Blown fuse in 2015 Cougar 313RLI

[corey]

I have a blown 15 amp fuse for the slide room. The fridge, range hood fan, range hood light, lights above sofa and lights above chair do not work. If I replace the fuse it blows immediately. The GFI plug is in the bathroom and it works. Also my docking light above 5th wheel hitch stays on even if the switch is off. The battery has been replaced. Any advice would be nice.

[ctbruce]

First off, welcome to the forum from Kansas City, MO!

Second, do you have the On Command remote system? If you do, the light has to be turned off with the remote, possibly. Do a search on the forum for In Command, there have been several discussions lately.

Third, no clue on the fuse. Something is shorted out or not grounded. Have you owned this unit long? Have you done any work recently on it?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum.

The GFI is on the 120VAC side, the fuse will be on the 12VDC side. Two separate wiring systems. Pull the lights out, seen lots of metallic debris fall into the switches and take out that 12V circuit. If that doesn't do it, then you need to start removing components one by one until the fuse stays good. We use resetting circuit breakers to do this as it will pop and then reset. Cheaper in the long run.

[corey]

I bought the camper from a retired couple last fall. Everything worked fine. Have not made any changes. Two weeks ago the slides would not function when this fuse was blown. I tracked that down do a bad battery. Replaced the battery and the slides worked. Then i replaced the fuse and it was good. Now we where going to fill the fridge to get ready for camping season and it did not turn on. Checked fuse panel and and fuse was gone again. Obviously had two different problems last time. With the lights do you mean just pull all the bulbs and then try the fuse again? then start replacing the bulbs to narrow down where the problem might be?

[chuckster57]

Remove the fixture. I've seen debris fall into the back side of the switches.

[corey]

Het ctbruce I do have the on command remote and the docking light was turned on with the remote. That works fine now. Just have to figure out the slide room fuse problem.

chuckster57 I went and pulled off a light fixture. I am somewhat mechanically inclined but not much of an electrician. The black wire goes to the switch and the white wire goes to a bulb. The white wire is held is with 2 other wires held together with a maurette. Do I need to take it apart at the maurette?

[chuckster57]

White is common ground. If the switch connections aren't visible, then that light probably isn't the issue.

If you can figure out which "direction" the circuit runs, you can start cutting black wires one at a time. Black will be positive side. I'm leaning towards a short somewhere.

[corey]

The switch is visible. The white goes from the switch to the bulb and then from the bulb to the balance of wires in cavity above the fixture with the maurette.

[chuckster57]

If the switch terminals are visible and there isn't any metallic debris on it, then that's not the issue.

Each fixture will have a black and white lead. You can cut the black leads one at a time to eliminate that switch/fixture. Leave enough to connect them back together, and go to the next one. It can be a bit time consuming.

Going back and reading one of your previous posts, you said you turned on the refer and that's when the fuse blew? If so then check the 12V supply wires at the back of the refer in the lower access panel. You can disconnect them to rule out a bad refer board.

[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by corey

Het ctbruce I do have the on command remote and the docking light was turned on with the remote. That works fine now. Just have to figure out the slide room fuse problem.

chuckster57 I went and pulled off a light fixture. I am somewhat mechanically inclined but not much of an electrician. The black wire goes to the switch and the white wire goes to a bulb. The white wire is held is with 2 other wires held together with a maurette. Do I need to take it apart at the maurette?

Glad that helped. Good luck with the short.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[Tbos]

Welcome to the forum from Southern MD. You have some great folks helping you. Hope the short gets fixed soon.


2016 Passport GT 2810BHS, 2016 F350 CC DRW

[corey]

Okay working on the camper Tonight again. Had a 2003 Jayco prior to this with a few less bells and whistles. This Cougar has a battery disconnect on it. It was in the off position. I turned it on and a couple minutes later I could put in a new fuse and everything works. Does this make sense? Everything else in the camper worked with the disconnect off. I did not try the A/C but everything else worked. Would that switch in the off position allow the battery to wear down slightly? Would that cause the fuse to go?

[chuckster57]

Low voltage-high amps. If you were plugged in, and the disconnect was in the off position, the converter has to carry the entire load. Might want to test it.