Shore power problems

Murph · 09-24-2020, 05:19 PM

I was plugged into our home outlet with the A/C on, and suddenly stopped. I've checked the breaker switches and fuses -- they seem ok. I wonder if there is another breaker? or possible the separator?????

Thanks,

mkguitar · 09-24-2020, 05:33 PM

Hi and Welcome

make model year of RV?

you need to check that you are getting power from your home outlet- use a meter or a desk lamp to ensure that power is being supplied.

make sure nobody tripped over your cable

most RV's will have DC circuit breakers and AC circuit breakers internal to the van.
check that

mike

yvairguy · 09-24-2020, 05:45 PM

what breaker threw? the house of the van? I would cycle the breakers in question. push them all the way off(this will reset the breaker) and then push back to the on position.

avanti · 09-24-2020, 05:53 PM

Some vans also have an extra dual breaker located inside the van near shore power point of entry.

Murph · 09-24-2020, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkguitar

Hi and Welcome

make model year of RV?

you need to check that you are getting power from your home outlet- use a meter or a desk lamp to ensure that power is being supplied.

make sure nobody tripped over your cable

most RV's will have DC circuit breakers and AC circuit breakers internal to the van.
check that

mike

2014 Roadtrek 210 P

Murph · 09-24-2020, 06:27 PM

2014 Roadtrek 210 P

Murph · 09-24-2020, 06:30 PM

All breakers are good

yvairguy · 09-24-2020, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murph

All breakers are good

did you actually cycle the breaker? push it all the off then back on? 30+ years as an electrician and HVAC-R contractor and I can't tell you have many times I've gone out for a tripped breaker that they say wasn't.

Need more info. Is the plug on the house working? Does your AC have a GFI on the plug(some do some don't) some are hard wired some aren't.

booster · 09-24-2020, 06:48 PM

Most likely it is a 15 or 20 amp circuit in the house to the van? Depending on how it is wired that would also be on a ground fault that could be anywhere. Our outside ones were on a bathroom ground fault.

AC cycling the compressor very often will trip a non 30 amp circuit. Highly likely the problem in in the house. Plug something into the outside outlet and see if it works to test and if it doesn't go looking for the right breaker and/GFCI.

AdamG · 09-25-2020, 03:06 AM

I just did this at my house and could find nothing wrong with my breakers either. Turns out I blew a breaker in the garage...right on one of the outlets. Just had to push the red button on the outlet an was back in business. BTW...it was not on the outlet I was plugged into.

Deano · 09-25-2020, 10:47 PM

The garage outlet that you pushed the button on is not a breaker, it is a ground fault detector. They are designed to shut down if any current is going to ground (like through you) they are frequently the first outlet from the breaker and other outlets cascaded then are protected as well.
For whatever reason on my MH it would trip the GF if I didn't use an adapter without a ground connection.
The best solution is a dedicated circuit for the MH.

AdamG · 09-26-2020, 05:21 AM

Interesting...all the cords used had a ground connection.

avanti · 09-26-2020, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deano

For whatever reason on my MH it would trip the GF if I didn't use an adapter without a ground connection.

Please don't do that. Ever.

Putting 120VAC shore power into an ungrounded vehicle is incredibly dangerous. A short to the chassis anywhere in the van, instead of tripping a breaker as it should, instead creates a "hot skin" condition which, among other things, has a strong tendency to kill innocent children. This is not theory--it happens.

Code requires ONE AND ONE ONLY bonding point. In the case of shore power, that point comes from the power pedestal. Believe it.

booster · 09-26-2020, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

Please don't do that. Ever.

Putting 120VAC shore power into an ungrounded vehicle is incredibly dangerous. A short to the chassis anywhere in the van, instead of tripping a breaker as it should, instead creates a "hot skin" condition which, among other things, has a strong tendency to kill innocent children. This is not theory--it happens.

Code requires ONE AND ONE ONLY bonding point. In the case of shore power, that point comes from the power pedestal. Believe it.

Yes, yes, yes, believe it and things that bounce down thousands of miles of roads are likely places to cause those shorts.

The comeback I often get is that when the generator or inverter are on you have 110v power to the van with no ground connection, and that is certainly true unless you drive a ground rod every time you camp and use the gen or inverter. The big difference is that the 110v power generated on board by those items is not earth ground referenced. It is only 110v between the power source hot and neutral/ground of the van. In most vans the ground is tied to the chassis and when the inverter or gen is on they should bond the neutral and ground so if you get an open on the neutral and ground you could get shocked between hot and the chassis. This is the same as getting shocked to a ground at home or touching a hot while standing in a puddle of water outside.

I have measured our chassis to earth ground a couple of times and I do get a few volts, but not much or harmful, when not plugged in and one inverter. I haven't specifically measured the hot on the van to earth ground, but I may do that today just for curiosity.

Deano · 09-26-2020, 08:55 PM

I should have made a more through post.
I was NOT recommending not grounding the MH. I was just pointing out what happened with mine. Some years ago when I first posted about mine, some of you pointed out that apparently some MH builders bonded the ground to the neutral. This caused the house GFI to trip as it should because it detected current flowing in the ground circuit. My MH is one of these.

Our residences have the neutral and ground bonded in the main service panel and this is OK because the GFIs are inline between the bond and appliances.

"Murph" you can avoid your problem by connecting your MH to a circuit that is not GFI protected. However, you may still have a problem trying to run the A/C on a 15 or even a 20 amp circuit. If possible, install a 30 or 50 amp (depending on the MH requirements) service dedicated for your MH.

FYI, some circuit breakers incorporate GFIs in them, so you won't see GFI outlets on those circuits.

KYRuss · 10-01-2020, 05:27 PM

Your RV probably needs a 30 amp connection, your home outlet is probably 15 or 20 amp. I had an electrician install a 30 amp service to the rear of my home so I can hook up my RV. Your RV electric outlets and some appliances can run on 15 or 20 amps. A/C needs 30.

booster · 10-01-2020, 05:49 PM

The OP's profile shows he has a Roadtrek 210P, but doesn't state the year.

If it is like many/most of the ones after about 2007 with a Tripplite inverter/charger, it will have a very high probability of tripping a ground fault outlet in the shore power line. Many owners have had that issue, and there in way around it except to use a non GFCI shore source. Codes nearly all require all 15 and 20 amp outlets that are outdoors or in a garage to be GFCI, so if you change the circuit to non GFCI, you would have a code violation and also incur some risks if you use it for normal everyday use.

Putting in a dedicated 30 amp circuit can get to be pretty expensive depending on where the outlet needs to be in relation to the existing wiring. It might actually be less expensive to replace the Tripplite.

jakegw2 · 10-01-2020, 07:25 PM

Check if you tripped a GFCI. Garage, basement, and outdoor outlets must be GFCI protected. If the outlet you plugged into is not a GFCI outlet than it may be wired to a GFCI somewhere else that could have tripped (this daisy chaining of GFCI protection is allowed by code). I have had this problem on occasion with both of my RVs when plugging into GFCI outlets.

HeistHL · 12-02-2021, 04:36 AM

My Roadtrek 210P also trips shore power GFCI outlets. I trouble shot the issue to the inverter. If nothing is plugged in to the 3 inverter outlets in my rig the GFCI does not trip. I called Tripplite support and they were incredibly great to talk to - but they said their inverters cause a GFCI to trip when current passes through them to the connected outlets. The work around is to turn on the inverter to provide inverted power to those outlets and then plug the RV in, as long as you leave the inverter function ON the GFCI will not trip. Of course, this is not needed when plugging into non GFCI power sources.

You may also like: