Lightning Strike at Marina

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vabeach1234
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Lightning Strike at Marina

Post by vabeach1234 »

I received an email from my marina that on Sunday, August 21, lightning struck the boat next to me. I stopped by the boat to check on things and the main shore power breaker was tripped. I switched all the breakers off and turned the main back on and one by one the other breakers. One of the breakers keeps tripping the main now. I'm going to replace the breaker to see if that fixes it. Also the fuse on the 12 volt side of my refrigerator was blown. The rest of the boat seems okay. If a new breaker doesn't fix the tripping problem, I'm guessing some wires fused together some where down the line. I'll test it with my volt meter I guess.

Anyone have a similar problem?

Thanks.
Ken
1972 Trojan F26 Express
1985 Dell Quay Dory 13
Hampton, VA
http://s853.photobucket.com/user/vabeac ... ojan%20F26
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Stripermann2
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Re: Lightning Strike at Marina

Post by Stripermann2 »

Yep...a few years back we too had a lightning strike a few boats down from me. Almost every boat on our dock was damaged electrically.
It'll take a while to discovered all the damage. Most boats the charge blew out their battery chargers, on some boats, their expensive electronic shifters were damaged. My battery charger was spared. Fortunately, no AC wiring was damaged or compromised.

Lower helm tachometers
Radar
Chart Plotter
Portable VHF which was in charging dock in the salon
Salon TV, V-Berth TV

And a few other items I can't recall at the moment, were all affected by this electrical discharge through the dock's wiring and canopy support frame work. Insurance was very responsive and settled the claim quickly.
Jamie


1985 F-32 270 Crusaders
1988 Sea Ray 23 350 Merc.
Trojan. Enjoy the ride...

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prowlersfish
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Re: Lightning Strike at Marina

Post by prowlersfish »

All the electronics on mine ,110 stuff was ok , sail boat was hit about 75 feet away .

Ken , I would look at what is on that breaker and start un plugging . I don't see it being a bad breaker . Let me know if you need a hand .
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vabeach1234
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Re: Lightning Strike at Marina

Post by vabeach1234 »

I guess I'm lucky as my air conditioner is still functioning as well as the motor. The refrigerator light turned on when plugged into a different circuit but not sure if it was working properly. Same with the microwave.

I unplugged all items that were on that breaker and it still trips the main. I plan on switching out the breaker with one that works to see if it does the same thing on that circuit. That should eliminate a few scenarios.
Ken
1972 Trojan F26 Express
1985 Dell Quay Dory 13
Hampton, VA
http://s853.photobucket.com/user/vabeac ... ojan%20F26
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Big D
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Re: Lightning Strike at Marina

Post by Big D »

There's so many variables involved; some hits will affect all AD and DC wiring in some boats but not others while some strikes will take out electronics, appliances, fry wiring, etc. It'll just be a matter of going through everything and crossing off one circuit and load at a time.

Good luck and keep us posted.
She was a 1969 36 ft wooden beauty with big blue 440s that we'll miss forever.
And thanks to the gang, 2012 Trojan Boater Of The Year
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vabeach1234
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Re: Lightning Strike at Marina

Post by vabeach1234 »

Well the breaker that kept tripping the main is fine. Come to find out, the last outlet in the run was fried. The black wire and ground shorted at that outlet causing the problem. As for my refrigerator, Norcold DE-0051, the 12 volt (10 amp) fuse keeps blowing when I plug in the 12 volt DC wires. When I plug in the 120 AC, the light comes on but the fridge just doesn't seem to run. So I looked through the internet and did some testing with a volt meter and it looks like the DC Supply Circuit board needs to be replaced. The AC circuit board seems to functioning properly per the trouble shooting manual I found online. The DC circuit board looks to be about $300. Ouch. If I get out of this with the cost of a new outlet and a $300 circuit board I guess I'm lucky.

Oh, if this happens to anyone else regarding an outlet going bad, pull the cover off and smell it. The problem one will probably smell burnt.

Link to trouble shooting manual if anyone is interested.
http://www.americanrvcompany.com/assets ... Manual.pdf
Ken
1972 Trojan F26 Express
1985 Dell Quay Dory 13
Hampton, VA
http://s853.photobucket.com/user/vabeac ... ojan%20F26
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WayWeGo
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Re: Lightning Strike at Marina

Post by WayWeGo »

We had a breaker fail recently. The whole circuit was dead and the wire coming into the breaker was overheated with melted insulation. We were quite lucky to avoid a fire since there is nearby fiberglass and a spark could have ignited it. I do not think lightning was involved.

Here is what the breaker looked like when I drilled the rivets -- note the condition of the contacts! Interestingly, the switch felt normal when operated.
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Breaker.jpg
Breaker.jpg (205.94 KiB) Viewed 4519 times
1975 F-36 Convertible
Twin Chrysler 440's
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