melted 10 amp fuse

[mrlee]

hello i’m very new to owning a caravan.
i picked up fendt platin malpet which my son and his girlfriend are using on our driveway whilst they save up for a house.
whilst going over it finding out how it works i noticed on the main fuse box in the wardrobe that the 10amp fuse had melted but. not blown, so replaced it and again this evening checked to see that it had melted again.
the wires seem cool to touch and are. not melting i think the 12v system may of been moved to the bedroom area under the bed.
any idea what could be causing the fuse to melt because i’m not to keen on letting them sleep in it if there is a chance of it setting on fire.
below is an image of the fuse box.
tomorrow i’m going to go over all the 12v setup, under the bed is an old car battery which we are going to replace for a leisure battery a 12v charger which i’m replacing tomorrow for a more modern trickle charger and the unit that moves the wheels via a remote..
any advice would be appreciated.
Lee.

 

[Woodentop]

They are not fuses but rather miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) which are effectively resettable fuses. However such devices are normally found in the mains supply circuits and conventional fuses (i.e. car-type fuses) are used in the 12V circuits.

Given you are having an overheating problem and mains kills, I would suggest you get someone who knows what they are doing with mains - better still but not mandatory with caravan mains - to check it over.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I am concerned when you say there is a 12V battery under the bed. Lead acid Batteries should be in a room sealed box such that any escape of gas is only vented out side and not into the living space of the caravan. The 12V wiring should be protected by a correctly rated fuse (typically 15 to 20Amp)

As Woodentop has stated the devices in your picture are Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB's) and are rated for use on 230V ac circuits. They may not function correctly on 12Vdc circuits.

You are correct to be concerned about th e problem your having, as whilst 12Vdc does not heave enough potential to give anyone an electric shock, but the current available form a battery is more than enough to to cause a fire.

My advise would be not use the caravan until the 12V wiring has been fully sorted out and at least checked by a professional caravan engineer.