GFCI Circuit

[Barditch]

Have a 2004 HR Scepter 40 DST (bath & 1/2). About a year ago had a problem with the button popping on the outlet located on the side of the rear lavatory cabinet. This controls all the AC outlets on the passenger side of the coach including the TV's and rec's. Dead in the water. Replaced GFIC with standard outlet to get going. Tried everything when I got home and ended-up putting back the original outlet and all's fine till this trip and the same old thing. Might work for one minute or five hours. Ready to put the standard outlet back in and forget about all the 'safety' features of the GFIC. Any ideas ?

[bilb2765]

GFCI, Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt. Could be a deadly mistake to not use one.
Do you have any non used circuits on your breaker box. If so, run a separate supply to the TV area. If the GFCI keeps failing, it could be telling you something. Might check resistance on lines with ALL power disconnected. Separate each outlet for best results.

[RustyTools]

Did you mean you put the actual GFI outlet back in, or replace with another GFI? They can go bad all by themselves, and sometimes trip for no real reason.

[wa8yxm]

One of the more popular electrical failures.

There are many causes of GFCI tripping, but here is the trouble shooting chart

First: Unplug everything that is plugged into a down-line outlet and to the GFCI itself, then if it holds, one at a time replace power cords.. This includes the fridge if they GFCIed it.

Next, if it still trips with everythign off, Open the outside (Patio) outlet and see if it has gotten wet inside,, Be sure to re-seal well when you recover.

After that we go on a loose wire hunt.

[Mike Canter]

I say that GFIC breakers/outlets do not just go bad that often. These are the same that are used in our houses and how many of those go bad. I have never seen one go bad. If it is tripping then there is a valid reason and bypassing it is not a good idea. The biggest cause for them tripping is water in an outlet because everything else is insulated wire. Normally an outlet on the outside of the motorhome. I would recommend using high pressure air and blowing out all the outlets in the circuit especially any outside or in the basement. Temperature change can produce enough condensation in an outlet to trip it.

[RustyTools]

Well, I say they do. In fact, if I had the room to keep them around I'd show you several that HAVE gone bad, all by themselves. Inside walls, no water leaks.

I agree that it's often another 'downstream' issue causing the problem. But not always.

[mdc99]

Had a similar problem one time. In my case the culprit ended up being one little loose strand of a multi-strand wire that did not make it inside the wire nut in one of the junction boxes. Sometimes it would make contact with something and trip the GFI. Usually the GFI is the first outlet in the chain and everything down line is daisy chained through the GFI. What helped me track it down was to start at the GFI and disconnect the down line. If the GFI doesn't trip once the down line is disconnected you know that the problem is probably down line. I finally found the problem by reconnecting a section of the down line at a time till I finally was able to determine the stretch that was tripping it. Once I was able to narrow it down to a stretch it was just a matter of closely looking for any possible problem.

[RodgerS]

I agree that replacing it with a standard outlet was a bad idea. You said you had a problem with the button popping out. Is that how you would respond if your propane detector went of...that there must be something wrong with the propane detector? Maybe, but you start out with the assumption that they are reporting a problem.

"A GFCI is a valuable safeguard to your own personal safety as well as to your property. The National Electrical Code has required the use of GFCI in most outdoor receptacles since 1973, bathroom circuits since 1975, garage outlets since 1978 and kitchen receptacles since 1987. In addition, the use of GFCI receptacles in crawl spaces and unfinished basements has been required since 1990. This equipment, when installed and maintained correctly, can help prevent fatal jury and many electrical fires...it is estimated that approximately 300 people are electrocuted in their homes each year. Many thousands more are burned and receive severe electrical shocks. The installation of GFCI devices could help prevent a large portion of these fatalities and injuries...
...A GFCI constantly monitors the electrical current passing through a circuit. If the amount of current passing into the circuit is different from the current being returned to the circuit, it indicates a ground fault and the GFCI shuts off electrical current to the circuit. A ground fault is when an electrical current is attempting to return to the ground through a source other than the wiring/circuit. An example of this would be a loose wire in a light fixture. The current could be passing through the fixture and when you touch the fixture and a grounded metal object at the same time, the current will flow through you. This could result in a fatal shock, which the GFCI is designed to prevent."
Read more : What Is a GFCI? | eHow

[Mike Canter]

I think it is amazing that when a safety circuit such as a circuit breaker pops or a GFCI pops the first thing that people say is that it is a faulty breaker or GFCI. We would sure have a lot of plane crashes if pilots thought every warning was a faulty circuit or sensor. It all the apartments, houses, and all my motorhomes I have never had a faulty GFCI it has always popped for a valid reason and you just have to be able to figure out why.

[RustyTools]

Mike - you might want to google 'gfci failures', or similar. Just because it never happened to you doesn't mean it never happens.

[roddie]

Had that problem a couple of years back . Took me 2 days to trace it out but turned out to be one elements in the fridge with an internal ground fault. May sound strange but a fridge in these units does run on electric heat element. Just a suggestion . May or may not be your problem

[Mike Canter]

Not going to say a GFCI never fails. What I am saying is that it is not common and you should assume the it popped because of a valid problem it sensed and troubleshoot that first.

[Barditch]

Thanks guys for your replies and info. FYI, I'm a retired avionics tech and have tried everything mentioned and agree that it is probably a water problem. Come to think of it, it's only in very humid (south Texas) and rainy conditions that the problem occurs. Also, does anybody remember a PSM-6 ? Thanks, Barditch

[Akcontender]

I had the same problem with mine. It was the refrigerator recall unit installed to keep the fridge from overheating and starting a fire. It tripped the breaker that controls everything on the opposite
side of the coach.