Electrical short

ShannonTrain · 09-29-2015, 11:41 AM

In July, I purchased a Flagstaff 21FBRS 2015 model. We took the rig on a 4800 mile trip this summer so we have racked up the miles fast on it. We have one small camping trip in October. I was packing the camper for our trip and noticed a red light on the fuse board. I pulled the fuse and it was burned and it is the fuse to the radio. The radio is the IRV33. After reading all the problems with this unit I pulled the radio and checked to see if the fuse was blown on the back side of the radio. This fuse was not blown. I replaced the fuse on the board and it has blown after every replacement. I also checked the two 40 amp fuses and those were not blown. All items on the rig are working normally but the radio. Any suggestions on what might be going on? I am a newbie at this so just trying to get an idea what might be going on. I assume that this should be taken to the dealer for a repair since it's under warrenty.

Timtation · 09-29-2015, 12:05 PM

Short in the wire going to the radio? Check continuity between ground and the supply, with the fuse out, there should be infinite resistance, or open.

rsdata · 09-29-2015, 12:27 PM

so... I assume that the radio does NOT work with blown fuse...
if the radio does work then that fuse does NOT protect the radio circuit but does in fact protect some other circuit that you will have to determine

without a meter of some sort to do some continuity testing, or lacking the skill to know how to troubleshoot an electrical circuit, YES it would be a warranty item...

personally I would get someone a bit knowledgeable with a meter and circuit testing (maybe a friend or neighbor) and get them to look at it BEFORE I would take it back to the dealer and possibly get some BS about how they have to wait for parts...

meters are cheap to buy at a hardware store, under $10) and a little knowledge of your RV is a good thing instead of having someone else do it for you...

just my 2 cents...

ShannonTrain · 09-29-2015, 12:28 PM

My neighbor does have some electrical experience under his belt. I do own a meter and could ask him to come take a look. That might save me some time of dealing with the dealer.

**Bama Rambler** · 09-29-2015, 12:31 PM

Keep in mind that if the radio is still hooked up you will read some resistance through the circuitry. It would be best to unhook the positive wire at the radio and test for a short between that wire and negative. That will tell you if it's the wiring or the radio.

Does the fuse blow immediately upon reinserting it? If so it's likely a short in the wiring.

Sometimes it's easier and quicker to fix it yourself than to involve the dealer if it's a simple problem.

rsdata · 09-29-2015, 12:31 PM

Quote:

I was thinking that it might be a short in the wire to the radio.

it certainly could be that... but WHERE in the wiring is it?

might continue to look at the wiring behind the radio for something loose...

did the radio ever work?

might be that the radio IS bad...

ShannonTrain · 09-29-2015, 12:41 PM

The radio has worked the entire time. The fuse blows right away after changing it. The first time that I change the fuse the battery was on and it sparked some. The second time I turned the battery off and back on. The fuse blew again.

**Flybob** · 09-29-2015, 01:05 PM

Pull the radio. Most of the connections to it are done with crimp on connectors. I had issues with my radio and after pulling it, I found that about 10% of the connections were questionable ( either too much or too little wire stripped for the connection) and loose crimps. One may have fallen off. I cut off all the crimped on wire nuts and dressed the wires and reconnected with wire nuts. No problems now.

VinceU · 09-29-2015, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShannonTrain

The radio has worked the entire time. The fuse blows right away after changing it. The first time that I change the fuse the battery was on and it sparked some. The second time I turned the battery off and back on. The fuse blew again.

Shannon any way to pull the radio out again, remove the positive lead or fuse on the case. Then you should change the circuit panel fuse and turn on the battery. If the fuse holds this time, it's the radio. If it still blows, it's the wiring.
If the feed is bad only need to add a new + wire in a sheath outside bottom. Your elec friend can help with that.

ShannonTrain · 09-29-2015, 01:41 PM

Last night, I gave up and the radio is still pulled. I will follow your instructions tonight after work. I will check all connections as well.

ShannonTrain · 09-30-2015, 04:17 PM

Update: Turned battery off and removed fuse from radio. I put a new fuse in the panel. Turned the battery on and fuse on panel did not blow. I tried putting the fuse back in on back of the radio. I got a spark and fuse blew. Looks like the problem is the radio!

rsdata · 09-30-2015, 05:01 PM

When not connected to 12V my radio turns itself off and stays off even when reconnected to 12V. If your radio blew a fuse while not even turning it on, it sounds like you have a grounded wire issue somewhere and it may not be the radio... Did the radio ever work?

ShannonTrain · 09-30-2015, 05:10 PM

The radio has always worked. All of this happened when I turned the battery on and the light on the circuit panel was on in the radio slot.

VinceU · 09-30-2015, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShannonTrain

The radio has always worked. All of this happened when I turned the battery on and the light on the circuit panel was on in the radio slot.

Sometimes electronics are covered for 90 days only, unlike the coach for a year or more. Depending on your situ the dealer should change it or if not an electronic rep could find it quickly because it's a dead short.

ShannonTrain · 10-01-2015, 12:20 PM

I looked in the IRV book that came with the paperwork and it has a 2 year warranty on it. The warranty for the 21FBRS is 1 year bumper to bumper. I called the RV dealership and talked to the service department. I explained to him what was going on and he set me up with an appointment to replace the radio. He said it will be covered under warranty. He asked which model of radio was in the rig. He told me that there has been a lot of issues with the IRV33 radio containing dead shorts. He said they would inspect all the wires as well to the radio. The dealership can't get me in for two weeks but I am fine with that since we are done camping for the season after the weekend. Thanks so much for all your help!

**bikendan** · 10-01-2015, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShannonTrain

The warranty for the 21FBRS is 1 year bumper to bumper.

Didn't your dealer tell you about the optional 2nd year FR factory warranty for only $150?
There are tons of threads on the Forum about it.

VinceU · 10-01-2015, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShannonTrain

I looked in the IRV book that came with the paperwork and it has a 2 year warranty on it. The warranty for the 21FBRS is 1 year bumper to bumper. I called the RV dealership and talked to the service department. I explained to him what was going on and he set me up with an appointment to replace the radio. . Thanks so much for all your help!

Good deal, you earned it by trouble shooting.

ShannonTrain · 10-01-2015, 02:56 PM

The dealer did tell me about it. We did purchase the extended warranty from forest river.

ShannonTrain · 10-21-2015, 02:21 PM

The dealer finally looked at my RV. The dealer is replacing the radio. The radio has a short in it.

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