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#11 XJINTX

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Posted 18 August 2019 - 12:37 PM

Just an FYI as we had smoke damage once at the house. Companies like Rainbow International Carpet cleaning and restoration have some kind of ionized type machine they can put in and it absorbs the smoke smell. Worked great in my garage insurance paid so not sure of cost :(


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#12 ClimberRob

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Posted 19 August 2019 - 01:52 AM

just a loose ground wire without any load connected to it can’t melt. something was drawing current through it. sometimes what happens is that another (main) ground connection is broken, and then the current all has to go through a wire not intended to be the main ground. that doesn’t seem to be the case with your situation. puzzling!

 

The only load at that time, that I'm aware of, was my inline meter. It is not connected anywhere near the area with the issue occurred. The only ground wire running between the battery and the back of the fuse box was the single 14 AWG wire. Very puzzling, I agree.


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#13 ClimberRob

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Posted 20 August 2019 - 01:26 AM

Scary.

Years ago I relocated some fuses and installed a Iota DP30. I think FWC later started using the same model. IIRC the unit does have a neg bus bar with the provision for multiple wires. That might be an alternative to a new neg terminal block.

I like the idea of each circuit neg wire returning, unmolested, to the panel (or a common terminal) with a main neg wire then running to the batt bank.

I'd say 14ga is light, if for a 30 amp panel. As a coincidence, when doing mine, rather than run a new single replacement main neg wire from my DP, I connected a shorter wire to the oem neg feed wire from the batts - and had a burn out at that splice. Have to be mindful of connections with vibrations off highway.

Agree with a disconnect. IDK what FWC uses but I put in a marine battery selector type in the pos feed between the house batts and the DP. Like the peace of mind.

... and when you're checking the rest of the wiring, be a good time to check that fire extinguisher.

 

Thanks. I realized that the DP30 had a negative bus bar on the back. It was already full, which I imagine is the reason FWC decided to splice in so many other lines off of the main negative run. I decided to add a Blue Sea bus bar in the back of the space where the old AC IOTA charging unit was and wire each negative wire individually.

 

My fire extinguisher is in good shape. It was the first thing out! Thankfully, I didn't need to use it.


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#14 ClimberRob

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Posted 20 August 2019 - 01:30 AM

I installed MRBF fuse holders on both positive & negative terminals. https://www.bluesea....ck_-_30_to_300A

I think Vic is onto a possible cause. Many ham radios come with fuses in both positive & negative lines for just the case Vic describes. If main return line fails, current will use whatever return path it can find. That may well be a wire that is too small for the task.

Paul

 

Thanks Paul. I have been entertaining the idea of installing fuses at both battery terminals. I'm taking this opportunity to "upgrade" quite a few areas of the electrical system in my camper.

 

The main negative line was the ONLY line. It was, quite obviously, undersized for the task. The main positive line was 10 AWG, and the main negative line was 14 AWG. Probably a brain fart moment, or lack of materials on-hand, for the "worker bee" at FWC that day.


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#15 ClimberRob

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Posted 20 August 2019 - 01:31 AM

Just an FYI as we had smoke damage once at the house. Companies like Rainbow International Carpet cleaning and restoration have some kind of ionized type machine they can put in and it absorbs the smoke smell. Worked great in my garage insurance paid so not sure of cost :(

 

Thanks. Thankfully, the smoke smell has almost completely cleared out already. 


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