Blown landing gear fuse = no power

[gcracker]

Went to unhook the camper at home this afternoon and found the landing gear would not work. All slides work. Looked around and found the main 50 amp breaker does not want to stay all the way clicked up like the rest of the fuses. Also found the 30 amp fuse blown on the landing gear. Only thing I can think is that when we were hooking up to leave the campground I ran the landing gear to far. I had to manually lower the gear to unhook. I don't have a30 amp fuse to replace yet but still baffled why the 50 amp breaker won't turn on. We were running on battery when hooking up this morning and only had a generator running a bit all weekend to run a coffee pot Saturday morning and last night to charge batteries since lights were left on and the battery drained. Any ideas?

[gcracker]

Replaced fuse and landing gear works but still no power to the rest of the camper. Am I right that the 50 amp breaker is not reseting correctly?

[camper 2010]

You are right that the 50 amp is open. If it will not reset you will need to replace it.

[Ram189]

Or find out what is shorting to make it trip.

Almost sounds like you have a dead short somewhere. For the 30 amp fuse to blow and the breaker to kick it sounds like something is shorting out somewhere.

[MarkS]

The 50 is on the AC Main. The 30 is on the DC to the landing gear motor. If your batteries were dead and you were running the generator, when you ran the legs, you might have blown the converter. Try finding the breaker for the converter (3rd breaker from the left), turn it off and see if you can turn on the 50 amp mains.

If that don't work, turn off all the breakers. Turn on the main, if it trips, it is bad. Then turn on the other breakers, one at a time. When you turn on one that trips the main, that is were the problem is.

[gcracker]

Yeah the 50 won't even stay on by itself and even without shore power. I just don't know what would have caused it to go bad. I am going to call the dealer this morning to see what to do. I need the camper next week. I could replace the breaker myself but I am afraid they won't cover anything else if something else goes bad later.

[gcracker]

Called the dealer they say to bring it in so they can diagnose.

[chuckster57]

Not to seem berating, did you flip the breaker to the "off" position before turning it back on?

[gcracker]

Many many times... trying with shore power, without shore power, other breakers on, other breakers off

[chuckster57]

Then a trip to the dealer is in order to keep the warranty intact.

[SkiSmuggs]

The breaker is bad. I had the same thing happen in my house and replaced the breaker.

[gcracker]

Just wanted to update update this. I have since blown the landing gear fuse 3 times. 2 times being this morning as I was trying to hook up. I could hear the motor working a bit harder than I thought it should then pop, replaced the fuse and tried again. . It went for about 10 seconds again sounding a bit overloaded then pop. . Then I was out of spare fuses so I have to finish hooking up when I get home from work after stopping to get more fuses. Yes the rear stabilizers are up so there should be nothing impeding the lifting process.

[JRTJH]

gcracker,

Your original posts were concerning the 50 amp circuit breakers for your input power. Now you're having issues with the landing gear fuse (probably located in the front compartment)... If I'm correct in making these comparisons, then I'd think that possibly (something you or the dealership should check) is whether the converter/charger is providing power to charge the batteries. If the batteries are low, then the landing gear motor will "drag" and overheat causing it to draw more current than normal and "blow the fuse".....

I think the blown fuse probably leads back to the 50amp main breaker, and that (or the converter/charger) is your culprit.

Now, rather than consistently replacing the fuse that blows, if you stop by NAPA or most other auto parts stores, they sell appropriately sized 12 VDC circuit breakers that "look like" the fuse you keep blowing and will reset once they cool down. They are the best replacement for a fuse that continues to blow, although the reason for the problem should also be checked and corrected. I've found that replacing fuses with circuit breakers is cheaper in the long run. Some service techs that I've heard from say that they have started to notice circuit breakers as standard equipment on some RV's, so maybe fuses will be a "thing of the past" on future models????

[byrdr1]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

gcracker,


Now, rather than consistently replacing the fuse that blows, if you stop by NAPA or most other auto parts stores, they sell appropriately sized 12 VDC circuit breakers that "look like" the fuse you keep blowing and will reset once they cool down. They are the best replacement for a fuse that continues to blow, although the reason for the problem should also be checked and corrected. I've found that replacing fuses with circuit breakers is cheaper in the long run. Some service techs that I've heard from say that they have started to notice circuit breakers as standard equipment on some RV's, so maybe fuses will be a "thing of the past" on future models????

I just ordered a resettable 30amp circuit breaker fuse for my landing gear motor. It was made by Bussman.
John why would the 50a 120v main breaker cause the 30amp DC to keep kicking off. I know you said

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by byrdr1

I just ordered a resettable 30amp circuit breaker fuse for my landing gear motor. It was made by Bussman.
John why would the 50a 120v main breaker cause the 30amp DC to keep kicking off. I know you said

If the 50 amp main circuit breaker keeps opening, the converter won't operate. If the converter isn't operating, the DC system has to get all its power from the batteries (which aren't being charged) and they will drain down. If the owner keeps resetting the 50 amp breaker, it stays operational for a "few hours" then opens again, the battery will keep getting "partly charged" and then "discharging" to a point where it "works but not that good" .... When it gets there, the landing gear motor puts a big demand on the battery, if there's no "backup" from the converter (which is driven by the 50 amp breaker) then things will "go south" pretty fast. Any motor, AC or DC draws power at a specific voltage. If the voltage drops, the amperage goes up and the motor starts getting hotter than normal. The extra draw, related to the low voltage and increased amperage will blow the fuse. I think that may be what's happening to the OP's landing gear and fuse.

It's just a "hunch" and I may be wrong, but with the issues with the 50 amp breaker that started this thread, I think there's a good probability that the battery charger isn't keeping the battery charged and that's what caused the 30 amp DC fuse to blow.

I hope I explained it well enough that it comes across the way I intended it to....

[gcracker]

Sorry the 50 amp breaker was replaced and has been fine since. It is just the 30 amp fuse that is still the issue.

[JRTJH]

Then I'd ask if your battery was fully charged and/or were you plugged into shore power when using the landing gear to raise your RV? It really sounds much more like a voltage problem than a component issue.

[gcracker]

I was plugged into shore power and had been for quite a few days so the batteries should have been fine. When I got home and replaced the fuse the motor sounded fine, only things different I could think of were
1 it was pretty cold that morning, about 40 degrees
2 the slides were still out in the morning, maybe that was putting more lean/leverage on one leg than the other causing it to bind?

[gcracker]

Figured i would throw an update here. Took the camper to the dealer with this on the list if issues after one year. They found a loose connection at the fuse holder and will be repairing it. Hoping this really fixes the issue.