Dumb Question Monday: Electrical 101/Fuse Testing

[markcee]

Prepping for cross country trip #2 in a couple of months and recalled something that came up last season:

What protocol do you use when you find it necessary to troubleshoot/test a 12v fuse with a multimeter? Should you completely remove power (shore and battery) to the RV, or is it OK to simply pull out the fuse and test it?

What about when replacing one?

[chuckster57]

Even more simple: get a 12V test light. Then get a plug and wire a 3 foot wire to the ground only.

When you need to test for 12V, plug into the nearest receptacle, hook your light to the pig tail and then poke things. Fuses will have an opening at the top so you can test for voltage on both sides. I unplug from shore power.

[markcee]

As far as what to carry for backup.....I've purchased this for 12v., which goes up to 40amp.


https://www.amazon.com/130PCS-Standa...ustrial&sr=1-3

What would be needed for glass or other inline fuses? I realize every trailer will be different. These things are cheap, so what would be a good mix to ensure you have all the bases covered?

I do not want to be messing around on a Thursday morning and running to Walmart or Auto Zone. What is the best guess to have everything needed 'in stock', regardless of trailer?

[chuckster57]

That kit is a bit overkill IMO. I carry a small container of 15A,20A and 30 amp. Most circuits on the 12V side are 15 or 20 amps. Converter is 30 or 40 but a 30 will get you to the next big town.

[Northofu1]

A five pack of 15's, 30's, and 40's. You should know your trailer well enough to know what other fuses, breakers etc. you need to carry. If you burn through a couple in a short period of time on the same circuit, the issue needs to be identified.
Most of these things are sold at any truck stop.

[skids]

I bought the tyoe that glow brightly when they have blown. It makes it easy to spot a blown fuse and you don’t need a magnifying glass.

[sourdough]

There are also specialty fuses in various boards that aren't going to be your normal run of the mill type glass fuse. I don't carry spares of any of them and go get one if/when one fails. If I did carry them I'd forget where the were I figure.

[JRTJH]

Seems like it was "100 years ago" (really just about 60) that I bought a "big set of glass cartridge fuses" so I'd have a replacement for anything I needed... About 10 years later, after only using 1 or 2 of them, the industry changed to using "regular size plug in fuses" so I bought a set of them. Again, so I'd have any fuse I needed and only used 1 or 2 of them... Then, about 10 years ago, the industry changed again, to the mini-plug in fuses, so I bought another "whole big set of fuses so I'd have any size I might need"....

Now, I'm waiting for the industry to find another way to make my "vast fuse collection" obsolete....

Ironic part of most of this: I've had more issues with "fusible links" than I have with fuses and NOBODY makes a "comprehensive set of various size fusible links"..... Maybe somewhere in all this is a "hint from the industry" that anything you buy in bulk is going to make more money for them than it will convenience for you.....

[Mic]

Originally Posted by markcee

As far as what to carry for backup.....I've purchased this for 12v., which goes up to 40amp.


https://www.amazon.com/130PCS-Standa...ustrial&sr=1-3

What would be needed for glass or other inline fuses? I realize every trailer will be different. These things are cheap, so what would be a good mix to ensure you have all the bases covered?

I do not want to be messing around on a Thursday morning and running to Walmart or Auto Zone. What is the best guess to have everything needed 'in stock', regardless of trailer?

girl

if I need that many...I got a problem to track down.

but for that price..it cheaper than a 6-pack



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