1992 Volvo AD41B Engine breaker keeps tripping

Rain City

Rain City

Crew Member
Anyone know why this would happen? I lose power to my helm and I have to open the hatch and reset the breaker. It happened here and there before but now it keeps happening. Short somewhere? Bad breaker? How do you go about finding this gremlin?
 
Had an on engine breaker trip often before on an IPS boat. Wires were loose on the backside of the breaker causing an imperfect connection and an overcurrent situation because of such. Can you tighten down the wires on either side of the breaker at the breaker?
 
BCI said:
Had an on engine breaker trip often before on an IPS boat. Wires were loose on the backside of the breaker causing an imperfect connection and an overcurrent situation because of such. Can you tighten down the wires on either side of the breaker at the breaker?
Click to expand...
Haven't had a chance to dive in yet, but I'll check it out.
 
Like mentioned breakers are only meant to trip so many times . If it has tripped lots it definitely will become weak. They usually trip for a reason so look into why . Corrosion , connections , rub throughs etc .
 
Change the breaker and see if it keeps happening if it does check for wiring issues
They get weak and need replacement once in awhile more common than one would think
Having said that don’t overlook the fact that it could be a dead short heating it up
 
The first time it happened, I was giving the boat a quick washdown before heading out for the day. The boat was running and the upper helm probably got wet. So I figured that's what it may have been.
 
Rain City said:
The first time it happened, I was giving the boat a quick washdown before heading out for the day. The boat was running and the upper helm probably got wet. So I figured that's what it may have been.
Click to expand...
I keep a set of spares in my logging truck and in my boat
And every once in awhile one goes weak from the heat cycles that they go thru and I change it but most of the time I find a short in my wiring usually in the tail frame or trailer where it gets wet from road spray
Summer not as often as no road salt the salt seems to multiply the issue as it is much more conducive than fresh water
And believe it or not early in my career taking the truck to the shop one would think they use tech to find the short nope
It’s called a wiggle test !!! Wiggle the wiring till you can reproduce the fault and have someone watching for the tripping of the breaker to alert the wiggler of when it happens so he could narrow it down to where
I was floored when I realized I was paying 100$ an hour for a wiggle test and cut them out of the loop
I’ve also seen them in severe cases where they jump the breaker with a wire so the short starts smoking and then they have to rewire the whole circuit and of course they charge for their time lol
So best way is to follow “kiss” system and start with the basics and follow a process of elimination
I’ve even had weak breakers form new and electric plugs from new that were bad
So keeping a logging truck in the non ticket department is a real headache and most guys rewire plugs and trailers regularly to avoid winter trouble shooting
I don’t advocate rewiring your boat but a good checkup and wiggle test and recreate the wash down in smaller sections
Best of luck
From one who knows “small rub = big headache”
 
Loghauler said:
I keep a set of spares in my logging truck and in my boat
And every once in awhile one goes weak from the heat cycles that they go thru and I change it but most of the time I find a short in my wiring usually in the tail frame or trailer where it gets wet from road spray
Summer not as often as no road salt the salt seems to multiply the issue as it is much more conducive than fresh water
And believe it or not early in my career taking the truck to the shop one would think they use tech to find the short nope
It’s called a wiggle test !!! Wiggle the wiring till you can reproduce the fault and have someone watching for the tripping of the breaker to alert the wiggler of when it happens so he could narrow it down to where
I was floored when I realized I was paying 100$ an hour for a wiggle test and cut them out of the loop
I’ve also seen them in severe cases where they jump the breaker with a wire so the short starts smoking and then they have to rewire the whole circuit and of course they charge for their time lol
So best way is to follow “kiss” system and start with the basics and follow a process of elimination
I’ve even had weak breakers form new and electric plugs from new that were bad
So keeping a logging truck in the non ticket department is a real headache and most guys rewire plugs and trailers regularly to avoid winter trouble shooting
I don’t advocate rewiring your boat but a good checkup and wiggle test and recreate the wash down in smaller sections
Best of luck
From one who knows “small rub = big headache”
Click to expand...
Awesome. I will wiggle. Thanks.
 
Rain City said:
Anyone know why this would happen? I lose power to my helm and I have to open the hatch and reset the breaker. It happened here and there before but now it keeps happening. Short somewhere? Bad breaker? How do you go about finding this gremlin?
Click to expand...
A couple of quick points to help us understand some electrical basics around voltage and amperage.

