Tony D. Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 I recently for the second time had the 80 amp fuse in fuse box under the hood by the battery blow out on me. Prior to it failing my check engine light came on. Thinking that it had something to do with the alternator I stop on side of road to check. After turning it off it would restart. Fortunately someonce came by and discovered the 80 amp Glow fuse was out. We replaced and it started right up however I would like to find out what caused the problem since being left on side of road for 2 and half hours is not good for my nerves. Any suggestion would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D. Posted November 30, 2021 Author Share Posted November 30, 2021 My camper is an 85 escaper. Sorry I forgot to mention that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 Since it's a not blowing out immediately and runs for a while and always seems to blow when you're bouncing down the road most likely there's a worn spot on a wire somewhere. You hit a bump. the wire makes contact on some metal and poof your fuse is blown. Check for exposed wires Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 2, 2021 Share Posted December 2, 2021 Pretty hefty fuse that's a good chunk of current. Most likely you will find some thing with a burnt mark or discoloration on either the wire or what ever it touched. I do believe it's the alternator fuse so that wiring is suspect. Should be fairly hefty and white look for any thing that looks added many people twist things together and it work so they figure they are electrical genius never mind the insolation or an things like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D. Posted December 2, 2021 Author Share Posted December 2, 2021 Thanks Saturday I will be going over every thing again. Both times that it went out it seem to be in cordination with the check engine light preceding it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewanderlustking Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 On 11/29/2021 at 9:02 PM, Tony D. said: ...and discovered the 80 amp Glow fuse was out.... Is this a Diesel? On 11/29/2021 at 9:02 PM, Tony D. said: After turning it off it would restart. If it is a diesel, and I am assuming it is and that you mean it WOULD'T restart, since you then say it started right up after replacing the fuse, the glow fuse and relay are what heat the glow plugs up before you start the vehicle. It most defiantly will NOT START with this fuse out. As mentioned above, look things over and check for anything obvious. Wiggle harness around (carefully) and generally look it over. The check engine light on these is fairly "dumb" and it could be related, or mean nothing. I don't know the nitty gritty details of these diesel systems, but that fuse could also potentially power something the ecu expects to see powered up. Fuse goes out, light comes on. But the truck should still run off the hot glow plugs until you shut it off and they cool down. Keep in mind the truck is 36yrs old. I see fuses fail all the time on much newer vehicles for absolutely NO REASON. But you say "both times it went out" so sounds like you might have an actual problem if they went close together. Take a good look at your glow relay. Make sure that the wire going to the glow plugs is in good shape. Check the condition of your battery power and ground wires. I had some mild charging system issues until I went and replaced my battery cables and main ground. If you want piece of mind, replace the glow relay, and put a couple spare fuses in your glovebox. You should actually have an assortment in there anyways. I have a gasser, my 80amp popped a few minutes after we paid for the RV. Cost me a tow... Hasn't popped again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Because they are from a country that had lot's of diesels from that vintage that's the way they are marked diesel or not. Very few made it to the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewanderlustking Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Yeah pretty sure mine also says glow on it but it isn't a diesel, hence why I though clarifying that point might help. Diesel or not though, most of the above advice still remains the same. Only the specifics and trying to truly narrow down a specific cause really change. It is old enough that once could be a random occurrence. Twice in a short period, probably not so much. Check for obvious bad areas, wiggle harnesses, replace old grounds and power cables. Look for signs of vermin... The approach I would take is to get out there with a thermal camera and see what lights up. But this isn't an easily affordable tool to justify for a DIY-er approach and maybe only useful now and then. My thermal camera is a inexpensive one (as far as professional models go) and it was $1500! I do see some phone based ones as cheap as $130. But these sensors are kinda expensive and the ones I would actually trust all seem to start off around $200-250. I use the heck out of mine, but it took me years to finally justify spending the money on it. I am sure it has years to go before it pays me back too... Anyways, finding something around the $150 mark might be justifiable to hunt down this issue. I have used mine at least a dozen times to find electrical issues that others couldn't. And even more to quickly find relays and fuses running hot in fuseboxes. Mine is sensitive enough I can usually trace the fault back to a wire and then wherever the issue originates in the harness. A cheap infrared laser gun can kinda help. But it isn't anywhere near as easy to get a "whole" picture and a faulty relay and hot track through the fusebox might only be some marginal amount above the rest. They have their place though. As expensive as my thermal camera is, it is horrible at telling the actual temperature. I have seen it off by hundreds of degrees. It is good for an overall temp map. My laser is good to within a few degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D. Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 Thanks for your information, however my is a gas burner. I think that I probably shorted out the alternator when tightning the belt. I now keep a extra fuse in car pocket just in case that it is something else. I believe that the check engine light was comming on because the alternator was starting to go out. I replaced the alternator and everything seems to be OK now. Thanks for your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewanderlustking Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Super good to hear! And yes it looks like that is actually one of the Check Engine light codes. I found a helpful list over here: https://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/TroubleCodes/index.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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