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Blown electrical system

Started by Tcronin, February 18, 2018, 08:10:12 PM

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Tcronin

Hey guys.

So I'm almost at the end of a Mercedes sprinter conversion. I've hooked up all the electrics using a solar panel system and 2x135 batteries. When I was installing the fused switch for the water pump I managed to touch the Earth wire on a bracket (I'd taken the fuse out, but not disabled the entire system. Very silly.) and it seems to have blown my system.  The battery voltage display is showing 12.6 V so the battery fuses clearly have not gone, but there is no power going through to the MPPT controller. Any ideas???

Any help massively appreciated.

Tom

Camper_Dan

Greetings & Welcome!

If by earth you mean ground, then you have some big problems if touching a bracket shorted something out, because no bracket should be hot.

You should NEVER be working on anything with live wires!

No positive lines or terminals should ever be accessible without first removing some sort of guard or cover.

Without a better description of exactly what you shorted out, it's impossible to even guess what all you may have killed.

You said "but there is no power going through to the MPPT controller."  This confuses me too... Does this mean no power is coming from the solar panels or what exactly?  Is there a fuse/breaker between the solar panels and the controller?  How about between the controller and battery(s)?  Have you checked those?  If you pulled the fuse between the battery(s) and any load, then you shouldn't have had any juice in the system, and if you did, something is wrong with your wiring.

House battery(s) -> fuse/breaker -> isolator/relay -> vehicle battery.

House battery(s) -> fuse/breaker -> controller -> fuse/breaker -> solar panels. 

House battery(s) -> fuse/breaker -> fuse box -> accessories.

When working on any accessories, you pull the fuse between the battery(s) and the fuse box.  Battery(s) should be in battery box(s) to protect against any accidental shorting of terminals.  ALL positive terminals and connections need to be totally insulated and protected from any possibility of shorting out.

Solar panels get connected last, and disconnected first.  If you connect the solar panels to the controller without a battery connected first, it can blow up the controller.

Good Luck & keep us posted!

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