Bedroom TV

[Jerry Dildine]

We have a 2007 Patriot Thunder and have a short in our wiring which causes the Bedroom TV circuit to trip.  From the wiring diagrams, it appears that the front tv, back tv, along with all the entertainment equipment are all on the same circuit.  We started watching TV in the bedroom a couple of nights ago, and the circuit tripped.  We started unplugging things, and the circuit still tripped.  We assumed it was the rear TV because it turned off while we were watching, and it is the original TV.  So we thought that we would unplug the rear TV.  The plug is nearly unreachable.  We changed gears and unplugged all of the entertainment gear in the front and rear, and tried both tvs again..no dice.  It still tripped.  Next we unplugged the front tv and left only the rear tv running. It still tripped.  Our next plan was to unplug the rear tv...but how do you get to the plug.

We could not figure out out to get behind the TV.  Feedbank we got was to completely take off the wooden frame surrounding the tv.   We were just about to dig out a chisel when someone reached out and told us to get to the back through the side panel of the upper cabinet.  This turned out to be great advice.  Through the side panel you can see the back of the tv and see the frame the tv was attached to.  Also we were able to unplug the tv and see if it fixed the short circuit.   It did not.  We now have no devices connected to the circuit, and still the circuit trips (number 8 in the fuse box).  I will attach some photos.  Shoutout to Paul Aronson who gave great instructions on how to get behind the tv.  Now that we know... We have two projects a) fix the wiring issue, and (b)replace metal fixed tv frame with a hinged tv frame.  I will post pictures on how to access behind the tv.

Does anyone have any idea how to find a short in a wire circuit (such as the one the tvs are on in the Patriot)?

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Jerry,
See page 116 of the 2007 Patriot Thunder wiring diagrams. There are 2 legs coming off of Inverter panel breaker #8. If you haven’t yet, I suggest you unplug everything on both legs, including the power management strip for the computer table. If CB 8 still trips, disconnect one of the 2 legs at the breaker to determine which leg is giving you the problem. Once you ID the faulty leg the fun begins. If the breaker doesn’t trip immediately and the problem is at an outlet you may be able to ID the outlet at fault by seeing if it is warm to touch or by using a plug in  circuit checker that may ID the faulty outlet just before the breaker trips.

However, I would be very suspect of the leg that that feeds the slide-out as those wires may get stressed or moved each time the slide is activated or the power management strip on the same leg.
Steve

[Scott Shearer]

Jerry,

On our 2006 Patriot the following are on the circuit that Steve referenced (#8).

What you have already discovered plus:

Everything in the cabinet above passenger seat. There are three or four 120vac to 12vdc transformers in this cabinet, I believe that there was at least one receptacle with a transformer hidden behind a removable end-panel (panel is on the right-hand side).

The receptacle in the center console driver-side.

All Girard awnings (your awning configuration is probably different than ours).

[Fred Brooks]

    Jerry, Glad to hear you are on the right track. As Steve advised on the print on page 116, it shows 2 circuits coming off of #8 breaker. If you have unplugged everything down stream or can't get to it all, you may try and remove the black wire from the #8 breaker that corresponds to that branch to divide the cause. Another good point is to look at the loop in the bed slide because it moves and sometimes can cause an issue. Good luck and soldier on! Fred

[Jerry Dildine]

You guys are awesome. Thanks so much for your advice.  Great project for this weekend!

[Jerry Dildine]

Ok, so I did some testing today. What I figured out was that the problem is in the upper line of switch #8, in the 6x6 box.  The problem was that the shower was leaking from backside of the shower head into the chase next to the passenger side slide in the galley area.  I opened the junction box and found moisture in the box.  First, I though the moisture might have come from a leak we found in the last storm. I decided to test the shower, and it was spraying everywhere. in the chase.  Obviously, the next step was to (power had already been turned off), was to take out the shower head plumbing.   We discovered the that there was a crack in the plastic elbow connect the chase hose to the shower head.
We are now working through replacing the plumbing parts and making sure that there are no leaks.
It seems to me that it is not such a good idea to run electricity next to shower plumbing.   Any leak in the shower head would run right down the ac wires into the junction box.  At one point today, it looked like a fire might start from the wires going into the junction box.

[Fred Brooks]

    Wow!, Glad to see that you zeroed in on the issue! Must be a mess from the spray that far up the chase. Water and electricity do not play well together. Another reason why NEC code wants J-boxes to enclose all connections so if there is a fire it is contained to that area. Unfortunately motorhomes have to cram all these support systems into such a tight area and then expose them to an environment of a 6.0 earthquake. Thanks for sharing your adventure, Fred