Electrcal Fire, Engine Room

P

preferred

Member
Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2004
RO Number
14520
Messages
65
Pulling the boat for winter--Carver 456
(diesel ), I left my slip and plugged in at lift out dock in the evening. The electrical panel had a green light and shortly after a red light ( reverse polarity ) the green light was still on. I immediately disconnected the shore power. We used the generator that evening, with the inverter showing a charge.
In the morning the generator ran for about 10 min. and all the 110 circuits failed , and the GFI's would not reset.
When we were on the hard, I plugged into shore power again. The green light was on the panel but no power to the plugs. When the power to the charger was switched the red light appeared in about 20 seconds. The same problem happened when I turned on the inverter separately. With the shore power plugged in, I went to the engine room to check the inverter. Reset the breaker on the inverter,it was set on auto. I flipped the switch to charge only.

THAT'S WHEN MY HEART STOPPED -- A FLAME CAME SHOOTING OUT OF THE INVERTER, THERE WAS A FIRE AND THE SMELL AND THE SMOKE WERE UNBELIVABLY SCARY. I MANAGED TO SHUT OFF THE INVERTER AND CALLED TO MY WIFE TO SHUT OFF THE MAIN PANEL AND UNPLUG THE SHORE POWER. THE FIRE WENT OUT IT, TOOK A WHILE FOR MY HEART TO START UP. AGAIN.!!

Checked the charger and it was toast as well, burnt wires inside. Both the Inverter Company and the Charger Company had never heard of this situation??!!
i contacted my insurance company to advise them of the problem and opened a claim.

Any thoughts on where to start to look for the problems.
Fire on board -- I never want that to happen again.
 
Glad you were able to put out the fire. That could have been real dangerous. I think the prudent thing to do would be to call in a marine wiring expert. I suggest you report the fire to your insurance company. They will be able to recommend someone and will cover the repairs, minus the deductable. That way, you know it will be fixed correctly and you will not have to worry about another fire, either on land or on the water. Your insurnace company would definitely want an expert to check and repair it so they will not have to eventually pay for a boat replacement and personal injuries. Count your blessings. Hy
 
I had an electrical fire in my bilge [gas engine] one time! It is a very scary thing! Mine was caused by the starter getting stuck in the "start" position and seizing up. I turned off power at the battery switch which stopped the fire instantly.

My heart took alot longer to recover.......

I hired a certified marine electrician to fix it all, just to make sure......

Good luck to you, preferred!
 
Still having problems ,very frustrating electrical problem ?
I have now replaced the inverter, charger and new batteries for both.
When I plug into shore power no reverse polarity, when I switch on my main panel I get a green light plus a red reverse polarity light. The marina has checked dock connection, shore power cord, taken the inverter off the system and taken the charger off the system with the same result. If a load is put on the system example the range the light glows more red.
On the negative side it is reading 4 amp.
Running the generator and switch the panel on there is no reverse polarity light??

any thought or suggestions would be more than welcomed at this point.
Don
 
Did your insurance company provide you with a certified electrician if they did that is where I would go. If they did not try and and one you want to get this right
 
Don: I have to agree with troublemaker. It sounds like you had the marina's mechanic check out your system. He/She is not, in my opinion, the person to assign the task of straightening out your electrical system. Contact your insurance company; they will be able to supply names of certified marine electrical specialists in your area. As I said before, they will have a stake in making everything work correctly. You have a tremendous stake in that also. Good luck, and let us know the outcome, please. Thanks. Hy
 
I agree that a licensed marine electrician is in order. The insurance company may pay for an inspection but your policy may be in question if subsequent problems develop after uncertain repairs.

That both the charger and inverter melted wires is strange and seems to indicate an over voltage condition on the input side. Is that what happened, input side failure only?

Even if something caused high input voltage I don't understand why breakers would not trip.
 
Two things are probably true:
There was one common cause and it must be positively identified.
The entire electrical system needs to be thoroughly inspected.
 
Are you using a power strip from some where like HD or Walmart. I ask because I had a three outlet surge protecter plugged into an outlet on my boat. When I did it showed reverse polarity. Took it off and it was fine. So I bought a power strip at HD with surge protector. Same thing.

