QuestionQUESTION: Hello - Can you help diagnose my problem? The overhead lighting in my slide does not work along with the waterpump, and my furnace only works intermittantly. I cannot replace the fuse that runs this circuit as it keep blowing as soon as it touches the contacts. It's got me baffled.
Thanx
ANSWER: You have a short to ground. Are we talking about the main fuse? Or a particular fuse? Is the furnace also on this circuit? You may have caught the wiring to this area when the slide was pulled in or out the last time. If the furnace, water pump, or some other device with a motor is on this circuit, it could be a bad motor.
Turn everything off that is on this circuit. Pull all the fuses/turn off all the breakers. Try to visually inspect all wiring you can see inside and underneith the RV. If everything looks OK, then put the fuse in. If everything is off, the fuse should not blow. Now turn on circuits one at a time. Start with little circuits, like lighting. When you reach the bad circuit, the fuse will blow. Now you have narrowed down the bad circuit.
I suspect the water pump is bad if it is on the same circuit.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank-you! I had a chance to explore a bit yesterday and after disconnecting the water pump wire, the pushout lighting and the furnace are the only things left on the only bad circuit. I cut the wire behind the fuse box that supplied power to these two things and the fuse held after the water pump was connected and running. So that leaves either the pushout lights or the furnace wire that is shorted. I have had some mice visitors and suspect that they have been hungry enough to munch on some of the wire coatings. Do you know where can I locate a wiring diagram as the harness disappears into the wall and comes out in different locations in the ceiling? Thanx again for your help!
-Ross
AnswerAwesome! You have narrowed the problem down.
I don't feel it is the furnace since it works sometimes.
Now what you do is go to harborfreight.com. You buy a tool that is normally used to locate phone wires in the wall of your house. This tool puts a signal on the wire that sound line a bell ringing. Then it has another part that traces the signal around the walls. You want to hook this tool up where you cut the wire to the lighting. This will follow the wires around the RV. You will eventually find the place that this signal disappears.
Put this address in your browser:
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=cable+tracker
when you find the problem, rather than pull your walls apart, I would see if you can run a new bypass circuit from the good spot to another good spot. Maybe you can find a way to do this under the RV.
Good luck!
