers almost every time you go up. There is a restriction of 3" hose on dredges and they have a limited season on dredgeing.
No, I have never found a "mother lode" . . . happy to get some color now and then.

[RoyBraddy]

dig4gold - glad you found a bad ground....

With the renewed interest here I'm about to get the fever at least enough to drag out my OFF-ROAD POPUP with a couple others setup like I am for camping off the power grid... Sounds like a good time could had by all here... There is a lot of reference to GOLD not too far from where I live. When you find towns with names like GOLDVEIN, VA gotta be something too it... hehe...


photo from google images

looks like fun huh....

Im just looking for new camping spots back in the woods...