PBArmy Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Tripped a breaker with a heater yesterday. No problem. Reset the tripped breaker at the panel and it was fine. Lost power again when I tried to up the power setting on the heater (bad mistake), so I checked the breaker panel, but none were tripped! Now, with the exception of the front TV, and the receptacles away from kitchen and bath areas, I have power. Fuses are fine, I unplugged from shore to "reset" but to no avail. Any guesses? PS - I'm in a Itasca Cambria Class C 30 amp. I also discovered that the only GFI receptacle in this rig is located in one of the compartments underneath! Not good. US Army (Retired) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alie&Jim's Carrilite Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Unplug the heater and recheck all your breakers. Turn off each one and turn back on. A breaker can trip but not move the lever enough to see. Also recheck that GFI breaker after everything else has been reset. If the 1500 watt from the heater is causing an overload problem, find out what else is on that circuit and turn off or unplug what you don't need in order to run the heater. Alie & Jim + 8 paws 2017 DRV Memphis BART- 1998 Volvo 610 Lil'ole 6cyl Cummins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rif Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 The first thing to do is to reset all the breakers. They sometimes don't look tripped even though they are. Second, I would be looking for another GFI. As you say, having only one is unusual. They usually protect the outlets near the kitchen and bathroom. These are the ones you are experiencing issues with so it seems likely you are missing one, or the one you have is bad. Do you have a meter and know how to use it? 2000 Volvo 770, 500HP/1650FP Cummins N14 and 10 Speed Autoshift 3.58 Rear 202" WB, 2002 Teton Aspen Royal 43 Foot, Burgman 650 Scooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH2 Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Assuming you checked the reset on the one known GFI in the compartment...The kitchen and bath circuits are almost certainly protected by their own GFI's. I suggest searching around for other GFI receptacles in need of resetting. Please post when you find a solution. Mark Rif beat me to it!! Mark & Sue---SKP#86611 '06 International 4400LoPro DT570 310hp 950ft-lbs.-Allison--3.70 gears '05 36' Teton Liberty '12 BMW F650 twin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacsy Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 I would guess the GFI is at the begining of a run of receptacles, which would protect all the outlets on that run, did you try reseting the GFI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBArmy Posted January 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 I have reset all the breakers (a couple of times) And to clarify, the receptacles in the bathroom and kitchen are fine. Just Front TV, the receptacle at dinette and the 2 in the bedroom do not work - none of which are GFI. Everything else is powered. Weird. US Army (Retired) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBArmy Posted January 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 The single GFI receptacle is bad. Went to reset it, and it won't. Buttons don't even "click" like they should. Just another item on the list of things that have been wrong with this unit :-( Going back to a Tiffin as soon as I find the right one! Thanks folks. US Army (Retired) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alie&Jim's Carrilite Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 If you're handy, hit Lowes or wherever and change it yourself so you can use it. Then change it back when you can get to the dealer. Alie & Jim + 8 paws 2017 DRV Memphis BART- 1998 Volvo 610 Lil'ole 6cyl Cummins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horizon36 Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Do you have a built in inverter? If so check the circuit breakers on it. I have had this problem before and that was the cause. Full time since August 2010 2002 Itasca Horizon One fur kid - a Shih-Tsu rescue Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBArmy Posted January 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 The Xantrex panel reads fine. 13.1 input voltage. My suspicion is that it is in fact that faulty GFI. US Army (Retired) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horizon36 Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Good that you narrowed it down. Most people don't know about the circuit breakers on the side of their inverters and that often causes this kind of problem. Full time since August 2010 2002 Itasca Horizon One fur kid - a Shih-Tsu rescue Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 My suspicion is that it is in fact that faulty GFI. By faulty, do you mean that it will not reset? If that is the case, how do you know that whatever caused it to trip is not still there, thus preventing a reset? I highly suspect that the outlets which do not work are those downstream of the GFI and that it is the reason that they do not work. Have you checked the GFI with a volt meter? If there is no power into the breaker, that too could keep it from resetting. Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFchap Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 I have reset all the breakers (a couple of times) And to clarify, the receptacles in the bathroom and kitchen are fine. Just Front TV, the receptacle at dinette and the 2 in the bedroom do not work - none of which are GFI. Everything else is powered. Weird. Not weird at all ...you simply have not found the primary receptacle for the second gfci circuit. Part of the outlets are on one gfci circuit, and the others are on another gfci circuit ...that's the way Winnebago sets them up. The primary you found is not tripped, but there is another one somewhere that is. Paul (KE5LXU), former fulltimer, now sometimer... '03 Winnebago Ultimate Advantage 40E '05 Honda Odyssey Escapees, FMCA, WIT, SMART http://www.pjrider.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorman Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 By faulty, do you mean that it will not reset? If that is the case, how do you know that whatever caused it to trip is not still there, thus preventing a reset? I highly suspect that the outlets which do not work are those downstream of the GFI and that it is the reason that they do not work. Have you checked the GFI with a volt meter? If there is no power into the breaker, that too could keep it from resetting. Kirk is right, unplug everything you can and try the GFI, then if it resets ? plug one thing at a time back in, if it trips when one item is plugged in.? that item may be defective. also your GFI gets weaker every time it trips and they are very touchie anyway, so it could be the only defective part. using a volt meter and if you don't know how ? go to you tube and watch the video's, a volt/ohm meter is a must have if you rv a lot. never plug the ohm meter part into anything that has voltage on it as it will burn it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronbo Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 If there is no power to the GFI it will not trip. I have never had a rig that had more than one GFI Ron C. 2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3 2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBArmy Posted January 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Thanks all. I'll put my voltmeter on the GFI tomorrow (when it's light and warmer!) But I have NOTHING plugged in and I have searched everywhere for a 2nd GFI. Manual is no help either. But I still say that the one GFI that I have found should "click" when I test it! And I've never had a coach that didn't have GFI in bathroom and near kitchen sink. Guess there's no "code" for RV's? US Army (Retired) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 ............. Guess there's no "code" for RV's? There is a code of sorts that is promoted by RVIA the trade association. All manufacturers who are members must observe the codes that they promote in order to use their seal. Not all members do that and not all manufacturers are members. The standards that they set are mostly there to protect the group from governmental regulation or intervention and not so much to protect the end users. As a result they pay minimal attention to electrical codes or safety standards of other industries. There are very few laws at state levels that impact RV construction standards and probably none at all on a federal level. Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Your coach has a gfci protecting the bathroom circuits. Tiffin puts one in for that, and as Kirk said, it is an RVIA requirement. So it is someplace, or tagged off of the GFCI you found. But it is protected. You said you had good voltage going into the inverter,but you did not indicate what the output voltage was. I'm assuming you checked that and just did not write it....but it would be unusual for a small inverter to be handling the bathroom circuits. They usually are dedicated to entertainment functions, and the receptacle by the bedside (for CPAP). Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ticat900 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Thanks all. I'll put my voltmeter on the GFI tomorrow (when it's light and warmer!) But I have NOTHING plugged in and I have searched everywhere for a 2nd GFI. Manual is no help either. But I still say that the one GFI that I have found should "click" when I test it! And I've never had a coach that didn't have GFI in bathroom and near kitchen sink. Guess there's no "code" for RV's? If your GFI wont"click" (reset) there may be no power to it at all.If it was a faulty one usually they reset and trip instantly.Pull the gfi out and check to see if you have 120V at the unit before doing anything. Your positive you don't have a tripped breaker on the inverter? or maybe you don't even have a inverter seeing as its a C class Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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