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Old 09-20-2017, 12:21 PM   #1
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1979 31' Excella 500
Cheyenne , Wyoming
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dead wire - help!

I have a 79' excella. the gallery light stopped working and then so did the exhaust fan. I checked the fuse and they are all working. I tried to follow the wire from the light but it ends up in a wire bundle that heads into the wall. there isn't any juice in the wire and all the fuses are good. is there some junction where the wires meet up with the wire to the fuse? I think maybe that is where the problem is but I'm just guessing. Any advice would help.
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Old 09-20-2017, 01:17 PM   #2
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Test the out put side of the fuses with a light bulb rather that a tester. If the contacts at he fuse are corroded they might pass enough current to test positive but not enough to light a bulb.

The wire runs are home runs from the fuse panel to the first fixture on a circuit so an open wire is not the first place to look. A connection on the in put side of the first fixture is next after the fuse.
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Old 09-20-2017, 01:48 PM   #3
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I used a tester with a light bulb on it.
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Old 09-20-2017, 01:50 PM   #4
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1979 31' Excella 500
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how do I know what the first fixture is before the gallery light?
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Old 09-20-2017, 02:07 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sjhexcella View Post
how do I know what the first fixture is before the gallery light?
Hi

Two choices:

1) have an accurate wiring diagram for your RV.

2) Disconnect the wires at every fixture and track what happens.

No, that's not going to be much fun ....

Bob
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Old 09-21-2017, 11:44 AM   #6
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<engage sarcasm font> Hurray for electrical problems. <disengage>

(A) It seems that a single point flaw at the fan might be responsible for what you are seeing. I am not clear if you explored that, and if not, there is your starting place. Are all the wires that are supposed to be hot there, actually hot? If none of them are hot, then follow the logic below:

(B) If you cannot get a wiring diagram you trust, make a partial one:

(1) pull one fuse, and see what no longer functions, then replace it.

(2) repeat with as many fuses as it takes to determine how the fuses are assigned.

(C) With your best wiring diagram,

(1) make the logical choice about which circuit is likely to be the one that has the (two) dead fixture(s) at the far end. (Things are usually connected in chains that make for shorter wires, as it makes things cheaper).

(2) Then determine what might be in between the 'first' dead fixture (the fan?) and the fuse.

(3) Go to those hypothesized intermediate fixtures, and for each one, see if it has two 'hot' wires, and check that both incoming and outgoing wires are hot. It may be hard to know which is an incoming and which is outgoing, but if they test the same, then it doesn't matter.

(4) When you find the other end of the dead wire, (re)connect it to the adjacent 'hot' in whichever fixture you find it.

Good luck, take your time, and be careful with electricity. You won't kill yourself with 12 V, but it can make in impressive spark.
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Old 09-21-2017, 04:39 PM   #7
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Do you have wiring diagrams? Do you have a multimeter? Check your voltage at the fuse then at your fan along with the light. My fluke meter is a valuable tool in my kit
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Old 09-25-2017, 06:30 PM   #8
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1979 31' Excella 500
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Thank you all! very helpful information. I think I know where the issue is. there was a leak by the light switch at by the door that turns on the galley lights and I think that is where the problem is. I'm fixing the leak and when I'm sure it's fixed I'm going to look at the switch.
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Old 09-25-2017, 07:47 PM   #9
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1974 31' Sovereign
1979 23' Safari
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sjhexcella View Post
Thank you all! very helpful information. I think I know where the issue is. there was a leak by the light switch at by the door that turns on the galley lights and I think that is where the problem is. I'm fixing the leak and when I'm sure it's fixed I'm going to look at the switch.
Probably won't hurt to look but probably not the problem. Have you pulled out the monitoring panel to look at thecwiring behindit. My 79 had a pretty crappy splice from the positive feed that split to power the monitor, light, and fan. This is likely the problem area.
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Old 09-26-2017, 05:42 AM   #10
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I did and the wire goes into a bundle of wires that then head into the wall or shell.
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Old 09-26-2017, 10:25 PM   #11
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Follow the wire into the bundle looking for a junction before it goes into the wall. I know it's a mess of wires.
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Old 09-30-2017, 11:47 AM   #12
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1979 31' Excella 500
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Update:
I was about able to determine that the wire is not dead. I had to go to the switch at the door and test it with a circuit tester that the wire was open and electricity was flowing. I attached it to the LED puck lights that use only 10 watts of power and the lights don't go on. I tested the wire again with a circuit tester and it shows that electricity is flowing. I'm thinking not enough which is why the original florescent over head stopped working. What would cause the electricity flow to slow down? this is off my 12v circuit.
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Old 09-30-2017, 06:45 PM   #13
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Bad, dirty, loose contacts/splices. Bad switch.
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Old 09-30-2017, 11:28 PM   #14
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Since you've got supply, you also have to take into account the negative return path at this point. You might want to create a new negative connection to the shell.
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Old 10-01-2017, 08:24 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sjhexcella View Post
Update:
I was about able to determine that the wire is not dead. I had to go to the switch at the door and test it with a circuit tester that the wire was open and electricity was flowing. I attached it to the LED puck lights that use only 10 watts of power and the lights don't go on. I tested the wire again with a circuit tester and it shows that electricity is flowing. I'm thinking not enough which is why the original florescent over head stopped working. What would cause the electricity flow to slow down? this is off my 12v circuit.
Hi

Electricity is flowing = my current meter shows that there is current moving into the load.

Electricity is present = my voltage meter shows that there is a voltage present.

They are two very different things. The second one is much easier to check out than the first. Anything that creates a high resistance circuit (either supply or ground) will trick you if you only look at the second one.

Bob
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