GFCI Problem (On edit: Fixed)

[exav8tr]

Well I probably made a big mistake today. I hired a pressure washer outfit to clean my Montana. The owner and I talked about the pressure thing as I didn't want to strip away my graphics, he assured me his crew was cognizant of the decals and did not spray them directly. I watched and sure enough, they did ot spray them directly. Did a nice job, however, I was not without problems.

About half way thru the job, while they were on the driver's side of the coach, I noticed that part of my electrics went out. Seems it was only one side of my buss. I advised the wash owner and he said this happens oocassionally and it would "reset" after about a half hour, probably got a little wet.

I did notice that the GFCI button in the kitchen was popped. Tried to reset and it immediately popped again. I went outside to check anything electric on the driver's side and the only thing I could see was the refrigerator controls (after removing access panel) were a little wet. Decided to see if I could dry them out with a can of air. Tried to reset button and it popped again. Decided to wait awhile as Refer would only work on gas....(Probably on same circuit).

Well, five hours later and it still pops.

Things I have tried:

1. Reset Master breakers at CG pedestal-Nothing.
2. Reset Kitch CB in panel (was not tripped)-Nothing
3. Reset ALL breakers, including converter-Nothing
4. Cussed a little, felt better, but-nothing.
5. Tried more air in refer area-Nothing.
6. Turned refer off for awhile-Nothing

My plan, at this point, is to wait until tomorrow and try and reset button, If no luck, will have to call a repair tech. (Wash company says it is not their fault, go figure. Park manager will not let them back in park anymore (doesn't help me)...

Any other suggestions are welcome. Please remember, I am not electrically inclined so suggestions should be geared to that experience level.......Thanks in advance for your help.....

[H. John Kohl]

Unplug the frig from that compartment outlet and plug it into an extension cord. That will let you use your fridge on 110. You can check the 110 outlet in the fridge compartment and see if you can get the water out. Remember to unplug before you start working on it.
Good luck.
Cheers,

[snfexpress]

Phil,

The exterior outlet on the dining room slide is connected to the Kitchen GFCI. Go outside, open the cover on the outlet and inspect the outlet for moisture. I would spray some compressed air into the outlet to dry it out.

Additionally, check to see if there is water/moisture on the junction box on the frame below the slide.

On our '06 3400, the refrigerator is on a seperate circuit.

Also, we started having problems with the GFCI in the kitchen after it popped once or twice as it was supposed to. Seems the quality of the GFCI is not as good as the ones you can buy at the local hardware store. We bought two new ones - one for the kitchen and one for the bedroom. Turned off the power at the breaker box in the bathroom and replaced each GFCI - took about 5 minutes each. Not hard to do at all.

Good luck!

[exav8tr]

John, Didn't think of that, will do in the am if I don't get GCFI reset.

Michael, that outlet did look a little wet also, will blow it out tomorrow. What junction box, under the slide are you talking about???? Where would it be???

[snfexpress]

Phil,

Re-read my post above as I edited it to add more info for you.

The junction box on the frame is below the dining room slide-out. Crawl underneath the slide and look for an aluminum box with a cover on it. It's dark here, right now, but I seem to remember that there are two junction boxes under there.

[exav8tr]

Mike, thaks, will look in am.

[Charlie]

Phil-
When you are under the slide checking the junction box also check the wiring. I had the same problem with the kitchen GFIC and found that the wire to the junction box had been pinched and was going to ground on a bolt on the slide.

[exav8tr]

Will check, Charlie. Thanks for the heads up!!!!!

[exav8tr]

Hairdryer to the rescue. Problem fixed. Used heated hair dryer on all outside sockets and junction boxes plus refer socket inside the refer compartment. GFCI Reset AFTER blowing refer socket out for quite some time. Whew!!!! Am I relieved or what???? Lesson learned: If I ever have the unit pressure washed again, I will walk along with the guys to insure they don't spray directly in the compartments. Will probably put plastic wrapping inside these compartments next time. BTW: We have been in pretty good rains and no problems, in fact, rained for two days last week without problems.

Thanks to all for suggestions.

HAPPY CAMPER ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[H. John Kohl]

Glad you got it working.

[HamRad]

Phil,

Glad you got it fixed. I've found the GCFI to be one of the more frustrating aspects of our rig. Actually I'm very glad they have these things! They've saved me on more than one occasion. On our rig they simply have too much stuff on the same circuit.

Did you folks have any trouble with the flooding around the Phoenix area?

Dennis

[exav8tr]

Dennis, several roads near CG were flooded. We just went the other way and worked around. For folks not familiar with the desert you would think it would soak up the water, not so, it just settles on the top and runs off at the low points. Our CG has a fenced dog area to let dogs off leash, unfortunately it is very low and when I went by it the manager was just looking at it. He gave me a funny look when I asked him if they were going to stock it.

Thanks John.....

[VanMan]

You mentioned putting plastic in the compartment(s) next time. A few times when I winterized I removed the outside compartment doors, put laundry plastic (that comes on the shirts/sweaters from the laundry) or a garbage bag (larger than the opening) over the opening, then closed the compartment door over it. It could then be trimmed if desired and should protect the inside from water. Also the little childproof plastic plugs (for keeping little hands from sticking metal things into the hot outlets) should keep water from entering any unused outlets.

[exav8tr]

Thanks VanMan, will keep that in mind for next time....