Popped Circuit Breaker...

AFChap · 10-31-2006, 11:55 AM

I have a popped 12v circuit breaker. It controls two fluorescent lights and three reading lights under the cabinets on the galley slideout, and one wall light. (Microwave/convection oven and two outlets in the slideout apparently are on a different circuit). It has tripped a couple of times recently, always when we were not using anything on the circuit, and now trips as soon as I reset it. I have the wiring diagrams. I've removed and checked all the involved fixtures and one switch, and am now trying to trace the wiring out of the slideout to the power panel. If anyone has had a similar problem with a circuit in a slideout, I would appreciate anything you learned that might help!

AFChap · 10-31-2006, 11:55 AM

I have a popped 12v circuit breaker. It controls two fluorescent lights and three reading lights under the cabinets on the galley slideout, and one wall light. (Microwave/convection oven and two outlets in the slideout apparently are on a different circuit). It has tripped a couple of times recently, always when we were not using anything on the circuit, and now trips as soon as I reset it. I have the wiring diagrams. I've removed and checked all the involved fixtures and one switch, and am now trying to trace the wiring out of the slideout to the power panel. If anyone has had a similar problem with a circuit in a slideout, I would appreciate anything you learned that might help!

tomsm · 10-31-2006, 01:05 PM

Paul,

Don't forget to consider the possibility of a bad breaker. If it's easy enough to get to the back of the panel, you might swap loads with another breaker of the same size. Good luck...

CC38EL · 10-31-2006, 01:58 PM

Agree with Tom...I've had 2 breakers get 'weak' on me and wouldn't stay closed.

If you can move the load as suggested and it pops that one, don't be afraid to move it to another. That's how I found out I had 2 bad breakers.

AFChap · 10-31-2006, 04:32 PM

I did try it on one other breaker and it tripped it too ...didn't try a second one. I have one light switched on so I can see it from the breaker panel in the bedroom. The light comes on and looks dimmer than normal ...I can see a slight dimming of the other lights at the same time, then the breaker trips. I think I have a genuine short. I traced the wiring from through all the light fixtures, then found it under the cabinets until it goes through a hole into the floor. It is almost all enclosed in wire loom. There is one stretch where it leaves the lower loom at the end of the slideout and goes up behind the slideout cabinets where it is exposed ...and stretched tight. I don't like the looks of that, but fooling with it didnt' seem to change anything. To get to the upper end I would have to remove come cabinet backs or bottoms. Don't know if I want to do that yet. I may try another breaker just for grins. With all the loom around the wiring, I can't figure where it could be shorting to metal unless I missed something in one of the fixtures ...the two fluorescents are metal. ...or maybe a wire pulled out of a connected down behind everything ...that may not be something I can get to. Guess I can be glad it isn't the ceiling lights...

CC38EL · 11-01-2006, 02:25 AM

Sorry to hear that it wasn't a bad breaker (the easy fix). I know finding these things can be a bear. I'm unable to provide any of my experiences, but would like to hear what you find or what your solution is. Good luck.

RedT · 11-01-2006, 02:49 AM

Paul, I had a similar problem, though not in a slide-out. The "TV/Monitor" 15 amp CB continued to pop. (Had voltage on the ground circuit - with power off, had direct continuity to ground) This circuit supplied power to numerous circuits in addition to the monitor panel. Found a radio amplifier (powered on same circuit) behind TV had vibrated/moved and grounded against the TV support framework.

I suspect you have a short to ground - only thing to do is disconnect component by component until you locate it. Good Luck!

AFChap · 11-01-2006, 03:37 PM

I think I may know where the problem is ...now to get to it. On a hunch, I checked the two basement compartment lights in the slide out and when my wife pushed the breaker back on, one of the compartment lights came on dimly until the breaker tripped again. Last year our selling dealer had to totally remove the Storemor compartment to reseal it due to water leaks (after two other dealers had attempted to fix it and had screwed things up in the process ...including the door activated compartment light switches (which had water coming out of them at one point). I had some more problems with the rear light after that, but got it working. Those two lights are not on the wiring diagram as part of this circuit, but they obviously are tied into it. So tomorrow in the daylight I'll see if I can get into that switch to see what I find. From what I saw before, I suspect the connections to the door activated light switch are touching the metal ceiling of the Storemor compartment (inside the compartment ceiling). They are stuffed into a very narrow tunnel in the styrofoam insulation, and you have to insert the switch just right to slide into the connectors. There was a lot of electrical tape on the connections the first time I messed with it after the first dealer messed it up. I thought then I was going to have to cut the ceiling metal to get to them but the last dealer got them reconnected ...I would bet vibration has brought them into contact with the metal. If I have to, I can do without a couple of compartment lights easier than I can do without my undercounter lights and favorite reading light!!

RedT · 11-02-2006, 02:21 AM

Paul, if you are working from a Winnebago drawing, check the wire number at the CB (yellow for power and white for ground) IF the compartment lights are on the same circuit, the power (yellow) wire will have the same number. Winnebago is good at numbering the wiring.

I discovered during my troubleshooting that the Winnebago drawing doesn't necessarily include all components - if the component is not a WI part, it may not be in the drawing - the drawing stops at the last connector.

AFChap · 11-02-2006, 09:30 AM

Oh, there is no doubt the compartment lights are on the same circuit ...the very dim light when the wife pushed in the circuit breaker made that very clear. But the only exposed wiring to the compartments is wrapped and taped so I can't see the wire markings. I did stick my head way back under the sink and found where the wires come up through the floor, still securely wrapped in wire loom. There is a quick-connect there that I pulled apart to disconnect the compartment lights. Then I pushed the circuit breaker in and everything upstairs now works. This afternoon I'm going to pull the compartment door switch that the dealer had to mess with last year. I'm 99% sure now that is where I'll find a direct short to the metal compartment roof.

Joe-K · 11-02-2006, 11:22 AM

Paul,

Sometimes finding a short circuit can be tricky as you can only supply power to the circuit momentarily until the breaker trips or fuse pops.

There's little trick you can do when looking for a short that might help out.

Connect a 12 volt test light across the 12 volt circuit breaker that keeps popping. Do not press the breaker in to reset it though. With all the devices on that circuit turned off, the current should not be flowing, but since you have a short, the current will flow through the test light and cause it to light. If you move wiring around or relocate that switch, whenever you eliminate the short, the test light will go off.

AFChap · 11-02-2006, 04:41 PM

This afternoon I pulled out the door-activated light switch in the basement storage compartment that the dealer had to mess with last year. Multi-meter test showed far less voltage at the switch connections than there should be. Apparently one of the wires for the switch is broken/loose back inside the compartment ceiling. The switch wiring is buried in a tiny tunnel in the styrofoam insulation between the double metal wall ceiling of the storage compartment. There is no slack in the wires so I could pull them out. When you install the switch, you simply line it up and then push it into the hole hoping the prongs on the switch slide into the wire connectors. When I put everything together without the door-activated switch in the circuit, everything worked fine. Since both lights in the long compartment are activated by either of the two door-activated switches (front door or rear door), I decided not to cut into the metal ceiling to get to the wiring. Unless it causes me more trouble in the future, I can easily live with the rear door switch not working. If I need light in the rear half of the compartment, I can just open both doors. I re-installed the switch making sure it did not connect to the wiring ...just to fill the hole in the door frame. All the lights inside and in the compartment now work fine.