15 Amp Fuse Blown: 7 Reasons and Troubleshooting Guide
Is your 15 Amp fuse blown again? What could have been the cause despite taking all necessary precautions when you used them? I have experienced this blown fuse issue once, I know how frustrating it is especially when you are trying to get things done quickly and it is taking much time to figure out.
Here, I will be revealing how to troubleshoot the problem with your 15 Amp fuse, and five possible solutions for it. I will also include reasons why the normal fuses in your home RV get blown and user experiences with RV-blown sockets for more hints. So let’s move swiftly into this guide!
Table of Contents
What is a Blown Fuse?
A fuse is a component that protects the electrical circuit against overloads. It is blown and leads to the interruption of electricity between the circuit and your appliances which hereby protects both from damage or fire. Sometimes you might confuse a switched-off circuit breaker for a blown fuse.
A breaker is an electric component installed in newly designed RVs, unlike fuses in old RVs. They perform the same function just like the fuse but the breaker does blow, it trips or switches off internally when there is a power surge or any electric issue that might cause danger.
The Functions of a 15 Amp Fuse
A 15 amp fuse is used to supply power circuits in your RV from the fuse panel to your plugged devices or appliances, lights, lamps, outlets, etc. Let’s uncover its purpose in example:
- Fuse regulates the amount of electricity current that powers your devices and protects them from electricity overloading and the risk of fire outbreaks.
- A 15 amp socket can only supply power not more than 1800 watts to a device in your RV.
- If the device requires battery power of more than 1800 watts, it will blow when connected but your device might not be affected.
How Do Blown Fuses Look Like?
A blown fuse usually looks like something that has burnt with a dark color appearance on its exterior surface, especially when the burning extends outside the fuse case. Other signs you can see in a blown fuse include:
- Deformed fuse case due to overheating and melting from the inside;
- A cloudy or opaque appearance or burning smell immediately after the melting occurs;
- You might also notice an internal cut, gap, or peeling of the wire coating hereby showing a metallic smear due to high heat.
7 Major Reasons Behind a 15 Amp Fuse Blown
The normal fuse or the 15 amp one in your RV may be blowing due to a lot of causes which I will be listing below. Some of these reasons can be preventable while few are inevitable because no matter how careful you are they are bound to occur.
1. Overloaded Circuit
Your 15 AMP fuse blows if you put too much load on its circuit more than the required voltage.
- You are expected to plug appliances, lights, or fixtures of not more than 1800 watts in total electricity load into a circuit.
- If you connect anything higher than 1800 watts, then overloading will occur which will lead to heating and blowing.
2. A Tripped Circuit Breaker
You might think your fuse has blown, but it is your circuit breaker that tripped causing the cuts of power connections to your outlets or fixture.
- The breaker in your RV is responsible for controlling the amperage supplied to a circuit like a fuse does.
- If the power supplied is in excessive current, the breaker will trip in between the on and off buttons which hereby switches off the power connections for safety purposes.
3. Installation of Wrong Fuse
A fuse may blow if you install the wrong type of fuse. For example, a circuit requires you to install A 20 AMP fuse and you screw in a 15 AMP fuse. There might be a power surge because the volume of current is more than the power a 15 AMP can handle.
4. A Short Circuit
Your 15 AMP fuse blew because there is an occurrence of a direct short circuit in it. It occurs when there is a connection between two conductors supplying power to a circuit as a result of a lack of resistance. There are two types of short circuits which are normal and ground fault short circuits.
The normal one occurs when the hot wire bringing current comes in contact with a neutral wire. The ground fault type occurs when hot wire supplying currents comes in contact with any surface. A short circuit is caused by:
- A loose cable connection inside the socket;
- A detached wire caused by rodents infestation, screw piercing;
- A device with faulty wires;
- Moisture buildup, etc.
5. An Arc Problem
Arc faults are another common issue that can blow your fuse and it is a result of problems with;
- Wire fixings and terminal connections may occur due to loose terminal screws, etc.
- Actual circuit connection; for example, rusting or eroded cable connections.
6. Old or Faulty Electric Outlets
If electric outlets, fixtures, or cables are old, then, there will be an increased chance of them having faulty wiring connections or loose connections. This will damage or cause the appliance to burn if high or low voltage reaches the plugs.
Faulty wiring or connected components may cause a risk of a power surge, which will likely trip a circuit or blow a 15 amp fuse. The problem is not with the circuit breaker not doing its job, but rather, as a result of faulty equipment with which the fuse is been connected to.
7. Your House Panel Needs to be Upgraded
You must have been running a few electric devices on your old fuse box and will always add or plug in new appliances based on your needs. These changes would be overtasking your 15 amp socket and other normal fuses in use.
Another that can cause your 15 amp socket to blow is the plugging of two or more appliances at once using an adapter or extension box. The combination of these appliances may exceed the total amperage of power supplied to both your house or RV and the socket itself.
Let me the example below to explain what I have said above:
- Your house or RV was initially installed with a 100 amp system.
- But your electricity consumption is 200 amp which exceeds the amperage of the fuse panel putting much load on the fuse.
- Then “blown-up amp socket” will probably get increasingly frequent and your circuit breakers will always need to be reset.
How To Fix 15 Amp Fuse Blowing Issue in RV?
Above, I have discussed the reasons behind the blowing of your 15 amp fuse. So in this section, I will be proferring solutions below to fix any of the problems you might encounter either with a normal fuse or your RV 15 amp socket.
1. Check And Repair The Wiring
One of the solutions to a 15 Amp slot blowing might be changing the damaged wires.
To replace the device’s wires follow the steps below:
- Recognize the socket and device that is not working.
