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04-13-2019, 07:28 AM
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#1
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 89
M.O.C. #21513
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electrical help
I have an electrical problem that i cant solve. I have my camper hooked up to a 30 amp circuit at my house. it's been working fine for about 3 weeks, a few days ago i noticed there was no power in the camper upon my investigation i found that the breaker at the house had tripped, every time i reset the breaker it immediately trips. I cant figure out why. My suspicion is that it is in the camper somewhere between the shore line receptacle and the main breaker panel.
Here's what i have done so far:
Tried a new cord from house to camper, still tripped.
turned off main breaker in camper, still tripped.
Checked the 30 amp plug, working fine.
Pulled out the shore line receptacle at the camper did a visual inspection and it looks fine.
Any thoughts?
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Carl & Sandy
2005 keystone Montana 5th wheel 2955RL
2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax
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04-13-2019, 07:50 AM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Arlington
Posts: 1,523
M.O.C. #18081
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Check another dog bone adapter?
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SOB
2015 Volvo VNL780 D13, iShift, 32k ET air hitch, Idle Free LiFePO4 APU
16.8KWhr LiFePO4, 2.52 kw solar, 10kva Victron split phase
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04-13-2019, 07:55 AM
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#3
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Bastrop
Posts: 2,892
M.O.C. #20753
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breakers can also age and trip easier if they have tripped a number of times.
Have you turned everything off in the camper before plugging it back in?
Turn off key in convenience center to isolate converter from batteries.
Start with knowing you have no load and slowly turn things on.
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Mocha, one-eyed toothless, hurricane survivor, Pirate dog
2019 20th Anniversary Edition 3701LK
B&W 20K for Ford OEM Puck
2018 Ford F-350 Lariat CCLB PSD DRW KJ5CQH
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04-13-2019, 08:11 AM
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#4
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 89
M.O.C. #21513
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I've turned off all breakers, including main breakers, turned battery off. Breaker is only 2 years old and has never tripped until now.
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Carl & Sandy
2005 keystone Montana 5th wheel 2955RL
2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax
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04-13-2019, 09:14 AM
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#5
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Arlington
Posts: 1,523
M.O.C. #18081
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Based upon your original post the issue is between your feed and the coach’s main breaker. The main inside the 5er is off and the feed breaker still trips. If you have an adapter in the line since you feeding with only 30A that is the place I would start by swapping or removing if you have 50A available. If you have visibly inspected the 5er 50A recep then you are into real troubleshooting area. You can check resistance to ground on both hot legs with all power sources removed. This will confirm wire integrity.
Don’t rule out the 30A breaker because it’s only 2 years old. I have seen failures with less age. Also on the rear of the 50A reception check carefully that there are no stray strands of wire outside of the connections or small slices in the wire insulation where stripped.
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04-13-2019, 09:17 AM
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#6
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: McKinney
Posts: 7,361
M.O.C. #6433
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I would start with nothing but the dogbone adapter plugged into your 30 amp outlet. And see if the breaker trips.
Then plug your power cord into the adapter with the trailer end unplugged. And see if the breaker trips.
Then, with all trailer breakers off, connect the power cord to the trailer and see if the breaker trips.
That should at least tell whether the adapter or cord is bad. Then it is time to move on to the trailer.
Is the 30 amp breaker a GFCI breaker?
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Bill & Patricia
Riley, our Golden
2007 3075RL (recently sold, currently without)
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04-13-2019, 09:33 AM
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#7
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 89
M.O.C. #21513
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at first i thought maybe it was the 30 amp recep so i replaced it. The breaker does not trip when i unplug the cord from the 5er.
I used my 50 amp cord with the dog bone (brand new) on the shore end and it still tripped.
I just pulled out the breaker panel and there is no evident signs of burned wires or shredded wires.
Whats the odds of the 50 amp recep on the 5er being bad?
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Carl & Sandy
2005 keystone Montana 5th wheel 2955RL
2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax
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04-13-2019, 10:11 AM
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#8
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Trinidad, TX
Posts: 506
M.O.C. #20746
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Maybe the receptical on the 5th wheel that is used by the black power cord has a loose wire or is bad.
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2018 Ram 3500 Laramie Longhorn 4X4 Dually Cummins Aisin CC LB / B&W Companion hitch
50 Gallon Transfer Flow in bed tank w/ Trax 3
2018 Montana 3121RL
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04-13-2019, 10:17 AM
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#9
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Montana Master
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Mesa az
Posts: 3,038
M.O.C. #5651
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I haven't had to do it, but when people have the recep. at an angle and need to rotate it so the cord hangs straight down, they remove the screws and just rotate it. So I would assume you could maybe have a look at the wire connections from the inside a little bit that way.
Next thing I would try is find the wires coming into the fuse panel and disconnect them there. Then see if the breaker trips. If not, must be something bad in the panel?????
