Electrical and Apollo 1/2 Time Oven Question

[bncinwv]

The ever-present threads on the Apollo oven have now piqued my curiosity. As I have stated elsewhere, since we took delivery of the Montana, the upper-most outlet in the DVD cabinet has not worked. Two failures have also occured on the Apollos. Is there an electrical connection between these two separate areas. Could it be possible that the problems are inter-related???? Electrical guru responses accepted as well as all others. Is it time to learn something here????
Bingo

[EagleRunner]

Bingo,

Have you checked the return bus bar in the breaker panel for loose securing screws. Sometimes a string of circuits controlled by a single breaker will exhibit problems if the return line for that circuit is loose. There are two bus bars in the circuit breaker panel, one for ground (bare) wires and the other for the white return wires. On my 2955RL I had a series of circuits go bad and found the screw securing the return wire loose. Tightened that screw and all the others and presto, the problem was solved. Haven't had a problem since. On severe cases look for discolored wire ends where the white insulation has turned a darker color. That is a true give away of a loose connection.

I hope this helps.

Tom


Tom

[bsmeaton]

Bingo,

If you are talking about just half of the outlet works, then it's internal to the outlet. They are snap together outlets that connect with blades that cut through the wire. It is very possible that it didn't connect well when they installed it.

They are easy to check (with the power off). Unsnap the cover, loosen the two corner screws and pull out the outlet from the wall. (You'll have to wrestle with the romex wire a little, as it's actually heavier duty than anything else in the trailer). On the sides of the outlet are tabs to push in and the outlet opens up.

I think your Apollo failures are non-related, although Lynn will tell you they fail from power surge.

[bncinwv]

Brad,
I have done that, entire upper outlet did not work. Dealer has it on the warranty list, so hopefully it will be taken care of before the Thanksgiving trip.
Tom,
Haven't done that but it may be checking time on the last trip this year. I haven't yet worked up the nerve to tackel the electrical end of anything in the Monty. Sounds like a quick easy project that as always I can explain as "My MOC forum buddies say I have to......", this is always accompanied by a sigh and eye-rolling from DW!!!

Power surge, that is interesting, I have never yet been in a situation with a power surge that I know of, power drop, that is something else, which is why an Autoformer is on the winter list. Now Brad has me thinking.....I wonder if one of the plug in surge supressor/line conditioners would be a good idea for inside the Apollo cabinet.....Anybody ever tried that approach??? I do have an external surge suppressor, I guess it would just be an extra layer of protection???
Bingo

[EagleRunner]

Bingo,

One of the problems you can get into with a loose or absent return wire is it can reak havock with electronics. Power supplies in particular will suffer if that circuit return dies. Having a loose connection on that circuit return may show up as an intermittent problem. Because the oven takes a larger amount of current, it is possible this loose connection kicks in when the current draw is pulled and stays there. Just something to check. Those securing screws do work themselves loose over time, especially if they were not tightened in the factory.

Not sure if the upper outlet in the DVD cabinet is on the same circuit as the oven, but it might be. With these Montanas who knows!

Pull the shore power if you are queazy about playing with the electrical. Without shore power and no generator running, that panel should be safe to work in.

Good luck finding the problem!

Tom