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Old 06-12-2012, 02:44 PM   #1
ltoews
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Breaker Panel - Incorrectly Labeled

We discovered today when we had a service technician out for our water heater that two of the breakers were incorrectly labeled. These were incorrectly labeled on the inside of the panel access door at the factory. The breaker for the water heater was actually labeled "kitchen" and the breaker for the kitchen GFCI was labeled "water heater". So BEWARE, this could potentially cause a problem if you think you have turned off the power to something and it is still hot.

We plan to go through every outlet, switch and light in our coach and make sure we know which breaker controls each circuit.
 
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Old 06-12-2012, 03:47 PM   #2
8.1al
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A good example why you should always check and make sure the power is really off
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Old 06-13-2012, 02:49 AM   #3
1retired06
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Glad you caught it! Working with AC is always serious business.
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Old 06-13-2012, 04:48 AM   #4
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Thanks for the info, one more thing to check.
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Old 06-13-2012, 06:26 AM   #5
dieselguy
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Accurate or not ... at least yours was labeled I haven't tried ultraviolet light on mine yet to check for invisible ink
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Old 06-13-2012, 07:18 AM   #6
Ozz
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Get one of these, Lowes has them



Non-contact voltage detector, always try on a known live circuit forst: Lit lamp..
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Old 06-13-2012, 07:42 AM   #7
Art-n-Marge
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Yup, heard about this possibility and checked the rig some time ago. It came in handy when I had a dual 15/20amp circuit breaker fail.

It kinda takes away from the "turnkey" mentality we expect when we buy a new RV, but in the RV industry, "Made in America" doesn't have the same feel as many other industries. There are many documented inexcusable errors we should not be seeing. A forum such as this sure provides the awareness to check those things we take for granted (electrical connections, disconnect switches, labels, levers and handles, loose U-bolts and the list goes on and on). Plus over time the nature of an RV being bounced all over the place means that things loosen or change which means we must constantly check things, even things that should be correct out of the factory.
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Old 06-15-2012, 03:29 AM   #8
richfaa
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Yes.It is wise to check everything, It is yet another example of poor workmanship and poor quality control. The little stupid things that over shadow a otherwise very good product. Pull the panels that you can and check the wiring for "rats nest" a few tie wraps can prevent grief down the road.
Note..our 2013 is MUCH better than the 06 3400.We actually see some bundling and tie wraps.
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Old 06-15-2012, 04:15 AM   #9
NCFischers
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I've been an electrical contractor for longer that I care to admit. ALWAYS check any wiring before you work on it. Don't assume anything or you can get hurt. The technican should have tested the circuit before working on it. The tester that Ozz showed you is an invaluable tool. It won't tell you that you have 120 volts but it will tell you if there is any voltage there. If I walk away from a wire to get something, I'll test it when I get back. As for labeling, I'm willing to bet that of all the house panels I've worked on over the years, 80% were incorrectly labled to some extent.
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Old 06-15-2012, 07:28 AM   #10
Art-n-Marge
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Wow, Jim. At first 80% seemed pretty high and you would know and should be proud of the years doing so. On the other hand, I have checked my house circuits in every home I've rented or lived in and while the labeling was mostly good I found the labels to be minimal and info a little misleading. For example, there will be 3 circuits labeled "lights" or "outlets" but no indication of which lights in which rooms requiring me to shut them all out then measure for voltage. I'm guessing that this would count toward improper labeling. In one case it was so bad, I buzzed things out and came up with a more descriptive label. This took forever (it was a big house).

I guess all this points to the fact to always check the voltage which is what I've been doing for quite some time and I'm not an electrician, but I have been "touched" by live AC wire only once in my life and don't like that feeling. Never again so I use a VOM, but that device looks interesting and could save lots of time when doing this.
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