DC Distribution Panel Help

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Rodbolt, his 3 breakers are all wired together with a hot wire going off to the battery and a ground wire going off to the battery.

For his accessories he was to fuse, there is ONLY ONE TERMINAL for each breaker(positive I'm assuming and no negative terminal to attach. (likely to ground those accessories to the battery directly..

I think this is it:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/371695199668...466&rmvSB=true

[boscoe99]

Would be extremely improbable for all three circuit breakers to fail at the same time. But..

Certainly see in the maker has a wiring diagram. In the mean time here is my best guess as to what is going on

[rodbolt17]

yep
the breaker has two terminals.
one is for 12V in the other is 12V to the device.
the switch lighting is grounded at the panal.
the power tap for the switch lighting should be on the device side of the breaker.
if the LED/bulb assy is shorted(not likely) it may trip a breaker.
if the breaker is defective it may trip at a much lower current.

if a device is physically stuck or internally shorted it will pop a breaker.

if a wire in the bilge is chafed and shorted it will pop a breaker.

think of the breaker as a water flow con*****ing device.
if it sees to much flow it shuts off the water preventing all the plumbing down stream from being blown apart by excess pressure.

[Jason2tpa]

Townsend, yep that's the same breaker I have on eBay. Boscoe, awesome diagram on my pic. And Rodbolt is right, DC is simple. This panel couldn't be any more simpler to hookup. I forgot to add that there are small LED lights under each switch. These lights do not light up, even though I confirmed 12v is being delivered into each switch. Not sure if that helps with the diagnosis.

I'll take Townsends advice and contact the manufacture cause i'm running out of solutions.

[Jason2tpa]

Would be extremely improbable for all three circuit breakers to fail at the same time. But..

Certainly see in the maker has a wiring diagram. In the mean time here is my best guess as to what is going on

We can rule out the issue being with the breakers, right? Using your schematic, I tested the switch side of the "B" wires and 12v are being delivered. So I'm thinking if it were a breaker issue there would be no continuity between A and B, therefore 12v couldn't be delivered to the switch side. Right?

[boscoe99]

If there are 12 volts on the terminal side marked B then that means the breaker is closed.

Or in Yamahaspeak, ON.

[Jason2tpa]

I may need some remedial electronics 101. When the breaker is functioning normal (not tripped) is it open or closed? the breaker buttons remain in the down postion regardless of when the switch is on or off.

[boscoe99]

To allow current to flow through the breaker has to be closed. Excessive current will cause a breaker to trip, or open.

Closed breaker equals good fuse.

Open breaker equals a blown fuse.

I would think that if the breaker is open then the button would pop up. Pushing down on the button should reset the breaker.

Short the breaker and see if the button pops up.

[Jason2tpa]

Gotcha, thanks for the details.

[mjf_1955]

Short the breaker and see if the button pops up.

Shorting the breaker ( one side to the other ) will not pop the breaker. Shorting the output side ( side to the switch ) to ground, will pop it.

I think that is what boscoe means.

[boscoe99]

Shorting the breaker ( one side to the other ) will not pop the breaker. Shorting the output side ( side to the switch ) to ground, will pop it.

I think that is what boscoe means.

If someone needs instructions as to how to short a breaker then that someone does not need to be messing with breakers.

That is all.

[tmann45]

Would be extremely improbable for all three circuit breakers to fail at the same time. But..

Certainly see in the maker has a wiring diagram. In the mean time here is my best guess as to what is going on

Comparing photos the ground wire for switch lighting is on wrong terminal, it is on the 12+ that goes to load (device) as per the ebay picture which would short out the circuit and pop the breaker.

[zenoahphobic]

Comparing photos the ground wire for switch lighting is on wrong terminal, it is on the 12+ that goes to load (device) as per the ebay picture which would short out the circuit and pop the breaker.

tmann45 you got it, go to the top of the class.

[Jason2tpa]

Comparing photos the ground wire for switch lighting is on wrong terminal, it is on the 12+ that goes to load (device) as per the ebay picture which would short out the circuit and pop the breaker.

That's a great catch tmann. Amazing how many views the photo got without anyone else picking that up, including me. What I find puzzling is I never plugged the switch ground leads into the terminals you see in my pic. They came out of the manufacturer package like that, AND as I indicated in my initial post the panel functioned normally for a month. Be that as it may, ill reverse these ground leads onto the adjacent terminals and see what happens. Once again, good eyes and thanks for the help. I'll be certain to post an update.

[throrope]

Wires in a marine environment can be a bugger. I spent half a day under the console only to find the main feed inline fuse off the batter under the rear deck corroded. Corrosion will work its way along the wire under the insulation.

I'd suspect one or more of the wires you flexed and moved about is the culprit over the new stuff. Wire is cheap and takes not much more time to replace than trouble shoot.