no power to bedroom - Montana Owners Club

gkbutler · 04-29-2009, 01:10 PM

I have a problem that I haven't seen on here . . . ever.

We lost power to our bedroom last night. Interesting thing is, we also lost power to the microwave oven. In our rig, they both share a tandem breaker. I replaced the breaker, but it didn't solve anything. I replaced the GFCI in the bathroom and that fixed the problem for about 20 minutes. The GFCI tripped and no power again. I am at a total loss. Any suggestions???

KathyandDave · 04-29-2009, 01:36 PM

Did you try unplugging the microwave to see if the breaker would stay closed? Failing that, you may want to test the receptacles with a basic LED-type polarity/grounding tester to see if any wires are loose - either disconnected or shorted. There are electricians on here that will have more sophisticated trouble-shooting, but that's where I would start.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 04-29-2009, 03:07 PM

If you have been in really wet weather or washed your unit lately, you might check the outside outlets for wetness. Also, under the slides people have found water in the electric boxes/junctions down there, have to open them up to have a lookiesee. (turn off power first!!!)

Or, double check the pole, you might have half the power from the pole. Al always tells me, start at one end of the service and work to the other.

That is all the wife of the electrician can offer, and he is sleepin!

gkbutler · 04-30-2009, 02:44 AM

Thanks Dave and Carol.

I have checked the outlets with my volt meter. In the bedroom we don't have any power at all in any of the outlets, and I can't get the meter to register at the breaker. The microwave will be next.

Carol, I can tell you are the wife of an electrician. The standard disclaimer, "turn off power first", is always the best advice and something I always do. I will check underside although the outside outlet is attached to the kitchen circuit. There is a problem with that outlet, everytime we turn on the outside awning lights, the GFCI in the kitchen trips. I do know that we don't have a problem with the circuit being wet, cause we haven't had any significant rain since October of last year. We have had a few drops now and then, but nothing like what is going on up north.

Thanks again for the advice. Going to start at on end of the bedroom and check each outlet to see what is going on.

NCFischers · 04-30-2009, 04:37 AM

WITH THE POWER OFF--take the cover off the distribution panel and tighten every electrical connection on circuit breakers and neutral and ground bars.

gkbutler · 04-30-2009, 06:28 AM

New problem. I have power to the kitchen, and living room. The washer and AC does not register on the volt meter. Could I have a bad buss bar?

Mrs. CountryGuy · 04-30-2009, 07:51 AM

Patty and Dick had trouble that sounds similar, Al had them start at the pole, it was the pole, NOT thier Big Sky. Dick did not have a tester, so Al had him plug into another pole nearby. Problem solved.

That is the extent of my "wife of the electrician" advice.

Champ_49 · 04-30-2009, 11:59 AM

I posted a note on here about the microwave problem, but it did not affect the bedroom. Look around your water supply where all the water lines lead to the outlet in the trailer. Make sure there is no minor water leaks that may be dripping water into the hoses that house that electrical wiring. I had this happpen and was getting the same result as you. It would work for as short time than trip the breaker. I found water had dripped into the electricl hose and filled it up with water, which in turn shorted the microwave out. I ended up tearing that hose completely out and cleaning then and replaced the the junction box under kitchen slideout as the old one was filled with corrosion. After I did all this I siliconed the open ends of the tubes so eliminate that from happening again.

gkbutler · 05-01-2009, 01:15 AM

I think we found the problem. I asked one of the electricians at work and he said that it sounded like we had lost a phase on the pole. We checked the pole and found out that it was okay. I came in and checked my 50 amp main breaker and found that I only am running one phase. Now all I have to do is determine if the breaker has gone bad or if I have a bad wire.

Thanks for all of the input.

bncinwv · 05-01-2009, 02:24 AM

Or a dirty or loose connection at the pedestal. Make sure the plugs are bright and shiny (sandpaper will do the trick). The park can also check to make sure the connections are good and tight at the pedestal, they do wear out (loosen) over time. Hope you solve the problem and keep us informed. I have had similar problems int he past, one thing I have learned is to plug in the 30 amp cord instead of the 50 and that will usually show pedestal problems instantly.
Bingo

NCFischers · 05-01-2009, 07:48 AM

Gary,
Take your meter and check voltage on both sides of the 50 amp breaker. Check each side to the neutral and you should get 120 +- volts. Then check both poles and you should get 240 +- volts. Check both the input and output side. This will tell you if the problem is before or after the circuit breaker.

gkbutler · 05-02-2009, 02:43 AM

I think I have finally narrowed the problem to the female end of my cord. I replaced the 50 amp breaker and got 120 volts on each leg. About 20 minutes later I noticed the microwave was off again. So I checked the 50 amp again. On one side I was getting about 25volts the other side was 120. I went outside and checked the pedestal. 120 on both legs. So I have narrowed it down to the cord or the plug connection for the trailer. Checking the cord, I discovered that I am only drawing from one leg. Now a trip to the nearest CW to get a female end of the cord.

Hopefully that will fix the problem. Will keep you all posted.

Thanks for all of the input. It has been a great help.

jimcol · 05-03-2009, 04:49 PM

Gary, You may not need a new female end. That plug comes apart by loosening the three screws on the face of the plug and the two screws that hold the cord in the plug. Push the cord forward and it will expose the cord leads terminated on the plug. Make sure all are in their proper place and that the lugs are tightened. Seems they don't always stay tight in the plug. Good luck, Jim C.

gkbutler · 05-04-2009, 02:01 AM

Well, after all of the repairs I made, I found out yesterday that the post has a short somewhere. I replaced the plug going into the trailer, and the female plug at the end of the cord, and lo and behold, one leg of the post has a short. I switched to 30 amp so that my water heater and washer and dryer work, but still have a problem with the bedroom. Apparently, I have a broken wire or a short somewhere between the breaker and the outlet because I am not drawing any current at all to the bedroom. There is current flowing from the breaker.

Getting more aggravated as time goes on.

The saga continues...

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