electric problems

[Don SC]

My 5r has electrical problems. First, the gfi outlet won't reset,so 4 or 5 outlets are dead,one of which feed the fridge.. 2nd, the other outlets in the 5er only have 100 volts ac output.  3Rd, the fridge won't work on gas- a 12v fuse to the fridge keeps blowing. How is a gfi outlet breaker checked?  Thx.

[Devilishjim]

unplug your 5er and check the votage at the pedastal. When you push the reset button it wont stay in ? Are you plugged into 50A if so check the voltage on each leg.

[Big Greg]

Try 2 things, disconnect the outlets down line from the GFCI and try it or replace the CFCI. 

I would first check the line voltage going into the GFCI, maybe you only have 100v AC everywhere???  Do you have the correct AC voltage going into your 5W?       Greg

 

[Don SC]

I'm at home. Hooked up to a 30 amp 115 circuit..it shows 115 vac.going into the 5er. Returned from a  4 day  camping trip yesterday and things were fine at the campground,.

[I'mdonewiththis forum]

When you say your GFCI won't reset, do you mean nothing happens when you try to reset it or does it immediately trip again? If it does nothing chances are you don't have power getting to the GFCI. Check your circuit breakers. If it trips there is either something shorted down steam or there is a possibility the GFCI failed. For the 100 volt problem, use your meter and start checking voltages to see where you are loosing power. I would think that if you were loosing that much voltage you would have a hot smelling wire or connection someplace. Do a thorough check of the wiring so you don't have even more problems........

[Dale P]

first just change the GCIF.  then see

[Don SC]

The gfi immediately trips again, Mintom.  After troubleshooting this system I am right in line with your suggestion,Gatorcq. I took apart three of the downline outlets and it didn't change anything. I took the gfi outlet out and rewired it so both inlet and output wires were jumpered together and  the downline outlets received 115 vac.  I took the fridge control board out and checked it's 2 fuses. They'real good. I'm going to replace the ground fault interrupter. I hope that is the fix,  I hate to think of a new control board $$.

[Kirk W]

6 hours ago, Don SC said:

3Rd, the fridge won't work on gas- a 12v fuse to the fridge keeps blowing.

 

19 minutes ago, Don SC said:

 I took the fridge control board out and checked it's 2 fuses. They'real good. I'm going to replace the ground fault interrupter. I hope that is the fix,  I hate to think of a new control board $$

Have you checked to see if there is 12V to the refrigerator? Neither gas nor 120V will work if the refrigerator controls do not receive 12V power. The two fuses on that circuit board are 3a for the 12V supply and the 5a is for the 120V to the electric heating element. There should be an outlet in the rear of the refrigerator that supplies 120V power via a power plug and there is a terminal block that supplies both 12V and ground to the controls. 

[Don SC]

Yes, Kirk, I forgot to add that the12 volt wire connector was loose at the control board. It took me a while to figure out what it was--.This 2 wire cable coming down out of the side framing and returning back up into the framing again...I had no 12 volts until I tightened it. Now the fridge works on gas. But not on 115vac elect. But at least- No more blown 15 amp 12 volt fuses. It's getting fixed little by little.

[Kirk W]

Good news! I believe that you said that the 5a fuse was good, so it should not be the reason the electric heater isn't working. The outlet for 120V to the refrigerator is almost always GFI protected so that is probably the reason for that part not working.

[Don SC]

I checked the fuses for continuity with a multimeter and they were both good. Tomorrow I'll get to Lowe's and get a new outlet.

 

[I'mdonewiththis forum]

57 minutes ago, Don SC said:

I checked the fuses for continuity with a multimeter and they were both good. Tomorrow I'll get to Lowe's and get a new outlet.

 

Keep us informed.