If you are using a household extension cord (ungrounded) or a power strip it may be wired incorrectly for use in your boat. I am not an electrical expert but I believe at home with a two prong plug it really does not matter much which direction it plugs in. But on a boat polarity is important and as such you can only plug the fat end into the fat hole. Quality control being what it is, I do not think all normal power strips are going to be wired correctly.

Just a thought based on personal experience.
 
You obviously have current going places where it should not be. So get a proper marine electrician. But with any service industry there are good ones and not so good ones. So ask around and get references.

If you are going to keep messing with it your self you need to start isolating individual circuits. Both the hot and the neutral legs. And make sure you have no stray current going to ground.
 
It sounds as if something is mis-wired. I'm going to bet it's between the inverter and the generator switching with the shore mains. Inverters should have dual pole AC breakers on the mains and the outputs if you have a dual 30 amp shore circuit.
Without looking at the wiring I would just be guessing. Get a marine electrician to look at this.
Bill
 
Don what is the AC input side to your main breaker panel (2) 30 amp breakers or a single 50 amp service? If 50 amp service is it 110 or 220VAC?
Is the generator single or dual windings (1 large breaker or 2)?
What model inverter/ charger are you using?
I have an idea but need to know the shore side/ AC panel configuration.
The damage that occurred sounds like 2 AC sources backfed out of phase. Most of the time this results in a big bang, tripped fuses with melted wires. You mentioned the inverter breaker had to be reset just prior to the meltdown which breaker?
Bill
 
I would like to thank everyone for their input. everything mentioned the marina tried. We don't have a Marine Electrician in our area. they have contacted the manufactures and consulted with marine electricians.

Hi Bill
There are 2 -30 amp and 1- 50 amp shore power outlets on the back of the boat where the shore power attaches. There are breakers at this point and a breaker inside the boat to switch between what ever power source I am using. I am using 2X30 amp cords at this time. There is a breaker inside the bulk head where it enters the boat, and a double breaker switch on the main panel.
50 amp --110 service in the boat.
charger-- Charles 5000
inverter -- Tripp Lite 3500

i should also mention that with the red polarity light on they loaded the system to drain the batteries, On recharging, when the batteries were fully charged the reverse polarity light goes off. it appears that the draw happens when the batteries are low. They have completely isolated either the charger or the inverter with the same results.

Before the melt down I switched the inverter to charge only that is when there was a melt down.
Bill your input is very much welcomed as well as anyone else that may have suggestions

Thanks
Don
 
So everything works fine on generator? Are the polarity indicators connected only to shore power or after the selector switch so they work regardless of source.

If so, then the issue is before the shore/Genset selection switch. I would start there and work upstream to the shore power cord.

Do the charger and inverter work on Genset ? Way happens to voltage when you increase the load and the polarity indicator comes on?

I would suspect the initial problem could have have been caused by an inverter malfunction but I can't quite see how that could have damage something upstream of the panel. How is the inverter wired? I does it have auto transfer switches? When it is in inverter mode, does it power everything or only some circuits? If the charger is on the inverter power circuits, then it could have been damaged by an inverter malfunction.

Have you tried a different shore power cord and outlet?
 
Hi Pascal
There is a polarity light for shore and separate one for gen set. the charger and inverter work on the gen set. The polarity light does not come on when the genny is running.
They have tried other shore power cords and tried different outlets and replaced the dock outlet just in case.The inverter just powers up the 110 plugs. They have taken the inverter completely off line and the same problem occurs.
Thanks for the suggestions
Don
 
I've heard (mneaning no direct info and pehaps my understanding is wrong) that the marinco-style shore tie cables can be mis-connected, leading to a problem. And I forget whether the problem was reverse polarity or somehing with ggrounding.
 
Yes, Bruce the power at the dock checked out ok. Nothing was changed and the correct voltage is entering the panel before the breakers.

Don
 
open the main panel and all cable connectors and see what's up
 
I'm thinking you should look for charred connections at the rear of the MARINCO transom inlets (2X 30A) on the boat or melted damaged wires behind the main breaker panel.
Bill
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top