Inline battery 30A fuse blowing

[sullivanjg]

I noticed that the wire leading out of the positive terminal of the battery (which has the 30A inline fuse in it) was twisted/taped together (recently purchased the pop-up) vice mechanically connected or soldered. I disconnected and used a wire nut, sealed the nut with liquid tape then taped over top of that. Went to hook up the trailer (use an adapter from the 7 pin/center post version that is on the trialer to a standard 4 pin flat cable connector that hooks ot my car) and got a little arcing, then nothing. Problem is my tail lights now operate backwards compared to my car's directional lights and the 30A inline fuse is blown and continues to blow immediately after I plug it in. Very strange combo of issues, especially with the trailer lights working reverse of the the car's signal lights. I installed the new wiring harnes according to the manufacturer's directions and checked for proper installation right after install. No idea why things are backwards now and no idea why the fuse keeps popping. Any help?

[1A Camper]

QUESTION:

Is this the first time you connected the trailer to TV?
or did the trailer light work right for you at one time?
Did the trailer ever work with this TV?
The only fuse that is blowing is the 30Amp on the trailer?
The trailer light are working with the fuse removed/installed but backward?
What voltage are the battery reading? Has the battery been charged?
Is trailer plug into shore power when this is happening?
Is the trailer attach to the ball on the TV?
Does the fuse blow fast or takes a little time before it blows?
When you checked the wiring did you check at the 4 pin connector or the 7 pin connector?

The answer to these question will help all that will help.

[sullivanjg]

Thanks 1A. Answers below:

Is this the first time you connected the trailer to TV? No, had connected for a trip a month ago and everything worked properly.
Did the trailer ever work with this TV? Same TV as before.
The only fuse that is blowing is the 30Amp on the trailer? Yes
The trailer light are working with the fuse removed/installed but backward? signal lighting is backward - fuse removed.
What voltage are the battery reading? Has the battery been charged? 12.87V. Regarding charged or not, unsure. I did have it plugged into shore power prior to loading up for trip, for about 2 days so likely it was charged if that circuitry is still working.
Is trailer plug into shore power when this is happening? No shore power attached.
Is the trailer attach to the ball on the TV? Yes.
Does the fuse blow fast or takes a little time before it blows? Immediately blows, with a snap/puff.
When you checked the wiring did you check at the 4 pin connector or the 7 pin connector? When I plugged the 7 pin into the trailer (4 pin from TV not hooked up yet) I hear a light crackle, which I thought to be simply connections being made. Usually when I hook the 7 pin into the adapter I get two LEDs on the adapter lighting up and they stay lit. Now I only get the LED lights on at adapter when the turn signal on TV is engaged.

[1A Camper]

Originally Posted by sullivanjg

I installed the new wiring harnes according to the manufacturer's directions and checked for proper installation right after install. No idea why things are backwards now and no idea why the fuse keeps popping. Any help?
Immediately blows, with a snap/puff.

Going camping today so will not be able to give any more information until Friday after this answer.

After you installed harness you tested it by operation with trailer all worked.

So I am assuming all wiring is correct.

Fuse with a snap/puff tell me a lot of current. I am thinking a wire is pinched somewhere. ( maybe a motor stuck/jammed but don't think so)

I am having problems with plugging into TV and the 12 V inline fuse blows. The 4 pin connector for the Tail lights and battery in trailer have nothing to do with each other.

So now I need 2 wires pinch to each other. Not likely. I would come back to this later. look around the lift system of the pop top.

Now the 7 pin does have something to do with both. I am thinking the problem has to be around this adaptor cable.

My first check would be to make sure the charging pin of the 7 pin connector in not shorted to ground. I am thinking you have an adaptor cable 4 pin to 7 pin. Now plug in the adapter cable into TV and not connected to TT. The charging pin should be 12 volts or high resistance. I would also check all other pin for right operation with a meter.

If you find nothing, I am going to ask dumb question, got to do it. The 2 wire you took apart, are you sure you got the same 2 wires back together. Normally a problem like this is caused by some work we have done on the trailer. Have you changed any lights, drove any screws , or in any way pulled on some wires, added any equipment.

If you have not found the problem yet. now the hard part. You will have to follow the high current that is blowing the fuse. That means that you have to follow the wire and each time it split off you would disconnect and see which way the current is coming from.

Hope this help.

[sullivanjg]

Steve,

Embarrassing but I'd rather take the embarrassment and have it be this simple. I started off tracing back the wiring and checking all ground connections. Decided to start other wires at the adapter at the front. What I noticed is that the adapter, once I pulled the 7 pin connector out has enough slop in it to be able to connect the 7 pin in any configuration that lines the spade ends up, so 6 possible angles. I was 180 out. Then I noticed a slight channel in the top part of the connector's molded plastic and had an epiphany...the connector was upside down, thus the reversing of signal and shorting of other items.

Gotta say I really appreciate you looking into this and thinking through this. Glad it wasn't a difficult fix but good to know that there are people out there willing to help out. Hope you have a great excursion and best to you and yours. Jeff