Community Forums

Mjoseph69 · 06-14-2019, 05:04 PM

ok long story short I went to work came home no power a breaker was thrown i tried resetting it to no avail, would not reset, after a day of researching my gfci was tripped and wouldnt reset, bought a new one and replaced it now the Breaker will reset & the rv lights in the cabin are back on,but the Gfci wont reset and i have no power to any outlet but 2 in the rv( on another circuit) i have power going to the GFCI outlet, i check with a voltalert so there is Power to it but it wont reset, any ideas? im at a loss and the only mobile rv repair guy around is so booked up he cant get out to me for at least a month or more and ive tried electricians, and they have no idea whats going on maybe they just dont know or want to mess with rvs

jacwjames · 06-14-2019, 05:35 PM

Disconnect the wires feeding from the GFCI to other outlets and see if you can reset the GFCI.

If GFCI resets your problem is down stream.

If there is only on set of wires feeding from the GFCI then the rest of the outlets are daisy chained. Go to the last outlet and disconnect, then try and reset the GFCI, if it trips then it is in between the last outlet and the GFCI.

Continue with this methodology until you zero in on the problem.

I had a circuit in the house that did the same thing and I followed the above methodolgy and finally pinpointed the problem to a exterior security light, the last fixture in the circuit.

153stars · 06-14-2019, 06:41 PM

Don't forget to unplug any hidden plugs in cabinets, like cooktop m microwave ect to eliminate those first. We found a lot of abandoned TV stuff hidden and some still plugged in to 120v in my friends coach ,troubleshooting no OTA signal.

RVThere · 06-14-2019, 06:55 PM

Make sure you're plugged into shorepower or have the generator running.

I just replaced a GFI for similar reasons. Tripped and would not reset. Found out that I needed full power to reset, not inverter power.

153stars · 06-14-2019, 07:04 PM

Don't forget to unplug any hidden plugs in cabinets, like cooktop m microwave ect to eliminate those first. We found a lot of abandoned TV stuff hidden and some still plugged in to 120v in my friends coach ,troubleshooting no OTA signal.
Also , always go back to last work performed at or near problems that popped up.
Something popped that breaker now wont let GFCI latch. I'm thinking it's plugged in still is 75% unless work done at or near outlets or wires recently.
If you are unable to to. Maybe you ask around about a good handyman that has a bit of elect. knowledge , a string of outlets isn't rocket science. If you can identify the outlets on the string, an idea where the wires run ahead of time . Instead of a mystery to take on it would easier to get help and job accomplished quickly. At that time i would replace and outlets that are not solid. I like the ones you put straight wire in and tighten down , no bending around screws. The ones with a hole for wire even better, like the ones probably on new GFCI.

oscarvan · 06-14-2019, 08:41 PM

Much of the above. Unplug everything on the circuit. See if it resets.

If not, remove the "load" wire from the outlet see it it resets. If not, bad GFI. If it does it's doing it's job and somewhere there's a ground fault....

If it does, work your way down the line.

They do go bad..... But sometimes they're working.

Jim_HiTek · 06-14-2019, 11:09 PM

Had a similar problem that turned out to be the patio outlet. Those get wet because they're outside and morning dew can cause a trip, the contacts can corrode though and wires drop off causing weird kinds of shorts...etc., etc.. With all the rain most of the country has been having lately, this is the first thing I thought of when reading the original post.

Another time, had a similar problem and it turned out to be a junction box that branched off to two circuits hidden behind a wall somewhere bordering the bathroom. Had to come up with a new wiring scheme that got power to every socket on the dead side of the string via a different path.

So good luck in your search, be persistent and oscarvan's advice is strong.

Mjoseph69 · 06-15-2019, 12:39 AM

Everything is unplugged, I have the shore power plugged in, i live in my rvf ull time, and it's been aggravating I have power to the GFCI, I'm thinking it may be around the water heater it's on the same circuit, directly under the GFCI (which really doesn't mean anything) but I had a small leak develop about a wk before it happened, but no idea how to check that, but thanks for the great tips I'll start that first thing in the morning and see what I can find, it's an older rig an 88 southwind, but everything up until this has worked,fine thanks again

153stars · 06-15-2019, 12:58 AM

If the water heaters on that circuit it's 120v power off for test, for sure. I'm sure you switched to gas by now .

