lots of electrical problems

[ejkoz]

Do you use a 90 degree "dog bone" coming into the coach? We have lost the neutral twice in the last two years. First between the adapter and the power cord (both needed replaced) and just this past October between the adapter and the coach (both needing replacement). We have a seasonal spot and only go out 4 or 5 times a year so the power cord can be plugged in for several months without being touched. We also leave the AC on 80 when we're not there so there is constantly a considerable current draw. The first time we had just arrived and the DW lowered the temp and I smelt it. The second time it was similar to your situation that just weird stuff would happen (micro would beep, AC would cycle). Both times the majority of the heat damage was on the adapter's side of the connection.

[prndl]

Originally Posted by jmsokol

This is Mike Sokol from the No~Shock~Zone and RVelectricity.com. This certainly sounds like an intermittent electrical connection or short in the wiring somewhere. I'm just beginning to teach RV technician classes on electrical troubleshooting, and writing a maintenance schedule that I believe all RVs should adhere to. I think that every RV should have its electrical panel opened up once a year (with the power off, of course) and all circuit breaker and bus screws should be tested for tightness. There's a special square screwdriver bit designed for this job. In many of the RVs I've worked on recently, these screws are loose simply from road vibration, and should be checked and tightened on a regular schedule.

Secondly, I've seen a lot of electrical wiring in RVs run though holes in the metal frame without any sort of insulation grommet. Thousands of miles of bouncing down the road can wear through the insulation enough that the copper wire can begin making contact with the frame. And that's certainly enough to cause what appears to be random tripping, even from something like the vibration of you walking across the floor.

Lastly, the cheap GFCIs that are often installed by RV manufacturers can fail either from voltage spikes (surges) on the incoming power, or simply age. And often that one GFCI powers the kitchen, bathroom and outside outlets. So when it trips the power goes off in a lot of places at once. Of course there can be real reasons for GFCI tripping, so you certainly don't want to bypass it or replace it with a non-GFCI outlet, but it's a pretty good troubleshooting technique to replace a suspect unit with a new one. But don't get the cheapest one in the big box store or you'll have the same problem.

The good news is that I'm now beginning to teach classes for RV technicians on troubleshooting techniques that I've been doing for 50 years, and my consumer seminars in 2018 were a big hit. So I'll be coming to a number of trade shows and rallies in 2019 to present 60 to 90 minute seminars on RV electricity basics for RV owners.

Welcome to the Montana ForumMike. I have been a follower of Mike for some time. Just referenced his page on the Neutral Bonding Plug a few days ago.
Sorry, not trying to go off topic just a heads up in that Mike knows his stuff.

[Jcavasso]

What make and model portable 50 amp RV surge protector to you recommend?

[Last2Die]

Originally Posted by rohrmann

The reason your portable EMS never saw the problem is because it only looks at the source for issues. They NEVER see issues on the load side. That is the one problem with portable EMS units, and the advantage of having a hardwired unit, as they will see everything, including problems with the shore cord and all those connections, including the shore cord connector on the rig and those of the cable at both ends. The red and black positions do not matter, and it would be better leaving them backwards so the two hot legs do not have to be twisted to make them connected to the same color positions. No need to add stress to the wire or insulation.

The new Surge Guard 34950 looks at both the supply and load side, didn't know that when I bought but a pleasant surprise. CW has them on sale for 247.00. just picked one up