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Old 07-14-2019, 03:33 PM   #1
Belti Guy
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Power source breaker tripping

Hello All, I'm stumped. From January 2019 to March 2019 we camped in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Oklohoma and then back to Wisconsin, with no problems! Our trailer (2007 3000 RK) is now parked at home and has been plugged in to a shop outlet since we got home in mid March. Had no problems until about two days ago. Now when ever I try to plug in the camper, the breaker blows within about 30 seconds. The camper is plugged into a 120 v 20 amp outlet in the shop with a 10 gauge extension cord which is on a reel with a on/off switch. From there I hook the rv power cord with a 15 to 30 to 50 amp adapters. Trouble shooting - first just plugged in the extension cord to see if it had a short. It worked fine. Then I unplugged the rv power cord from the camper and hooked up the power cord to the extension cord. No blown breakers! I then turned the main breakers off in the Monty and reconnected the power cord to the rv and the breaker blows almost immediately. I checked the water heater and the electric switch is off. It has just been parked this whole time on a gravel pad with mowed grass all around. Logic would imply that the problem is in the rv plugin or the wiring between the plugin and the breaker box, but I'm not sure what to do next! I'm relatively decent mechanically, but electrically my knowledge is pretty basic. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance. Doug

Moved to "Montana Problems" forum. Sorry
 
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Old 07-14-2019, 04:48 PM   #2
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If I understand what you're saying, the breaker trips when the cord is plugged into the trailer. If that's so I would check the plug on the end of the cord first and if that's ok then the receptical on the rig. Especially if the cord is original, hanging down in the sun all the time tends to cause those plugs to fail over time.
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Old 07-14-2019, 05:30 PM   #3
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The plug you are using is it a GFCI outlet and that is tripping or is it a actual breaker at the breaker box? If it is at the breaker box does the breaker feel weak when you reset it?
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Old 07-14-2019, 05:59 PM   #4
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Chech this thread.
Electrical Power Inlet: Look Out!

http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...cal+connectors
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Old 07-14-2019, 07:16 PM   #5
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We just recently had this same issue - we have a 2007 3295RK and breaker kept blowing every time we plugged into shore line -turns out one of our batterie was bad we replaced both and were up and running again with zero issues.

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Old 07-14-2019, 07:52 PM   #6
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Three places to check: The power inlet where you plug the shore cord into the rig, the cable within the rig that connects the power inlet to the main RV panel, and last, connections in the RV panel. The connections at either end could have come loose and are making a short condition to an adjacent terminal. If connections are not a problem, possibly you might have damage to the cable inside the rig from abrasion or even a critter could have been chewing on the cable. Hopefully the problem is easy to find.
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Old 07-14-2019, 08:21 PM   #7
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Thanks for all the help. I will start by looking at the power inlet port and the battery and hope for a simple solution. Kc8Ivy, I actually have tried two different outlets on different breakers and both tripped almost immediately.
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Old 07-15-2019, 05:39 AM   #8
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I think you eliminated the battery as a problem when you said it blows with the main breaker in the 5'er shut off. I think rohrmann has given you the best places to look.
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Old 07-15-2019, 09:17 AM   #9
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An Update to Problem

Just a quick update. I took the input port apart and could see no problems. I took the rv end of the power cord apart and could see no problems. Was about to start on the rv breaker box, which I really wasn't looking forward to, so I decided what the heck, I'll try another extension cord. Low and behold, the problem solved!! However it leaves me with question for my electrically challenged brain. I originally tried the extension cord and the extension cord plus the rv power cord and no breakers tripped. The only thing on in the Monty is a small night light and possibly a trickle charger for the battery, so a little current, but not much. Since the extension cord was the problem, why didn't it trip the breaker when it wasn't hooked to the trailer. I hate fixing something and not understanding why it's fixed!
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Old 07-15-2019, 09:45 AM   #10
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Before I installed my 50A NEMA 14-50r receptacle, I did the same thing you did, 20amp receptacle,
15-30-50 adapters. However, I was using a 100' 16 gauge extension cord coiled up on a spool. Guess what happens when you run electricity through a coil?? Yup, you get a Lot of HEAT!!! DW saw it smoking!!. Never did that again!!! Installed my 50A.
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Old 07-15-2019, 10:57 AM   #11
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That cord reel uncoiled is a Coil. try going back to it but run the cable off of the reel.
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Old 07-15-2019, 11:02 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Belti Guy View Post
Just a quick update. I took the input port apart and could see no problems. I took the rv end of the power cord apart and could see no problems. Was about to start on the rv breaker box, which I really wasn't looking forward to, so I decided what the heck, I'll try another extension cord. Low and behold, the problem solved!! However it leaves me with question for my electrically challenged brain. I originally tried the extension cord and the extension cord plus the rv power cord and no breakers tripped. The only thing on in the Monty is a small night light and possibly a trickle charger for the battery, so a little current, but not much. Since the extension cord was the problem, why didn't it trip the breaker when it wasn't hooked to the trailer. I hate fixing something and not understanding why it's fixed!
It is not unusual to not have a fault until a little load is applied.
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Old 07-15-2019, 01:41 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffba View Post
That cord reel uncoiled is a Coil. try going back to it but run the cable off of the reel.
Yeah, that 100' of 16 gauge would probably still be good had I unrolled it first. It totally melted down. I was lucky DW saw it before it burst into flames.��
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Old 07-15-2019, 06:44 PM   #14
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I'm thinking your extension cord was built incorrectly, so the hot and the neutral were backwards at one of the ends, which, when just connected to the source was not a problem, but once you connected the rig, the breaker would trip because the hot was in the wrong position. If you had an EMS hardwired in your rig, this would have been shown as the problem and the EMS would not have made the connection because it would have seen the polarity problem. Glad you have resolved the issue.
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Old 07-22-2019, 09:27 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rohrmann View Post
I'm thinking your extension cord was built incorrectly, so the hot and the neutral were backwards at one of the ends, which, when just connected to the source was not a problem, but once you connected the rig, the breaker would trip because the hot was in the wrong position. If you had an EMS hardwired in your rig, this would have been shown as the problem and the EMS would not have made the connection because it would have seen the polarity problem. Glad you have resolved the issue.
So why did it work OK from March till a few days ago? Converter should have been charging the batteries during that time so there would be some load. Something has changed in that power cord, a connection loosened up or something. I sympathize with belti Guy cause I would go nuts till I found the actual cause.
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