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Tom and Gail
2013 Mountaineer 362
2012 Silverado 2500
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04-13-2019, 01:18 PM
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#10
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Bee Branch
Posts: 2,620
M.O.C. #20693
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Never underestimate the power of a mouse to chew thru you wiring under the trailer. Like maybe the main feed wire!?
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James & Irene Wilson
Bee Branch, AR.
2017 Ram 1 ton diesel duallyCrew Cab/Long Bed
2018 Montana High Country 381TH Garage Full of Toys
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04-13-2019, 03:45 PM
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#11
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 89
M.O.C. #21513
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I'm really hopping its not the main feed wire. I just ordered recep for the 5er. Keeping my fingers crossed that that's what it is.
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Carl & Sandy
2005 keystone Montana 5th wheel 2955RL
2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax
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04-13-2019, 03:54 PM
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#12
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Arlington
Posts: 1,523
M.O.C. #18081
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Did you already rule out the dog bone? I didn’t see that in your earlier posts. I am not saying it’s not something else but I am assuming you would have seen rodent evidence and you have mentioned that no visible damage to the 5 er recep.
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04-14-2019, 09:00 AM
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#13
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 89
M.O.C. #21513
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW Fireguy
Did you already rule out the dog bone? I didn’t see that in your earlier posts. I am not saying it’s not something else but I am assuming you would have seen rodent evidence and you have mentioned that no visible damage to the 5 er recep.
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i ruled out the dog bone. I switched it out with a brand new one and a different cord.
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Carl & Sandy
2005 keystone Montana 5th wheel 2955RL
2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax
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04-14-2019, 10:08 AM
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#14
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Box Elder
Posts: 4,774
M.O.C. #12947
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If you don’t already have a decent volt ohm meter, you should get one. With the trailer main breaker open and the shore cable disconnected from the trailer receptacle, and the meter set to ohms, you should be able to test the trailer main cable inside. You should get no continuity from either of the hot legs to the ground or neutral terminals. You can do this at either end, from the receptacle or in the trailer panel.
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04-14-2019, 10:16 AM
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#15
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Montana Master
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Mesa az
Posts: 3,038
M.O.C. #5651
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rohrmann, Good advice! I always have a Volt meter (unless I forget to pack it!)
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Tom and Gail
2013 Mountaineer 362
2012 Silverado 2500
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04-14-2019, 09:10 PM
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#16
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Islip Terrace
Posts: 405
M.O.C. #22165
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Is the 30 amp receptacle wired 120 or 240? It should be 120 as almost all rvs are only 120 volts. If its wired 240 you could be grounding a hot leg & tripping the breaker, just a thought.
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04-15-2019, 10:39 AM
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#17
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Moses Lake
Posts: 97
M.O.C. #23375
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I have read a post on here before that the connection where the 50amp cable plugs into the RV can have loose wires inside the recepital should be able to unplug and check the wires in that connection to see if it has a loose or wires touching inside the plug before it goes to the panel in the RV.
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Kurt & Kelly
2015 Ford 6.7 DRW
2017 381TH High Country
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04-15-2019, 07:50 PM
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#18
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 89
M.O.C. #21513
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Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and help. I have an update. I had an electrician over today and he spent about 5 hours working on it, although we haven't fixed it, we did isolated the problem. It appears that the main ground wire coming into the camper is "hot". When we disconnect that ground wire from the terminal everything works but the ground wire is still hot. Tomorrow i will be taking the underbelly off to look at the main wire going into the breaker panel.
__________________
Carl & Sandy
2005 keystone Montana 5th wheel 2955RL
2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax
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04-16-2019, 10:10 AM
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#19
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: westminster md
Posts: 2,328
M.O.C. #17894
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Sounds like the main feed wire from the back connection point to the panel box has been rubbed through somewhere along the way grounding it self out on the frame of the camper.
__________________
2018 Chevy 3500 LTZ Dually Diesel 4x4 CCLB
2011 Montana 3455 SA. 6 point level up. Disc brakes. Curt Q24 Hitch. 5 step glow steps
Progressive EMS. Valterra tank valves. Sailun G637 tires. ARP fridge control. All led lighting. Mor Ryde IS
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04-17-2019, 01:28 PM
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#20
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Established Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: austin
Posts: 27
M.O.C. #13656
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ccl
Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and help. I have an update. I had an electrician over today and he spent about 5 hours working on it, although we haven't fixed it, we did isolated the problem. It appears that the main ground wire coming into the camper is "hot". When we disconnect that ground wire from the terminal everything works but the ground wire is still hot. Tomorrow i will be taking the underbelly off to look at the main wire going into the breaker panel.
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just to clarify, "coming into the camper is "hot"." u mean into the camper breaker panel, but not on the power cord (from the house recepticle)
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