Bad 50amp causing battery problems

[JazzZen]

I apparently have a bad 50 amp circuit at my current park. I suspect only 1 leg is working. The 30 amp doesn't work at all. I was willing to cope with it until I realized that I was losing battery power. The park is looking for someone to fix it. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to ensure that I don't drain my house battery? (Last time that happened, I had to replace them.)
If I have to wait much longer, I'll insist on another site, but would rather not move if they can get it fixed.
TIA for your ideas!

[EngineerMike]

Your charger is probably wired off the one inoperative leg that also feeds the 30A plug. IIWMI'd move. If the problem is w/the transformer you will be having issues for a while.

If it is just a bad termination in the pedestal, they might get it fixed quickly but if it is aluminum wire w/bad contact out & they don't clean up the burn marks properly on both wire & lug, you will likely still have leftover issues. They should wire brush any burned wire ends & the lug contacts (or cut & strip to a new wire end plus clean lugs). IIWMI'd add some anti-oxidant coating on the aluminum wire ends to assure the problem doesn't return.

In the mean time you can shut off everything that takes 12V (to the extent possible) to conserve battery charge if that will be a problem.

[Workshop]

I don't know if this would apply to your unit...but my Progressive converter was wired with a 3 prong plug and it is plugged into an outlet in the storage compartment. If I had a problem such as yours where one side of my main panel didn't work...I could replug it into one that does. If your hardwired it wouldn't work.

Unless I liked my site for the view and shade...might consider moving...

[Workshop]

Just thought of this...as my unit is also 50 amps, the black leg of my panel is my primary leg, red leg wash/dryer and spare. Have you tried using a 50/30 dogbone adapter to feed both legs on your panel. Depending on which leg on the pedestal is out, this might provide power to both sides of 'your' panel.'

[GaryKD]

Hi Dyana,
Most 50 AMP pedestals have a 30 AMP receptacle. Use an adapter and run off the 30 AMP receptacle until the 50 AMP is repaired.

[JazzZen]

Thanks everyone! The park sent out their electrician and he supplied the 30 amp circuit. I'm fine running on 30 amp and everything is working as it should. I was mostly worried about the battery charger. My battery supply was low enough that my fridge was flashing me - that's how I knew - so I ran the engine and recharged just to cover my bases.
Now that that's resolved, I can go about my sightseeing business.
You guys are awesome! I'm electronically challenged, so it's very good to know y'all are here when stuff happens! Thanks again!

[RV Wizard]

Next time you have a situation like this, you can run the generator once a day to recharge the battery bank.

[wa8yxm]

The problem is the converter is on the "Bad" leg.. A different 50 amp outlet might help it or a pair of converters, one 50-30, the other 30-50 Now, the catch here is the 50-30 stands a 50% chance of picking the good leg.

If it was my rig, I'd either change sites or change the leg for the converter.. Most likely change sites.

[Steve Ownby]

Dyana,

Knowledge is power. Save the following link and over the course of several evening read and digest the information in it. Equip yourself with a few basic electrical tools and feel the power.

Steve O

Electrical Tutorial

[JazzZen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Ownby Dyana, Knowledge is power.

:-) Pun intended?! Thanks Steve, I will.

RV Wiz - I hadn't thought about the generator - doh!! Loud, but effective under those circumstances.

Once again, the wonderful folks at irv2 save the day!!

[Vegasdan]

This is a good reason to have a surge protector. We have one and I plug it into the campground box before I plug anything else into it. I found 2 at a campground in Tecopa Springs, CA recently that were wired wrong. The 3rd one I checked was ok so we set up there. Saves potential damage.