1st electrical fire

[gaiaenviro]

Wifey here! Cruising down the road when I saw smoke coming from under the stove. Hubby used the extinguisher and clipped the wire. It was the ckt 4 Brown in the Univolt. We have a 87' 325 airstream. Pretty scary, but we are still motoring on. Nothing like a little adventure.

Thanks for any help.

[gaiaenviro]

Forgot to ask the question! Does anyone know what this wire goes to?

[DKB_SATX]

I don't know the schematic for your motorhome, but you should check to make sure the fuse on that circuit is appropriately sized for the wire. In theory the fuse should blow before the wire catches fire, unless there was something readily flammable that lit from just a spark.

[DaveFL]

A loose connection can cause a fire without blowing fuse, arcing at the fuse caused a meltdown of the fuse holder to the a/c blower, with heat melted the fuse holder luckily it stopped working or fire would have been next.

[GCinSC2]

Hope this 1st was also the last, no need to try for 2nd

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by gaiaenviro

Forgot to ask the question! Does anyone know what this wire goes to?

A short....


Seriously, when you get where you're going for the night, try turning stuff on, and see what doesn't work. Then check the stuff on that circuit.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by gaiaenviro

Forgot to ask the question! Does anyone know what this wire goes to?

If it is the original univolt, see if the light for AC power in the instrument panel is on when you are plugged in.
If I remember it correctly, the brown wire is low voltage AC current to power that light. Should all this hold true, you may want to consider replacing that old univolt asap with modern 55amp version, like an Intellicharger.

[gaiaenviro]

Hubby here, the brown wire is the one that fried/burned etc. I'll work I the change out next week....


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[gaiaenviro]

Update:
Found the source of the short while looking for an unpleasant odor. Apparently a metal fitting had fallen off the heater under the bed in back and fallen onto the power wire which for whatever reason had lost its wire nut. This would explain the clicking on our last trip as we travelled down the road from the 12V system, I guess the screws loosened over time and the fitting fell slowly until the final screw came out and the fitting became the arc back to ground (furnace body). I plan to tear into it tuesday when I replace the wiring, univolt and fuse panel....

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by gaiaenviro

I plan to tear into it tuesday when I replace the wiring, univolt and fuse panel....

While you're at it, don't forget to recharge the extinguisher you used! Never know when you might need it again; as the saying goes, "Better to have it and not need it…"