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Old 04-15-2008, 05:20 PM   #1
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
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Red light above 15-amp fuse: My problem?

Naturally, Wayne left for Texas today, and naturally, within minutes I had a minor RV problem--no light in the lamps above the bed. So, I checked the fuses and sure enough, there's a red light above one of the 15-amp fuses. There isn't one word about fuses in either my Keystone manual or a book we have from the dealer, so I'm flying blind here (bad pun because I'm "blind" without those lights above the bed and I want to read!).

I've handled lots of other problems by myself, but when it comes to electricity, I am pretty slow to dive in and start fooling around with things. I'm guessing the 15-amp fuse below that red light has blown and needs to be replaced. Is that the problem? If so, do I just pull the bad fuse without turning off anything else? I did tug gently on that fuse and got a flash of blue light for my efforts. That halted the Mrs. Fix-It efforts immediately. I'm not touching ANYTHING until I hear from some of you experts.

Murphy's Law: I have dozens of fuses, but no 15-amps, naturally. I'm 45 miles from town, so it will be tomorrow before I can pick up some spares. Still, before I do anything, I want to know if I'm on the right track. Help, please.

Thanks!

Carolyn
 
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Old 04-15-2008, 05:44 PM   #2
Exnavydiver
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Carolyn, the light just shows the blown fuse. You should be able to just pull it out. If the fuse is blown it shouldn't arc blue. Anyway just pull it out and replace it. The 15 amp fuses are fairly easy to find. Most gas stations and all truck stops should have them, along with WalMart and K-Marts. Even stores like 7-11 have them.. Good Luck... Dave and Betsy
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Old 04-15-2008, 05:52 PM   #3
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
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Thanks, Exnavydiver! My common sense told me that was the problem, but I didn't want to screw anything else up when fixing it. If we were anywhere near civilization, I'd have pulled that fuse and headed to Town Pump to get another package of them. But, it's late and dark and snowing, and town is 45 miles of winding mountain road between our rig and the city limits.

Tomorrow, first thing on my list--even before getting coffee--it picking up some 15-amp fuses.

Thanks so much!

Carolyn
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Old 04-15-2008, 06:11 PM   #4
Exnavydiver
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Nah, have coffee first, 45 miles on slushy snowy roads without coffee would suck road salt.. Dave and Betsy
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Old 04-16-2008, 03:31 AM   #5
illapah
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Carolyn, a short term 'get you by' may be as easy as replacing the fuse with a smaller value. Maybe a 10 amp will work for you until you can get a proper size fuse. I would not recommend a higher amperage one though as just a blown fuse may not be all that is wrong.
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Old 04-16-2008, 03:56 AM   #6
bw2
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I believe there are fuses in the panel that are not used. You can use one of those in an emergency. At least in my 3400, the fuses on the right side of the panel are not connected to anything, apparently, I have room for a few more circuits.
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Old 04-16-2008, 04:53 AM   #7
Waynem
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This is a little late in posting as the time frame has passed, but as Illapah pointed out, a 10 amp would work. Just turn off all but one essential lite to see by and put in the 10 amp, then just use the one light you needed to read by. Replace with 15 amp when you get one.

When you pull out the old fuse, look at it visually and you will see a little snake (s) type metal piece from one side to the other. MOST of the time if they are blown you will see the arc and the separation of the metal piece. (MOST of the time) If you replace with the 15 amp fuse and it continues to blow under normal operations, there is a more important problem to deal with - finding the cause.

Now I really hate to ask the question of someone as intelligent as you, but did you check the light bulb on the light you were trying to use? Don't get mad - just a question that we sometimes overlook.
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Old 04-16-2008, 05:03 AM   #8
H. John Kohl
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Wayne,
You must have been watching me trouble shoot a light. I always assume the worst and forget the basic trouble shooting concept. Check the easy items first.
Semper Fi,
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Old 04-16-2008, 06:30 AM   #9
Waynem
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All,
Don't ask me how I know to ask that question!
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Old 04-16-2008, 07:20 AM   #10
Icehouse
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Carolyn, why is it every time Wayne leaves, that rig gives you a fit? When you said Wayne was flying to Texas the other day, I said to myself, "Self, something's gonna happen". Glad it was so simple.
T
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Old 04-16-2008, 11:49 AM   #11
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
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Yep, Wayne & Earlene, I sure did check that bulb. Not only that, I put several new bulbs in before calling it quits, because we have bought packages of bulbs that had a bad one in it. The lamps each have 2 lights, too, so I knew that 4 bulbs didn't go out at one time. Still, I did do a fair amount of bulb-swapping and switch testing before I checked the fuse panel.

I've picked up the fuses and will head home in a moment to see if I can get my lights working. The bigger concern is WHY did that fuse blow? Nothing unusual was plugged in to the bedroom or bathroom plugs, and the lamp worked fine that morning. Eight hours later, a fuse was blown, and no one had been at home all day. Gremlins? My cat is pretty smart and likes to mess with things that aren't his, but he was outdoors with the dogs all day. Can't blame him either.

Carolyn
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Old 04-16-2008, 01:48 PM   #12
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
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Wednesday, 5:30 PM MST, and I have light from the bedroom wall lamps again. It took a bit of trial and error, however. Everything was fine after I put in the new fuse; I turned on both lamps and the lights burned again. Then I turned off the lamps to put in a new bulb to replace one of the two in my lamp that burned out some time ago. When I turned on that lamp again, the fuse blew immediately. I turned off the lamp, removed the new bulb (which was black at that point), and replaced the fuse again . Then I swiped one of the bulbs from Wayne's lamp (he'll never miss it, trust me on that one), put it in my lamp, turned it on, and the fuse didn't blow.

The new bulb came from a package of spares we bought at an RV dealership (not the one where we bought our Montana), but obviously they are not the right ones for our wall lamps. Neither the package nor the base of the bulb has anything other than some rather cryptic symbols and "Made in China" on it. While the parts department person assured us they were the right bulbs, I don't believe they are. They are the same physical size and appear to be the same filament configuration, but there's nothing indicating voltage or anything else. The package itself just says "Auto Bulbs."

I won't complain--at least I have light to read by again, and when I get back to Bish's, I'll stock up on the right bulbs.

Thanks to everyone for your help!

Carolyn

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Old 04-16-2008, 02:14 PM   #13
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Check the bottom of the bulbs, some have one contact, some have two. One will short out the system.
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Old 04-20-2008, 11:51 AM   #14
sreigle
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And to continue from Dave's post, that "blue light" you reported indicates a likely short somewhere. And blowing the second fuse pretty much confirms it. It sounds like your troubleshooting likely came up with the cause and that bulb is the culprit. As Dave said, compare the bottom of the bulb to the inside of the socket. Good job.
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