Community Forums

Monaco Wolfy · 12-03-2017, 10:43 PM

Today I unplugged from my 30amp service at home and moved the Windsor to a different spot about thirty feet away. I went into the house and came back to the rig and noticed a burning wire smell only at the kitchen area. Nothing was turned on, except the inverter. So I turned it off and went into the basement compartment expecting to see smoke or signs of a hot wire. Nothing. I turned on the exhaust fan and it took the smell away. I haven't dug into it yet, but wondering if anyone might have run into this on their rig? With the inverter turn off, no smell.

CountryB · 12-04-2017, 03:55 AM

I've seen several postings about burning/melting wire on the 120V side. The cause is that the wires become loose in the terminal strips, which increases the circuit resistance and heat.

Anywhere you have terminals that use "screw threads" (like the breaker panel) to secure the wires, you should check the tightness of those screws. Be sure the power is turned off before tightening anything.

Mike Tomas · 12-04-2017, 05:11 AM

PRO Tip: go buy yourself a box of #6, #8 & #10 "Internal Tooth Lock Washers". Remove screw(s) compleately put on the washer, tighten back down, and never worry about loose wires again.

YC1 · 12-04-2017, 05:23 AM

My inverter burned a wire off internally right at the connection on one of the circuit breakers that is on the side of it. I lost one leg of the inverter circuit. Prior to that I had been smelling the occasional telltale smell of burning electrics.

I have been working with electronics for almost 50 years so know the smell of something that is burning. I often could tell the type of component that failed by the smell.

wa8yxm · 12-04-2017, 05:26 AM

On my inverter (This is not true of all) the 120 volt connections are wire nut stranded wire to Romex, I've had two failures.

ON the outlets in the RV.. They used "Quick Box" (ALso known as Speed Box) outlets where the wires "punch down" like telephohe connectors, This can over heat easily under load,

Have fun tracking it down,

edge68474 · 12-04-2017, 05:26 AM

Thank you for that tip. On my list of to get supplies.

Monaco Wolfy · 12-04-2017, 08:19 AM

I love this site! Thanks for all the input. I'll be checking all the connections. The only thing that puzzles me is the smell is in the kitchen only and I had nothing on for a load. It only does this with the inverter on. No smells at the breaker boxes in the rear. I'll be taking a closer look at the inverter and connections today. Thank you all again for the input.

96 Wideglide · 12-04-2017, 10:26 AM

May want to have a look inside your transfer switch as well.

cruzbill · 12-04-2017, 10:47 AM

You've already isolated the smell to a circuit powered by the inverter so that should help-Microwave? They take a bit of power for the clock even when off. Might have to dig behind a cabinet panel to find the power cord for the micro. We have a 2 burner cooktop that has 120v ignition, or one of the AC receptacles (speed box, hate those!). Kitchen slide out wire/plumbing loom flexes when moved, so might check there too.

Outbound · 12-04-2017, 01:24 PM

I would check wiring at the new 30 amp post you plugged into for correct wire size and tight connections, be careful you could damage your inverter, not a cheap fix.

YC1 · 12-04-2017, 03:28 PM

Do you have a coffee pot or other device plugged in? I toasted our coffee make last month.

This was the morning I replaced the $1000 ECM module and then drove 40 miles. I smelled burning and thought I had even more troubles. Glad it was just the coffee pot but that created a whole different emergency.

windsorbill · 12-04-2017, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YC1

Do you have a coffee pot or other device plugged in? I toasted our coffee make last month.

This was the morning I replaced the $1000 ECM module and then drove 40 miles. I smelled burning and thought I had even more troubles. Glad it was just the coffee pot but that created a whole different emergency.

No coffee! That is an emergency in itself.

nehog · 12-05-2017, 05:31 PM

Just a general comment... In a prior life before I became a computer geek and a university professor I was an EE.

Any time you smell "hot wires" or any electrical smell, it is time to take serious action. If this happens, you should remain in the area until you 100% certain you know the source of the odor. Generally I recommend removing all power if necessary.

Story: some years ago a local coffee shop closed as usual about 4 PM. The staff noticed a 'hot odor' or smell that they could not locate. Eventually they decided to just go home. About 9 PM a person walking down the sidewalk in front noticed flames, walked across the street and reported it to the police department. Much of the interior of the place was destroyed (provided me with a valuable lesson how heat rises--plastics at about 4 ft and above were melted, higher things melted much more. Stuff at floor level was undamaged. The exact cause of the fire was never determined due to fire damage.

Lesson: don't ignore that smell--it can be very serious.

flamebuster · 12-05-2017, 06:30 PM

Wiring circuits will supply several outlets per circuit. The ones in the kitchen may be the first or middle outlet in that circuit and the load could be on a distant outlet on the same circuit.. Check the outlets in the kitchen even if they have nothing plugged into them.. As stated earlier they are fairly cheap outlets and corrosion may finally affected them...