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 > Stupid, stupid, stupid...

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jeep63

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Posted: 05/04/12 05:13am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

So I picked up our TT from storage yesterday evening and brought it home. This is the first winter I removed the battery during storage. I put it back in and as it turns out I reversed the polarity when I hooked it up. I forgot that the TT is like a house where the white is negative and black is positive. I blew the two 40amp fuses in the panel designed to protect against reverse polarity. What concerns me is what boards may be damaged due to this. Any tips on where to test, or should I just put the new fuses in and 'see what works'? I've done some searches and from what I read sometimes a small fuse in the radio blows too. I'm worried about the fridge board, water heater, and converter.


I am kicking myself for this. Woke up last night at 3 thinking about it.

All suggestions are welcome, and I guess I am open to "Hey dumb-a$$ think next time" too. ;-)


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danoren

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Posted: 05/04/12 05:19am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

We all make mistakes from time to time.
I also remove my 2 batteries from the 5W each winter,I leave a sketch of the connections attached to the inside door and just follow the "instructions" in the Spring so I do not have to think to much....


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TPUC

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Posted: 05/04/12 05:19am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

Not an expert but if the camper had fuses to protect from reverse polarity then you would think it would have protected every thing in the camper from damage.

jeep63

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Posted: 05/04/12 05:24am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I am considering putting some Red electrical tape on the positive cable and black on the negative cable. Just a small winding for an indicator; similar to your sketch danoren.

MNtundraRet

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Posted: 05/04/12 05:28am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

The truth is You cannot go by the color of the wires alone. Not everyone follows a set system. Especially if you purchased a used trailer. Even the "clueless" try DIY.

I have always either drawn a diagram of batteries and connections, noting colors of each wire. In more recent years I take close-up photos of the setup.

I keep the diagrams and pictures handy, and have always used them each spring to insure I have reconnected everything correctly. With the current motor-home I have not removed them but use a solar panel with each battery-bank for storage without shore-power.


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MNtundraRet

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Posted: 05/04/12 05:30am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

TPUC wrote:

Not an expert but if the camper had fuses to protect from reverse polarity then you would think it would have protected every thing in the camper from damage.


Not true for all components. Some converter/charger's may have that feature.

seraphim

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Posted: 05/04/12 05:31am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I'm an amateur mechanic. I photgraph as I disassemble lol. A quick photo explains a lot...


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Posted: 05/04/12 05:44am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

You should be fine. Correct the connections, replace the reverse polarity fuse(s) and go camping. I would try everything in the driveway first to be sure.


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Earthroamer82

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Posted: 05/04/12 05:45am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I have done this before as well. What's ever better is there is a label on my frame, right beside my battery compartment, that says connect white to negative black to positive!
Anyway, all that happened was the 2 40 amp fuses blew. I replaced them and every thing has worked fine since then, this was about a year or so ago.
I think you will be fine.





boatertim221

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Posted: 05/04/12 05:46am Link  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

I did the same thing a couple of years ago. didn't happen immediately, but later in the season my converter went out. I contribute my error for the converter going out. Other than that, I didn't lose any other boards and everything still works great.

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