Electric surges and other 'mysteries'

[paty]

The past few days I kept hearing a klunking sound and finally traced it to the refrigerator and the noise was coming from the large fuse that is by the frig light inside the frig.
The 'check' light on the panel above the frig would come on (I'm on shore power) and after removing the aforementioned fuse the check light is off.

Another issue is: today the stereo/DVD player and TV went off and on while I was trying to watch a movie using a DVD. I shut off both the TV and Stereo and then restarted and so far no further problems. (fingers crossed).
I constantly worry about electrical issues since living in my RV full time.
I also noticed the overhead lights in the living area brightened and dimmed when I heard the klunking sound.
I would think if it was electrical surges strong enough to cause the TV and DVD player to go off and on that the microwave clock/timer and electric clock in the bedroom would be affected and have to be reset, but that is not the issue in this case.
I looked at the fuse and the fuse wire is intact so fuse is not blown. Total mystery as to why removing it would reset the frig.
Also...should I be concerned with the brightening of the lights when the convertor box fan comes on?
Hope this all makes sense and someone can give me some answers or thoughts on the above occurrences.

[RJay]

The brightening and dimming of your lights is a symptom of an open neutral. If you don't have a Progressive Industries surge protector I would suggest you get one. You should notify the park where your staying an tell them what your experiencing so they can check the electrical pedestal. You need to check your neutral connections from the power cord to the main panel and beyond if necessary. Do you have the same symptoms when your generator is running?

[paty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJay The brightening and dimming of your lights is a symptom of an open neutral. If you don't have a Progressive Industries surge protector I would suggest you get one. You should notify the park where your staying an tell them what your experiencing so they can check the electrical pedestal. You need to check your neutral connections from the power cord to the main panel and beyond if necessary. Do you have the same symptoms when your generator is running?

Not in a park, living on a horse ranch...no generator.(wish I'd had one when we lost power for 24 hours and it was freezing).
I have surge protectors all over the 5'er..not Progressive Idustries tho'. Neutral connections? clueless here. Is that something I can do, or should I call an electrician?

[paty]

went online...obviously not a mere surge protector and needs to be wired between shore power and output to power switch...and pricey...

Ok about the open neutral.......?

[paty]

Not that it all makes much sense, but the electrical outage was due to the power box a former RV repairman put in (30amp) so I could park my 5'er where it is on the property. All the wires had..darn what is the term the first guy used for what he saw?.....anyway the wires had gotten hot obviously and were cooked. On site tenant who works as an electrician got all new parts and commented that the former work was poor/jerry-rigged.

So if I put in the P.I. surge protector it would just keep shutting off power to the 5'er until the open neutral/s were corrected. Correct, unless I used the bypass switch...am I to understand that if I used the switch I'd still get the P.I. unit's protection?

I went to:Open Neutral for info. So I should have him notified and check the Neutral Buss in the box???

[paty]

Batteries not up to snuff and making the convertor work harder to charge? Checked the water levels...did a hydrometer check awhile back. I'll look for readings I got then.

This was back in October: I tested the two batteries and the reading came up in each cell as between 1225 and 1250, also read Fair

Interstates 4 years old.

Sorry, I know I'm throwing out a lot of stuff/thoughts here, just trying to get a jist of what is going on and if I should consider more than one issue as cause of problems.

[MSHappyCampers]

Another vote here for the Progressive Industries. I would get the HW-50C with the remote indicator. Yep, it is pricey, but much cheaper that replacing all your appliances due to a bad CG electrical hookup! It is my understanding that the bypass switch lets you overide the low and high voltage sensing, but still gives surge protection. You might want to call the factory and question them on this. The portable model is less expensive but there's always the risk that someone will relieve you of it while you are away from your site! Good luck!

[hometool]

im going to throw something diffrent out on my dominic refer check light only comes on if it is trying to run on propane and there is a problem with the flame as in no flame due to no gas in tank or valve closed. when the fridge is trying to run on propane you can hear the gas solinoid valves open and close it is a thunking sound. most lighting in an rv is 12v so not botherd directly buy ground isues. i would be looking at batteries and converter/charger lee

[paty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hometool im going to throw something diffrent out on my dominic refer check light only comes on if it is trying to run on propane and there is a problem with the flame as in no flame due to no gas in tank or valve closed. when the fridge is trying to run on propane you can hear the gas solinoid valves open and close it is a thunking sound. most lighting in an rv is 12v so not botherd directly buy ground isues. i would be looking at batteries and converter/charger lee

I don't run the 'fridge on propane ever. (at least at this point)
I'm going to have the electrican over sometime today, and yes, I'm going to test batteries, I think they may be not up to snuff and forcing the convertor/fan to work harder to charge.
Most of the time the issues I've mentioned above occur in or near evening, so the batteries may be pushed to their limit. (just a guess)

[paty]

Had electrician double check new circuit panels put in outside and electrical recepticals inside. Seemed to be no problem, and after reviewing each occurance I came to believe it was the batteries and checked them and they had grown weak, replaced them (ouch $$) and problem/s solved!!
I am going to check them regularly and 'baby' them to make them last as long as possible.
Just wanted to post in case someone else had a similar problem and would know how mine was resolved.

[1stCougar]

Ok if I buy Progressive Industries HW50C and
I go to a campground with only 30amp service
will I get power into the trailer.

[RJay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by larcougar Ok if I buy Progressive Industries HW50C and I go to a campground with only 30amp service will I get power into the trailer.

Yes, you will have power just as you normally do.

[RJay]

Paty,
The problem of you light going bright and dim was probably corrected when the electrician rewired whatever he found to be damaged.

If I remember correctly the bypass on the P.I. Surge Protector only bypasses the surge element of the device. The device is still capable of sensing wiring problems(open neutrals and cross wiring) and high and low voltages.

It's also possible your batteries were not being charged because of the wire damage.

[paty]

I waited to see if the batteries would be recharged and the readings via the hydrometer were pitiful..time to lay the old batteries to 'rest' and as I said purchased new ones and now not even the convertor fan is coming off and on as it had started doing at the beginning of this 'saga'..whereas before when I initially got the 5'er I never heard the convertor fan. So back to peace and quiet again.
Thank you all for the informative input.