Inline fuse location for porch light

[JiminMaine]

Does anyone know the location of the inline fuse for the porch light on a 24 Fleet flatbed? I discovered that the power wire was loose. There is no voltage detected. I have attached several photos. Thanks!

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

There may be an interior switch that prevents knuckleheads from turning on your light when you’re not around your camper. If there is one, check around your entry door.

 

[JiminMaine]

Thanks! I did try this, though I will try again.

 

[pods8]

That diagram looks like it’s in the first spot on the fuse block despite the description saying inline. Is that first fuse blown in the small block?

 

[JiminMaine]

Thanks for the responses. Indeed both interior lights must be switched on to receive full voltage. A single interior light switch i.e over the bed, only produces 6.3v. There is power/connection to both the red and black wire. I believe the light unit is defective. The small switch on the unit is receiving power. I will call FWC. Thanks again!

 

[Vic Harder]

Wait, are you saying that you can measure the input voltage at the light fixture, and are only getting 6.3V? And if you turn off the light, does the voltage change at all? Are you measuring between the black and red wires, and/or between each of those wires and ground? On these campers, the ground wire from the light fixture is often just a short pigtail that is screwed into the aluminum framing. If the frame is not grounded well, you can have many "interesting" electrical issues. Maybe confirm that you have a good ground?

 

[Jon R]

Fyi on my 2021 Grandby all of the light grounds are wired to ground bus bars. My original wiring has a main ground bus bar next to the original battery isolator, but also has a “sub-bar” connected to the main bar that is located on the opposite side of the camper in the back of a cupboard next to the fridge 120VAC receptacle.

Based on that I’m guessing OP’s 2024 camper has wired grounds as opposed to just connections to the frame, but something may be loose somewhere. I agree it sounds like a ground problem of some kind.

 

[JiminMaine]

Indeed! If I switch on both interior light switches, I have full voltage. If I only switch on one, dinette or over the bed area I get 6.3v
I'll try and take a few photos. The camper was installed on the 26th of December.

 

[Vic Harder]

LED or incandescent bulbs? I suspect incandescent. Why? It sounds to me like this is a wiring problem. Possibly you are seeing 6.3 V because power is being delivered by going through the other fixture rather than in parallel with the other fixture. Please do measure voltages at both fixtures from both +ve and -ve supply wires to ground and tell us what you see.

 

[JiminMaine]

Thanks Vic! I plugged in shore power. Here are the latest findings. One photo with one light on. The other has both interior lights on. The bulb is led, if that helps. I will test at the interior switches later tonight. Thanks again.

 

[Vic Harder]

The 7.1 picture is clearer, and I can see that the autoranger has you in mV, or milli-volts. Essentially, no power is being delivered. The other says 14.5 but I can't make out the range being used.

 

[JiminMaine]

Thanks Vic. The range is the same (auto setting). I'll have another look tomorrow. I've spent hours trying to figure this out. I truly appreciate the help.

 

[Jon R]

Good catch, Vic! It’s blurry but it looks to me like the 14.5 reading is probably also in mV. If that’s the case those measurements are a big red herring.

One way to clear up any ground questions would be to bring known good 12 volt positive externally to the fixture and see if it lights up using the fixture ground. I find a 12 to 15 foot long 16 gage wire with alligator clips on both ends to be a useful measurement and troubleshooting tool. This would be a job for that test wire.

If you confirm your ground is good, you are back to just troubleshooting the positive wire.

The OP never said whether the fixture ever worked properly. It might help to know the light behavior history.

Back to the OP’s first question - where is the inline fuse? If there is an inline fuse, it should be either just outside the 12 volt fuse panel or just past a splice connection where the porch light wire breaks off of a multiple-light power wire that comes from the fuse panel. That fuse likely is in the cabinet where the fuse panel is located. The in line fuses on my Grandby for the battery isolator and the running lights were located in a readily accessible area. I would assume FWC would do the same with any other in line fuse if at all possible. Of course, calling them to ask where it is would be easiest if they are back open now after the holidays.

 

[JiminMaine]

Thanks Jon! The camper is brand new. I simply was testing all the switches. The porch light is the only exterior light not working. I'll go out and check again. Many thanks.

 

[JiminMaine]

Success! Thanks to all who helped. The 10amp fuse had blown due to a loose connector. The fuse for the 2024 Fleet flatbed is located as shown in the attached photos (red dot). Not sure how I missed this initially. Thanks again!

 

[craig333]

Congrats on finding it. Unfortunately, electrical has never been FWC's strong suit.

 

[pvstoy]

Congrats on finding it. Unfortunately, electrical has never been FWC's strong suit.

And I can agree with this statement.

We bought a new 2000 FWC Ranger and when it was delivered I was installing a water pump and found many of the crimp fittings were done improperly and pulled out. I ended up re-crimping all the fittings I could find.

I mentioned this to FWC at the time and suggested buying a better crimpers like Klein and after crimping give the wire a good tug and see if it comes out.

The one I use works but there are better ones for FWC to use for production.

Seems like your wire short was because an miss crimped wire fitting.
.

 

[Jon R]

Aside from quality tools helping, most important is that the right crimping tool is used the right way on the right type of crimp connector.