New Converter + GFI = NO BUENO! (Your thoughts?)

[saenzm]

I changed out my original converter with a new 3 stage. Now when I plug in my rig at home it trips my GFCI on that circuit. The GFCI is in the house and the plug I use for my rig is the one outside my front door, but on the same circuit.

Has anyone else had this problem? Is the fix to simply remove the GFI from the circuit?

Anyhelp would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

[saenzm]

By the way, it didn't used to trip when I plugged in my RV with the original converter.


Thanks,
Mark

[BBQ]

.

Probably you wired it incorrectly?

Or maybe there is a short in your van?

[saenzm]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

Probably you wired it incorrectly?

Or maybe there is a short in your van?

Hummm, I bought my converter from best converters.com and followed teh instructions. I called the owner and asked him how to test the installation and he had me test it with a multi-meter. I did that and it all checked out. Do you think that could be the only problem?

Thanks,
Mark

[avanti]

Too much current? What is the input current rating of the converter? It wouldn't be too surprising if the new one drew more current than the old one while bulk charging. Also, GFCIs have finite lifetimes, and they often get finicky when they are near end of life.

[GeorgeRa]

Measuring if installation was done correctly and the GFCI will not get triggered is not easy, GFCIs measure both currents on load and neutral and a 5 mA difference will trigger faults.

Which converter did you get? Your new converter should be wired exactly the same as the old converter and if it is and there is a problem it could be in your new converter, there is a leak somewhere.

George.

[booster]

Some converters seem to be prone to tripping shore power GFCI sources. Very many of the Tripplite units do in the Roadtreks, primarily the ones made after 2007. Tripplite claims it is because they an active surge and power protection circuit in them, and there is nothing you can do except plug in to a non GFCI outlet.

Many other brands never seem to have a problems.

What brand and model do you have, and have you tested it on a non GFCI outlet?

[saenzm]

I bought the WAFCO Ultra III conversion kit - part # WF8945 REP found here: 45 Amp Converter Replacement Kit

I have not tried plugging it into a non GFCI plug.

I have looked at the instructions, diagrams and pictures and I feel I did it correctly.

Is their any other way to test and make sure it's right?

Thanks,
Mark

Originally Posted by booster

Some converters seem to be prone to tripping shore power GFCI sources. Very many of the Tripplite units do in the Roadtreks, primarily the ones made after 2007. Tripplite claims it is because they an active surge and power protection circuit in them, and there is nothing you can do except plug in to a non GFCI outlet.

Many other brands never seem to have a problems.

What brand and model do you have, and have you tested it on a non GFCI outlet?

[GeorgeRa]

I used to have this unit on my previous RV and it was fine. This unit should draw at the most 5A from your GFCI outlet at full the charging current of 45A DC. Do you have other loads at the same time which could cause exceeding 15A most likely max capacity as Avanti mentioned earlier.

If not, I would check another GFCI and regular outlet. It is possible that the unit could be defective. Reviews on Amazon are good so I doubt that this unit has a history GFCI problems, I didn’t.

George.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by saenzm

.....................
Is their any other way to test and make sure it's right?

Thanks,
Mark

GFCI is pretty sensitive instrument and likely best to test if you have a problem so plugging to another GFCI could be your best test.

George.

[InterBlog]

May or may not be relevant to the OP's issue:

We recently did a lithium conversion and subsequently had trouble with a GFI being tripped. Contacted a professional electrician, was told that sometimes GFIs that are effectively ending up in series can interfere with each other and cause one of them to trip even if nothing is "wrong", per se (my husband did that communication so I'm short on details - sorry).

I don't know how your rig is set up, but presumably you also have at least one GFI in the rig, plus one in the house. Perhaps this is something to investigate if your other troubleshooting efforts don't produce results. Or maybe someone else could elaborate properly on the effect that I'm trying to describe here.

[booster]

One thing you do need to be sure of is that the AC neutral and ground are not bonded anywhere in the van when on shore power. If they are you get the ground sharing some of of the AC neutral current, and that will trip a GFCI.

[tgregg]

Originally Posted by booster

One thing you do need to be sure of is that the AC neutral and ground are not bonded anywhere in the van when on shore power. If they are you get the ground sharing some of of the AC neutral current, and that will trip a GFCI.

After reading this thread I remembered I had tripped the GFCI outlet on a trip to PEI last year.

I checked my AC installation with an Ohm meter and there is a connection between the white wire and the green wire.

It's not bonded, but a very high resistance connection. It's a small reverse polarity indicator lamp connected between the white neutral and green ground wire that lights up if I plug into an outlet that's wired backwards.

Even if the outlet I plug into is correct and the lamp doesn't light there must be enough difference to trip the outlet's GFCI circuit.

I don't know if this is OP's problem or not. Maybe the new converter has reverse polarity protection?

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by tgregg

After reading this thread I remembered I had tripped the GFCI outlet on a trip to PEI last year.

I checked my AC installation with an Ohm meter and there is a connection between the white wire and the green wire.

It's not bonded, but a very high resistance connection. It's a small reverse polarity indicator lamp connected between the white neutral and green ground wire that lights up if I plug into an outlet that's wired backwards.

Even if the outlet I plug into is correct and the lamp doesn't light there must be enough difference to trip the outlet's GFCI circuit.

I don't know if this is OP's problem or not. Maybe the new converter has reverse polarity protection?

Do you have Bluesea panel?

George.

[tgregg]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

Do you have Bluesea panel?

George.

No, I have a Newmar panel. Probably bought it West Marine.

[saenzm]

Ok, I just noticed my GFCI won't reset and the outlet is not working. A couple questions:
1. Can I replace the GFCI in my class B with any ole GFCI from Home Depot?
2. Since it isn't working (couldn't press the TEST or RESET BUTTON) could that be the cause of my GFCI in the house tripping when I plug into shore?


Thoughts?

Thanks,
Mark