Mjoseph69 · 06-15-2019, 01:24 AM

No unfortunately the propane tank is the only thing that has never worked, how do I turn the water heater off? I've looked and can't find anything that looks like a switch for it

cavie · 06-15-2019, 01:55 AM

1ST, the WH is not on the GFI circuit. Or at least it is not supposed to be. The GFI circuit protects outlets installed with in 6 feet of a water source. Any thing in the kitchen. Possibly the dinette also. Bathroom (should be the GFI outlet location.) outside.

You can not plug into another GFI circuit. 2 GFI'S in series don't play nice MOST OF THE TIME. GFI outlet must have power in order to reset. Remove the LOAD side wires from the GFI and reset. Line side in must have power. Outlets will be daisy chained so look at the locations and think going 1, 2, 3 etc.

Voltalert is a handy tool but not good for trouble shooting. It only tells you the voltage is present not if it is correct wiring. You need a volt meter. $6.00 at Harbor Fright.

GFI outlets have a line side and a Load side and must be the black and white wires must match. You mentioned a leak. Check to see if and water entered any device wired to the GFI circuit.

Mjoseph69 · 06-15-2019, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cavie

1ST, the WH is not on the GFI circuit. Or at least it is not supposed to be. The GFI circuit protects outlets installed with in 6 feet of a water source. Any thing in the kitchen. Possibly the dinette also. Bathroom (should be the GFI outlet location.) outside.

You can not plug into another GFI circuit. 2 GFI'S in series don't play nice MOST OF THE TIME. GFI outlet must have power in order to reset. Remove the LOAD side wires from the GFI and reset. Line side in must have power. Outlets will be daisy chained so look at the locations and think going 1, 2, 3 etc.

Voltalert is a handy tool but not good for trouble shooting. It only tells you the voltage is present not if it is correct wiring. You need a volt meter. $6.00 at Harbor Fright.

GFI outlets have a line side and a Load side and must be the black and white wires must match. You mentioned a leak. Check to see if and water entered any device wired to the GFI circuit.

I only have one GFI on that line it's the one I replaced, and since I lost all power on that circuit I've had no hot water, I have a volt meter I was using the voltalert to make sure I had power coming in, and not sure if any water has entered any of the devices as it was mainly in the floor. When the old GFI went out I had no cabin lights at all and now that the new one is in place I have cabin lights I just don't understand, I mean I know a little about electricity but not quite enough. What am I looking for when I check other outlets they all seemed fine when I took them out I mean no burn marks all wires connected etc.

cavie · 06-15-2019, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mjoseph69

No unfortunately the propane tank is the only thing that has never worked, how do I turn the water heater off? I've looked and can't find anything that looks like a switch for it

I'm sure there is a switch somewhere with a red light on it. Bat as a ;ast resort you can turn off the circuit breaker.

Jim_HiTek · 06-15-2019, 08:28 AM

My '94 didn't have a built in 120 volt water heater element so can't help with routing of yours in your '88 but I did draw a diagram of the electrical wiring that was in my '94.

https://i2.wp.com/chaos.goblinbox.co...8/PB100098.jpg

Maybe the drawing will give you some ideas of how your wiring might be. Give some insight about how to go about surrounding the issue. What I did was build a male to male electrical cord plugged into an extension cord that went down to the shore power 20 amp outlet. Then with a trouble light, I would plug it into outlets, go around and verify which outlets were connected. Also used a digital meter. This was with the 30 amp shore power cord disconnected and all CBs OFF. Also wrapped the head of the shore power cord just in case, since it could be back fed accidentally.

Once I had a good idea of what circuit went where, I was able to pinpoint the bad junction. Like I said, it turned out to be in a wall and rather than tear out said wall, I just found a branch I could adapt.

Here's the article: Electrical Issues - 120 volt