The electrical problem is back with a vengeance!

[H. John Kohl]

glad you got it fixed

[ARJ]

We had a breaker go bad last year in MS. Fun finding the right breaker while on the road but I was able to get a replacement although the 15a & 20a sides were reversed from what was in the panel originally.

I find it strange that the breaker died and wonder how many others have had this happen. Breakers in a stick house last & last. Must be the high quality parts used in the campers (Ha).

[exav8tr]

QUOTE: I find it strange that the breaker died and wonder how many others have had this happen. Breakers in a stick house last & last. Must be the high quality parts used in the campers (Ha).

Not being an electrician, and far from it, could it be that in a stick home the power coming in is usually pretty constant, whereas in our trailers we are constantly plugging in when we travel and possibly the quality of the current could be adding to this problem??????

I have not lost any breakers or electrical components in my trailer, although I did blow the microwave and BR TV once, and not really looking forward to it happening.....

[NCFischers]

The circuit breakers used in the trailers are the same ones used in stick houses, Square D Homeline. In recent years, the quality of electrical parts in general has deteriorated. Quality control is a thing of the past since we're getting so much junk from China.

[Tom S.]

Breakers and GFI's do fail from time to time, especially if they have tripped often. I have replaced both in stick houses. It's not common, but it does happen. I also agree with the statement about junk from China possibly being a contributing factor, but I don't know for sure where Square D is building their breakers now days.

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by exav8tr

QUOTE: I find it strange that the breaker died and wonder how many others have had this happen. Breakers in a stick house last & last. Must be the high quality parts used in the campers (Ha).

Not being an electrician, and far from it, could it be that in a stick home the power coming in is usually pretty constant, whereas in our trailers we are constantly plugging in when we travel and possibly the quality of the current could be adding to this problem??????

I have not lost any breakers or electrical components in my trailer, although I did blow the microwave and BR TV once, and not really looking forward to it happening.....

It's been my experience that we who live in our RVs tax our electric circuits much more than in our stick houses. Remember, a lot of the times we are only connected to a 30-amp source whereas in a stick house, we have had 200-amp service and I know of one person who even had a 300-amp service. He always had every electrical gadget made by man turned on at one time.

Having said all that, if you tax your electric circuits to the limit, the breakers are going to fail (to protect you).

Orv

[Art-n-Marge]

FYI - the CB that failed was made in Mexico. The replacement was also made in Mexico.

Time will tell. I think I agree that the RVs are exposed to so many different environments especially constant earthquakes when traveling down the road. My stickhouse in California has only been around since 2002 and hasn't encountered as many earthquakes as my Monty.

[Tom S.]

When we moved into our stick house (1977) the first thing I did was rip out the 100 amp fuse box and upgrade the service to 200 amp with breakers. In the time since, I've had to replace two breakers (one with GFI which ain't cheap!). So it does happen, even in stick houses. Not only are RV's subjected to a lot more jostling, unless you live in California, they are also subjected to the electrical weirdness you find in campgrounds.

[Desert RVer]

FYI, Montana does have a wiring schematic but will not share it with the owners of the RV's. Odds are our particular unit isn't wired per the schematic. That is why it isn't shared.

[Art-n-Marge]

The problem this time around is that the breaker failed by stopping current from going through without EITHER of the breaker levers moving. When you looked at the 15/20 breaker both levers were still in the "on" position. In other words, NO indication other than for me being relatively comfortable on how these things worked was able to ascertain the breaker as the failing component. Of course this was accomplished after this quick post and many other members debugging this same cause (amongst other possibilities).

Moving either lever up and down did not make a difference. The clue was that both the microwave and the rear of the bedroom which it serviced were dead. Luckily it was only the circuit breaker.

I imagine the main reason Keystone doesn't distribute their schematic is because it changes too much and the technicians are allowed to take "some liberties". Unfortunately the schematic doesn't address workmanship, technician abilities or other outside factors. Seems to me these same characteristics follow plumbing, ducting, framing and you name it! The RV life has taught me so much.