-Circuit Breakers and Fuses are circuit protection devices. They react to current flowing through them.
- Current is a measure of the electrical load applied to a circuit. Current is determined by what the load draws from the circuit.
- Current of a given load (such as a 50 watt light bulb) increases as voltage drops, and decreases as voltage rises.

- Example: If you have a 12 volt circuit that is powering a 50 watt light bulb, you can determine the current (amps) by doing this:
Watts (50) ÷ Volts (12) = Amps (4.16)

- Let's imagine you now start your engine, and the alternator begins charging your batteries. Your 12 volt circuit is now operating at 14 Volts. The following applies:
Watts (50) ÷ Volts (14) = Amps (3.57)

- Now let's imagine you have a bad positive connection at the main distribution panel, and your voltage available to the circuit is now only 8 volts. The following applies:
Watts (50) ÷ Volts (8) = Amps (6.25)

- Remembering that the circuit protection device only reacts to current, we can see how a change in the voltage could cause a circuit breaker to trip.

Troubleshooting this kind of issue is fairly simple.

1) Measure the voltage at the supply (battery) side of the circuit breaker with no load. Thus should be the nominal system voltage (EG: 12.7 Volts for a fully charged 12 volt battery).

2) Turn on the load, and note if the voltage has changed. In a properly sized circuit, the voltage should drop no more that 1 volt, normally closer to 0.1 volt

3) If you note a voltage drop in excess of 1 volt, re-check voltage at the battery. If you find the same result, the battery is weak or needs to be charged. If you find the battery voltage is in the normal range, you have a poor connection or damaged wire between the battery and circuit breaker.

4) Assuming no special test equipment is available, temporarily replace the circuit breaker with a fuse of the same rating. This will also help preserve the condition of the circuit breaker during the following testing.
- Turn on the load(s), note whether the fuse opens or remains intact. If it remains intact, you can then carefully and deliberately move the wiring harness to try to identify a rub through or similar causing a shorted circuit. If the problem does not recur, the circuit breaker may be worn out (I do not encounter this often).
Note: An Amp Clamp shortens this process considerably. If you have one, you're probably not reading this anyhow
- If the fuse immediately opens, then you have a short to ground that needs to be found (Busta Rhymes)

5) Use your Multimeter to find the short. You now need to isolate the circuit. Remove the temporary fuse, locate and disconnect all the loads on the circuit. Connect the Multimeter between the positive and negative portions of the circuit, capturing as much of the circuit as possible (EG: positive lead connected to circuit breaker/fuse output connection, and negative lead connected to battery negative post).
- If you have properly isolated the loads from the circuit, you will have a reading of OL (infinite) on your multimeter display. Since you are likely to have a short to ground, you may see a very low reading, such as 2 ohms, or even 0.3 ohms.
Using a similar equation to the one above, we can determine to current the circuit will draw:
Volts (12) ÷ Ohms (0.3) = Amps (40)

At this point it may be best to open the floor for questions.lol
 
InterMechanico said:
A couple of quick points to help us understand some electrical basics around voltage and amperage.

-Circuit Breakers and Fuses are circuit protection devices. They react to current flowing through them.
- Current is a measure of the electrical load applied to a circuit. Current is determined by what the load draws from the circuit.
- Current of a given load (such as a 50 watt light bulb) increases as voltage drops, and decreases as voltage rises.

- Example: If you have a 12 volt circuit that is powering a 50 watt light bulb, you can determine the current (amps) by doing this:
Watts (50) ÷ Volts (12) = Amps (4.16)

- Let's imagine you now start your engine, and the alternator begins charging your batteries. Your 12 volt circuit is now operating at 14 Volts. The following applies:
Watts (50) ÷ Volts (14) = Amps (3.57)

- Now let's imagine you have a bad positive connection at the main distribution panel, and your voltage available to the circuit is now only 8 volts. The following applies:
Watts (50) ÷ Volts (8) = Amps (6.25)

- Remembering that the circuit protection device only reacts to current, we can see how a change in the voltage could cause a circuit breaker to trip.

Troubleshooting this kind of issue is fairly simple.

1) Measure the voltage at the supply (battery) side of the circuit breaker with no load. Thus should be the nominal system voltage (EG: 12.7 Volts for a fully charged 12 volt battery).

2) Turn on the load, and note if the voltage has changed. In a properly sized circuit, the voltage should drop no more that 1 volt, normally closer to 0.1 volt

3) If you note a voltage drop in excess of 1 volt, re-check voltage at the battery. If you find the same result, the battery is weak or needs to be charged. If you find the battery voltage is in the normal range, you have a poor connection or damaged wire between the battery and circuit breaker.

