No voltage to CO/LP detector?

[Dave and Kimberly]

   It's been a while since I've had to ask for some help... but here we go tonight!

   Prior to putting our Oliver away for the winter... the CO/LP detector seemed to be getting more and more "hyper sensitive" to the point where it finally just wouldn't go off.   I reached under the front dinette seat and had to cut the positive wire to stop it.   Plan was to simply replace it with a new one. 

   I get the new one and now I find that the wires going to the detector (the ones I cut) do not have voltage.  I had a friend confirm my findings and we checked every 12 volt fuse and everything was fine (there is no fuse specifically marked for the detector).   Everything else, 12 volt in camper seems to be working fine... including the little USB plugs and all the lights.  Anyone have any experience with changing out the CO/LP detector?   Clues or ideas?  

    I did try to jump start the the new detector just to confirm that it works but was unsuccessful in that.   It seems highly unlikely that the brand new detector is "bad".... especially considering the OEM installed wires going to the old detector appear to be dead.

[topgun2]

Dave -

 

Did you "trace" that positive back to its bus bar?

While you are in the :tracing" mode, I'd also trace the negative back to its bus bar - the connections at each bus bar just might be loose.

Bill

[Dave and Kimberly]

   I couldn't exactly trace the very specific detector wire... but I did check the wires going into the back of the 12 volt panel... and also checked each ground wire on the bus bar to ensure they were all good and tight.   

   I'm a little bit out of my "lane" doing electrical work... so I called an electrical inclined neighbor to confirm my steps and he was stumped as well.

Side bar: It's good to hear from you Bill... you are still looking good!  🙂

[Galway Girl]

48 minutes ago, Dave and Kimberly said:

cut the positive wire to stop it

If you follow that cut wire back you'll eventually find an in line automotive style  1 AMP fuse in a holder nearer to the area where the 12v lines go to buss bars etc (Under the street side bed).  It's that fuse you could have pulled instead of cutting the wire.  You may have inadvertently popped that fuse.  Hope you find the fuse and that it helps.  (This is a 2019 trailer so your wiring may be different.)

 

[Dave and Kimberly]

   Thank you!   I did find exactly that 1 amp (black blade type) fuse.   Mine isn’t marked or anything obvious like yours but I will find a replacement 1 amp fuse for it.  If that’s it, I’ve found it, but didn’t know it!  
    Patriot pointed me in that General direction too… I’ll report back anything I discover.

[John Dorrer]

This time last year I replaced ours with a new one sent to me by Oliver. I used Wago connectors. Inadvertently I must have touched wires. Got done and the CO Detector didn't lite up. We had our service done the next week, and Oliver found that I blew the fuse. They replaced the fuse and all was good.

When the bare wires touch, there were sparks, and that apparently blew the fuse.

 

[topgun2]

It is seldom that sparks are a good thing. 

[Steve and MA]

A couple of weeks ago we had to replace the CO/Propane alarm in our 2022 like @John Dorrer and @Dave and Kimberly, also 2022 models.  Is there something about the original alarms that's causing them to fail at only ~4 years time?

In our case the unit was going off even though the propane was off, there was nothing nearby generating CO and the batteries were charged. Like @John Dorrer, when I clipped the wires to replace the unit, I shorted the circuit when the + wire dropped and made contact with the foil insulation.  I would have pulled the fuse first but didn't know where it was. I went through earlier threads on this topic to find its location. It's easy to replace, but hard to find if you don't know the area to search. If I hadn't found it, I would have run a new + wire to an empty slot in the 12v fuse panel. That would probably violate some RVIA code, but it would make it easier to shut it down the next time it starts to fail (would not do for a potentially valid alarm).  The replacement unit came with Wago type connectors, so disconnecting will be easy if the need arises. 

[topgun2]

16 minutes ago, Steve and MA said:

Is there something about the original alarms that's causing them to fail at only ~4 years time?

Let's see - 

My Ollie is ten years old and I'm on my third alarm.  Perhaps these things are junk?

16 minutes ago, Steve and MA said:

If I hadn't found it, I would have run a new + wire to an empty slot in the 12v fuse panel.

There are a couple of threads here on the Forum that detail the installation of a simple "on/off" switch for this alarm.  If anyone installs one of these switches they should - in some way - make sure that it is known when the alarm is in the "off" position.

Bill

p.s.  it seems that these alarms always go off in the middle of the night.  This makes finding and pulling that fuse a bit difficult.  Therefore, a switch makes this process much easier.

"side bar": Dave - in my mind I don't look any different than I did about 50 years ago.🫠

Edited Wednesday at 03:20 PM by topgun2

[Steph and Dud B]

We replaced our 2022 detector last fall for the same problem: hypersensitive, going off for no apparent reason. I also used Wago connectors to make the next replacement easier. I think the RV environment is especially hard on these detectors, especially in small campers like ours, where they're often exposed to low levels of various chemicals: propane from the stove, exhaust from the fridge coming in the screen door, even hair spray. Not to mention temperature extremes while in storage. 

On another note, always disconnect power before cutting or splicing wires. It's easier to find and pull the fuse than to repair whatever damage you might cause with a short.

[Dave and Kimberly]

So… first thanks to each of you that responded!    The CO/LP detector fuse is easy to find and get to (under street side bed)… IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK!  I put a tag on it similar to what Galway girl did (Good idea!) I added another 1 amp fuse to my box of emergency fuses and also realized I only had one 30 amp slow blow inline fuse (for the three electric jacks)…. So ordered some more.

   The new detector looks good and the fun thing is it adds to my collection of little lights that reflect all around inside the camper when I find myself wide awake in the middle of the night.  I like to think of them as “stars”.

Edited Wednesday at 06:44 PM by Dave and Kimberly

[Patriot]

2 hours ago, Dave and Kimberly said:

So… first thanks to each of you that responded!    The CO/LP detector fuse is easy to find and get to (under street side bed)… IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK!  I put a tag on it similar to what Galway girl did (Good idea!) I added another 1 amp fuse to my box of emergency fuses and also realized I only had one 30 amp slow blow inline fuse (for the three electric jacks)…. So ordered some more.

   The new detector looks good and the fun thing is it adds to my collection of little lights that reflect all around inside the camper when I find myself wide awake in the middle of the night.  I like to think of them as “stars”.

David, great detective work. A little pro tip, you can add a tiny piece of black electrical tape to that light if you choose to see that little star. 👍🏻😄 

Talk to you soon brother! 

[jd1923]

12 hours ago, Dave and Kimberly said:

The CO/LP detector fuse is easy to find and get to (under street side bed)…

Nothing easy about moving beds in the middle of the night while an alarm is sounding (or for any other reason)! You're not the first to cut these wires.

It's a shame a bad practice OTT started years ago, is still how they do things today! How does it make sense to need to move a bed to change a fuse? The wires for the CO Monitor, the three 30A fused lines for the jacks and a couple other circuits, start under the dinette. Why is the positive bus under the bed when the negative bus and 12VDC fuse panel are under the dinette?

 

Edited 18 hours ago by jd1923

[Steph and Dud B]

For all those bright LEDs: https://a.co/d/02j1OZft