- Once you know the faulty one, switch off the electricity completely in your home or RV.
- Check the plugged device for a burning smell and signs, if you notice it is the device wire that is faulty.
- Repair the wires in the faulty device or appliance.
Repair the fuse wiring using the following instructions:
- If the connected device is not faulty, then it would be the wire connection or the fuse.
- Check for discoloration or a burnt smell.
- If you can’t find any of the signs, this means there is a fault in the wires connected to the 15 amp socket.
- Call an electrician to help with a new cable connection.
2. Investigate If Any Connected Electronics Are Damaged
Sometimes you might think your 15 amp socket has blown if you connect a damaged appliance or device. Another reason why you might mistaken that your socket is faulty is that the components in the 15 amp socket in your RV are not compatible with the newly invented devices.
- So connecting the two together won’t work or may even burn both the 15 amp socket and your appliances.
- Before you conclude that it is damaged, the solution is to call an electrician to help you evaluate your devices to ascertain if they are in good condition.
- If you have confirmed that your devices are not faulty, then you consider upgrading to a new fuse for it to be compatible with your appliances.
3. Use The Right Fuse For the Right Device
You need to be extra careful when you are plugging or connecting your device to a 15 amp fuse. There are different amperage sizes of sockets for your RV such as 12 amp, 20 amp, and 30 amp fuse, etc.
- Make sure you are connecting the appropriate device with the correct amp socket based on the amperage and power consumption or requirement of an appliance.
- Connecting an appliance that consumes a high amount of electricity like an iron, oven, or heater to a low amperage like a 12 amp socket will likely blast.
- Check your RV manual for appropriate connections of appliances, if you can’t distinguish between fuses.
- To fix a blown socket requires technical know-how, before you replace a new fuse, be very sure you are replacing it with the exact size you removed.
4. Check The Circuit Breaker
Like I have said earlier breakers may continually shut themselves off when there is an overloading which you might think are normal fuses or 15 amp that is blown. So know if this is the case;
- You need to confirm if your RV is installed with a circuit breaker or a fuse box, How do you know this?
- Peruse your RV’s manual to locate your vehicle’s electric panel
- Check for the breaker, it usually looks like switches while the box looks like small circular sockets lying side by side.
- If you see a breaker, you will need to reset it.
- To do this, switch off the electricity from the main power source.
- Then gently move the switch button from the middle to the “ON” position.
- Keep an eye on the breaker in case of continuous tripping or shutting off, and contact a professional for a suitable solution.
- If you find out your RV is installed with a box instead of a breaker, then you need to replace the 15 amp slot that blows.
5. Finding Out The ARC Issue Origin And Resolving It
To fix an Arc problem, you will need to confirm what causes it. so follow the instructions below to resolve it:
- Check your 15 amp socket for loose screws or rusted cable.
- If the issue is loosened screws, disconnect your RV home from the main electricity source.
- Then use a screwdriver to tighten the screws.
- If the issue is a rusted or eroded cable, call an electrician to help you with a new fixture.
Users’ Experience With 15 Amp Blown Fuse
Here, I will be showing you the experiences of other people when they had a blowing 15 amp fuse and other types of fuse in their RVs. I will also include how they fix these issues based on their discussions on review platforms. So let’s proceed to learn more from others!
The RV owner tosh 99 makes the following originally posted recommendations:
Pull the fuse out then use a voltmeter. First, check to see if there is 12vdc on one side of the fuse holder, with the fuse out of course. Never have a meter in resistance mode while looking for a voltage source. If the fuse is glowing, or blowing when you place a new fuse in then there is obviously a fairly solid ground source on the other side of the fuse’s holder. Tosh99 , RV owner
OLYLEN shared her experience on how to solve the problem if the fuse blows because of the bulbs.:
First turn off all the lights you think are on that circuit. Then replace the fuse, if it blows again disconnect the wires from what you think is the offender. Replace fuse if it still blows then a direct short and might be tough to find. If it does not blow with switch/switch’s off then the light lights are the problem, then replacing light bulbs or light fixtures is in order. OLYLEN, RV owner
FAQs
How do you know if you blew a fuse?
You will know you have blown a fuse by seeing a discoloration or metal smear inside the glass. You might also perceive a burnt smell.
Why does my 15 amp fuse keep blowing for my furnace?
Your 15 amp socket keeps blowing because of excess loads you put on it or as a result of an electric short in the panel.
What happens when a fuse blows in an amp?
If a fuse blows in an amp, it breaks the circuit that supplies the electric current to lights, outlets, or devices connected to it.
Do All RV Electronics Use 15 Amp Fuses?
Not all RVs use a 15 amp fuse, some RVs use 12 amp or more specifically based on what it is needed for. For example, a 20 amp fuse is required to connect your refrigerator.
Conclusion
Your 15 amp fuse gets blown due to a lot of reasons, especially overloading, and others such as power surge, using the wrong type of fuses, Arc issues, a tripped breaker, etc. You should also know that sometimes you might mistake a tripped breaker for a blown 15-amp fuse.
Solving issues you are having with your 15 amp fuses requires you to follow some simple instructions while other complex ones may require the help of a professional for safety reasons. The easiest fix is to troubleshoot whether you have a damaged wire in your fuse or device for which you are to replace the wires.
How did you fix your 15 amp fuse when it got blown? Leave your answer in the comment section. Thanks for reading.
I`m a current Law Enforcement Officer working within the Counterterrorism Bureau in New York State. I have been Camping for over 20 years. My styles of camping include tent, car, truck, van, and RV travel trailer. I have a YouTube channel where I teach all types of camping with an entertaining method: https://youtube.com/@TheSmallsRVAdventures