4) Assuming no special test equipment is available, temporarily replace the circuit breaker with a fuse of the same rating. This will also help preserve the condition of the circuit breaker during the following testing.
- Turn on the load(s), note whether the fuse opens or remains intact. If it remains intact, you can then carefully and deliberately move the wiring harness to try to identify a rub through or similar causing a shorted circuit. If the problem does not recur, the circuit breaker may be worn out (I do not encounter this often).
Note: An Amp Clamp shortens this process considerably. If you have one, you're probably not reading this anyhow
- If the fuse immediately opens, then you have a short to ground that needs to be found (Busta Rhymes)

5) Use your Multimeter to find the short. You now need to isolate the circuit. Remove the temporary fuse, locate and disconnect all the loads on the circuit. Connect the Multimeter between the positive and negative portions of the circuit, capturing as much of the circuit as possible (EG: positive lead connected to circuit breaker/fuse output connection, and negative lead connected to battery negative post).
- If you have properly isolated the loads from the circuit, you will have a reading of OL (infinite) on your multimeter display. Since you are likely to have a short to ground, you may see a very low reading, such as 2 ohms, or even 0.3 ohms.
Using a similar equation to the one above, we can determine to current the circuit will draw:
Volts (12) ÷ Ohms (0.3) = Amps (40)

At this point it may be best to open the floor for questions.lol
Click to expand...
Jesus, I preferred just wiggling.
 
InterMechanico said:
A couple of quick points to help us understand some electrical basics around voltage and amperage.

-Circuit Breakers and Fuses are circuit protection devices. They react to current flowing through them.
- Current is a measure of the electrical load applied to a circuit. Current is determined by what the load draws from the circuit.
- Current of a given load (such as a 50 watt light bulb) increases as voltage drops, and decreases as voltage rises.

- Example: If you have a 12 volt circuit that is powering a 50 watt light bulb, you can determine the current (amps) by doing this:
Watts (50) ÷ Volts (12) = Amps (4.16)

- Let's imagine you now start your engine, and the alternator begins charging your batteries. Your 12 volt circuit is now operating at 14 Volts. The following applies:
Watts (50) ÷ Volts (14) = Amps (3.57)

- Now let's imagine you have a bad positive connection at the main distribution panel, and your voltage available to the circuit is now only 8 volts. The following applies:
Watts (50) ÷ Volts (8) = Amps (6.25)

- Remembering that the circuit protection device only reacts to current, we can see how a change in the voltage could cause a circuit breaker to trip.

Troubleshooting this kind of issue is fairly simple.

1) Measure the voltage at the supply (battery) side of the circuit breaker with no load. Thus should be the nominal system voltage (EG: 12.7 Volts for a fully charged 12 volt battery).

2) Turn on the load, and note if the voltage has changed. In a properly sized circuit, the voltage should drop no more that 1 volt, normally closer to 0.1 volt

3) If you note a voltage drop in excess of 1 volt, re-check voltage at the battery. If you find the same result, the battery is weak or needs to be charged. If you find the battery voltage is in the normal range, you have a poor connection or damaged wire between the battery and circuit breaker.

4) Assuming no special test equipment is available, temporarily replace the circuit breaker with a fuse of the same rating. This will also help preserve the condition of the circuit breaker during the following testing.
- Turn on the load(s), note whether the fuse opens or remains intact. If it remains intact, you can then carefully and deliberately move the wiring harness to try to identify a rub through or similar causing a shorted circuit. If the problem does not recur, the circuit breaker may be worn out (I do not encounter this often).
Note: An Amp Clamp shortens this process considerably. If you have one, you're probably not reading this anyhow
- If the fuse immediately opens, then you have a short to ground that needs to be found (Busta Rhymes)

5) Use your Multimeter to find the short. You now need to isolate the circuit. Remove the temporary fuse, locate and disconnect all the loads on the circuit. Connect the Multimeter between the positive and negative portions of the circuit, capturing as much of the circuit as possible (EG: positive lead connected to circuit breaker/fuse output connection, and negative lead connected to battery negative post).
- If you have properly isolated the loads from the circuit, you will have a reading of OL (infinite) on your multimeter display. Since you are likely to have a short to ground, you may see a very low reading, such as 2 ohms, or even 0.3 ohms.
Using a similar equation to the one above, we can determine to current the circuit will draw:
Volts (12) ÷ Ohms (0.3) = Amps (40)

At this point it may be best to open the floor for questions.lol
Click to expand...
Scientific description of the wiggle test I love it 👍🏻
 
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