[Don SC]

A new GFI outlet didn't fix the problem. I have taken apart 4 outlets down line of the GFCI and am still troubleshootin.  At the rear of the fridge the outlet has a problem that I'll try to figure out tomorrow. When I took off the wires leading to the next outlet after the fridge, and turned power back on, the fridge finally worked on electric and the GFCI didn't trip. Reconnecting the down line wiring  trips the GFCI again.  So I've removed the wires going from the fridge outlet and also from the next outlet past the fridge to see if there's continuity.

 

[Big Greg]

GFCI's feed any outlets in a bathroom and kitchen where water is nearby.  They also feed exterior outlets that can get wet.  Check any exterior outlets and any outside junction boxes.   A friend had his GFCI blowing due to water in an exterior junction box under a slide.  Some manufacturers use the GFCI circuits to feed anything nearby such as lights.       Greg

 

[Kirk W]

10 hours ago, Don SC said:

When I took off the wires leading to the next outlet after the fridge, and turned power back on, the fridge finally worked on electric and the GFCI didn't trip.

That shows that you are clearly making progress! What I would do is to go to the next outlet in the line and disconnect the on that follows it, then connect that next one again and see if it trips. If it does, the problem is in the section you now have connected and if it does not trip, try the next section. Once you have pinned it to the problem section it may become very difficult as the problem might be in the wiring between outlets. That isn't usually the case since a bad outlet is a far more common issue. I do know of one case where the wire between outlets had a problem in it which could not be resolved. If a staple or something metal used in the RV's construction has pierced the insulation of the wires it would cause this to happen and be very difficult to correct. In the example that I referenced, we ran a new wire between the two outlets because we could not gain access to the existing problem wire. 

In most RVs, the 120V outlets are in a daisy chain configuration from the GFI and so all of them are connected, whether exposed to wet conditions or not. The outlet that I have found to be the most common to cause a GFI to trip is the one on the outside of the RV. We had one that would trip only when experiencing wind-driven rain.  The solution was a new weatherproof cover. 

[Don SC]

There IS an outdoor outlet in the circuit, and it may be the one causing the grief, or as Big Greg says- a junction box. I'm trying to stay with this  troubleshooting in 92 degree weather today. Right now I'm down to the last 2 outlets in the circuit- the outside one which is not getting power, and one in the street side rear of the camper, which has 3 romex cables attached to it. I've figured out 2 of them but the 3rd is a mystery . I thought it was the wiring feeding the outside outlet on the curb side but there's no continuity between the wires. If I reconnect this wiring at the street side rear outlet, the GFI trips. On another note, I keep wondering why the circuit breaker hasn't tripped- just the GFI. On our last camping trip last week, the outside outlet was working. RV outlets are tricky to work with, when trying to replace the wires on to the blades.   

 

[Devilishjim]

92 get an umbrella for shade and continue on go outside and disconnect that outlet and the others should work and the GFI trips 1st because it is weaker then the main breaker feeding it ?

[Don SC]

Haha! Well I won't need the umbrella. I did disconnect it and was trying to find out why there was no continuity on the wires from the corner outlet wires when I got to thinking about BigGreg's post. Sure enough, there's a junction box on the frame and sure enough it was full of water..Last week's camping trip got wet coming home. it was the cause of the GFI tripping and shutting down the fridge. I took a pic but not sure I can upload it. All the outlets are working now. I forgot that the outside outlet is on a separate feed and has its own switch just inside the door. No wonder I was havin trouble with it! Yeah I think you're right about the sensitivity of the GFI, Jim.   Thank you everybody.

[I'mdonewiththis forum]

Congratulations, Don! Glad you fixed it and told us what you found.

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, Don SC said:

Yeah I think you're right about the sensitivity of the GFI,

The trip setting for a GFI device is only 6 milliamps or 0.006 amps. They are designed to trip before a person can be harmed by the leakage current and so are also extremely fast.

[Don SC]

[I'mdonewiththis forum]

12 hours ago, Don SC said:

That would certainly cause problems! I suggest you take the connections apart and clean them just to keep from having other problems in the future.