Electrical question-Damage?

[tooth ferry]

While lowering pin box,tech pinched emergency brake wire between pin box side and frame shorting out the wire and letting the smoke out. By the time he could get to the battery to disconnect it the wire to the brake control had heated to the point that insulation had melted off in places and the wires to the 2 red connectors above the battery box were "glowing hot". He is replacing all the wires that are damaged. What questions should I be asking about possible damage that is not obvious now. Would it be likely that there would be damage to the battery,emerg brake control,TV,AC,frig, inverter, brake elect. parts at wheels, fuse and breaker box, or ??? We have a 1500 mi trip planned next week and I am very concerned about any electrical problems. Thanks for your suggestions about what to ask and watch for. 2014 Montana High Country 305 RL.

[BB_TX]

That should not have damaged any of your appliances or other devices. Damage should be limited to only the wiring between the point of the short and the battery. And possibly any other wires bundled with the wires that melted. Surprised there is not a fuse to protect that from happening. Maybe the braking system is not fuse protected.

[1retired06]

Sounds like your unit is under repair, dealer should troubleshoot everything to ensure in working order, since dealer caused the damage.

[mjammersc]

Certainly check the braking system obviously. One item to watch is the battery depending on the amount of current that was pulled/length of time shorted/how far down the short pulled it. There is an outside chance of some shortening of the life of it if it was pulling too hard on it/drained it too far. The other item is to just do a mini PDI on the unit when you pick it up focusing on all things electric to ensure it is good to go. If you have time for a quick overnight or even a an hour or two in it at the dealer to run everything, it can't hurt.

[Phil P]

Hi

This is the second post indicating serious damage from a short circuit in the Montana 12V system.

I posted this link at the last one and here it is again.

I put mine at the connection where the negative battery cable is fastened to the frame of the trailer. You can get fuses as large as 300 Amps.

https://www.bluesea.com/products/519...k_-_30_to_300A

Phil P

[Starmaster]

Another safety feature to be added to the 12VDC system is a high current battery disconnect between the negative post of the battery bank and the frame ground. This allows for complete disconnection of the battery bank from ALL loads, providing you do not connect any loads directly to the battery negative terminal.

This allows for safely working on any/all of the 12VDC system without having to disconnect any battery cables. It also is a great way to isolate the battery bank during storage to avoid itdischarging from parasitic loads such as CO detectors, LED monitoring lights, etc.

One note of caution, BE SURE TO HAVE THE 12VDC BATTERY BANK CONNECTED WHEN TOWING!

The 12VDC battery(s) in the rig are required for the emergency break-away switch to operated the trailer brakes in the event that the trailer was to disconnect from the TV while in motion.

Dave