[NCFischers]

Art,
Circuit breakers will trip internally and don't always move the lever. Did you try to push the lever all the way to the off position and then push it to the on position? Most of the time, they will reset this way.

[CamillaMichael]

So, if the problem may be circuit breakers, what would the odds be of the first three pairs of cb's going all at once??? We had our Montana in for yearly service a couple of months ago and then it went into storage. Today when setting up at a CG we found that our rear A/C, water heater, microwave, and the curb side electrical outlets were not working. All of those things are associated with the first three pairs of cb's. Anyone have any ideas on this "coincidence?"

[CamillaMichael]

What...no ideas!?? Well, decided after having no luck finding 15/20 circuit breakers to make an appointment for Lazy Days to figure it out...hopefully they will find the answers.

[CamillaMichael]

OK, here's the deal: I am not an electrician. If it isn't "plug-n-play," it's beyond my area of expertise. The appointment above was scheduled for tomorrow (Tues). We left the campground this morning and dragged the Montana home for a quick bath, as usual. When we got home I plugged the Montana into shore power, also as usual...you guessed it! All systems up and running. So, a short leap in logic tells me the power pole at the campground had problems...any disagreement??? I have cancelled the service appointment, so if anyone thinks there might still be an issue, please let me know. Thanks.

[southern thunder]

That makes sense to me. Do you have a surge protector or anything that would have told you there might be a problem with the power pedestal? Have you ever had the problem before?

[simonsrf]

quote:Originally posted by CamillaMichael

OK, here's the deal: I am not an electrician. If it isn't "plug-n-play," it's beyond my area of expertise. The appointment above was scheduled for tomorrow (Tues). We left the campground this morning and dragged the Montana home for a quick bath, as usual. When we got home I plugged the Montana into shore power, also as usual...you guessed it! All systems up and running. So, a short leap in logic tells me the power pole at the campground had problems...any disagreement??? I have cancelled the service appointment, so if anyone thinks there might still be an issue, please let me know. Thanks.

We had the very exact scenario...my only guess is that it was 50amp power, we blew one leg of it, and it continued to work some of the appliances.

[CamillaMichael]

quote:Originally posted by southern thunder

That makes sense to me. Do you have a surge protector or anything that would have told you there might be a problem with the power pedestal? Have you ever had the problem before?

Never had any power problems with the unit...systems have performed much better than expected! Seem to recall reading somewhere a long while back about something like this, but cannot remember where???? Just glad the problem appears to have gone away.

[bncinwv]

We have had similar situations. If the power supply loses a leg at the pedestal then you will not have power to any of the appliances, breakers, etc that are on that leg. An easy evaluation tool (without having to learn how to use a multi-meter) is to simply plug a 30 amp shore cable via a 30 amp to 50 amp adapter (dog-bone) into the pedestal. If everything in the rig now works, then you know the problem is in the pedestal and can notify the campground. Been there, done that.
Bingo

[DQDick]

I use a progressive EMS and it will tell me about such things. I make it a habit to plug it in before I even back into a spot. Only had to ditch a campsite once (state park in Kansas), but it would have been real fun making the Monty fit in the spot. Doable and wonderful view of the lake, but if I took a while working it in there and then found out the power was bad I would have been very mad at myself for being lazy.

[simonsrf]

quote:Originally posted by bncinwv

We have had similar situations. If the power supply loses a leg at the pedestal then you will not have power to any of the appliances, breakers, etc that are on that leg. An easy evaluation tool (without having to learn how to use a multi-meter) is to simply plug a 30 amp shore cable via a 30 amp to 50 amp adapter (dog-bone) into the pedestal. If everything in the rig now works, then you know the problem is in the pedestal and can notify the campground. Been there, done that.
Bingo

Yep, it was a learning experience, and quite a wonderful surprise at the next stop when I plugged the power in......thought I was going to have to wade through stuff I knew nothing about!