GFI (UPDATE)

[CmdrDewey]

I have a 2005 3400. A couple of months ago the GFI on the kitchen circuit kept popping and I could find nothing amiss so I replaced it. It is now happening again.
My question is; Is there a way to diagnose where and what, the problem might be? I have a circuit checker and when it isn't popped it checks out fine. I also have an amperage gauge and that shows plenty of power as well. I am no electrician so all those terms you use to describe which wire is which are all greek to me. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks

Carol, yes we were in the middle of a driving downpour. The problem is now fixed. The outlet box on the Living/dining slide under the lamp was the problem. It looked like at some time, someone had driven staples through both the white and black wires (not at the same time). All of the cable covering was shredded and there were several holes in each wire. I'm pretty sure that moisture was getting into the wire as Carol suggested. Electrical tape around each wire separately and then around the whole fixed that and hopefully we won't have that problem again. There wasn't enough wire to do the job right.

Thank you all for the help

David

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Any chance you have washed the rig, or had a tremendous amount of rain??

We have had the GFI pop when the outside receptacle got wet.

Now, the real electricians can step in and tell you what is really wrong!

[Charlie]

With your slide extended, get down on the ground and look up under it for a black wire about the size of a pencil. It runs to a square galvanized junction box. This supplies power to the slide. Check to see if there are any broken places in the insulation. I had this same problem and mine was being pinched against a bolt when the slide was retracted. Finally it grounded itself to the bolt and the GFIC would not stay reset. It would pop every time I tried to power the slide. Mine is a 3295RK, the kitchen and entertainment center are on the same power source.

[noneck]

So...GFI "monitors" current on its ground circuit if a very small milliamphere limit is detected it shuts off power to its outlets and any on the "load" connections.
As commemented by others this can be induced by any "wetness" present on circuits downstream of this outlet.

[Rondo]

Dave and Kathy-- Your problem sounds familiar. I think there have been several other threads on this problem. Go into the search mode and key in GFI and see what you come up with. I think it was about two months ago or more for one of the threads. You may have a loose wire somewhere that is making contact intermitently and causing the GFI to pop! The only suggestion I have is to actually remove the GFI and check the wiring connections on it then if that is OK try to figure out what other recepticals, lights, appliances or any other electrical units are connected on that same GFI and check all of those recepticals and/or boxes. If all of those check out OK then try and check and see if any wires are loose or wire nuts are not tight in any of the junction boxes along the wiring line. That's the best I can tell you and I know it sounds like a big job and it can be but in most cases the culprit is a loose wire somewhere along the line that the GFI is protecting! Good luck and keep us informed on what you find out! Ozz, if you're around, jump in on this. It sounds like it's right up your alley!

[Exnavydiver]

They also monitor the quality of the ground, if it senses anything hinky with the ground it will shut down. Keystone as well as most of the other manufacturers have a bad habit of not making real sure the wiring is ALL tight and connected properly. I had my kitchen/living room slide GFI kick out repeatedly. I checked all the outlets and found lose wires in three. I also found lose wires on the main power buss in the breaker box. I know it is a pain but next time you have nothing to do, pull all the outlet plates and check for tight screws and good grounds. Tighten everything. If there are a lot of problems then document them and have them fixed under warranty. That can be time consuming and sometimes it is just easier to check and adjust as needed. Just like in the sticks and bricks, maintenance is your responsibility and unless you don't feel comfortable doing it "getter done". If you are not comfortable get someone qualified to do it.. Dave and Betsy

[jsmitfl]

I just had to replace the outside receipt. They are really cheapys and I think it got water in and caused a bad ground. Replaced the other two in the kitchen at the same time. Glad I did because when you pull it out of the wall there was no insulation. All void up and down. Took the expanding foam and sprayed it in there and how it is good now. Will probably replace the others as time goes.