Community Forums

Hitchhiker · 04-14-2007, 06:08 PM

Assuming you're using the same shore power cord (and any adapters) to connect to the house that is used for a campground connection, the outlet is either wired wrong or the breaker is bad. Call the electrician and ask him to come back.

Roland · 04-14-2007, 07:09 PM

Ron,

Thanks for the answers. With a 2003 Dolphin - 50 Amp. I am guessing that you are a diesel with an inverter charger. You may not see them, but when you first plug in the inverter charger can go to bulk charge and the fridge will go back to AC, if it is set to "Auto". There are several other paracitic loads that may be involved, although most are 12 volt. It is possible to draw 12 to 14 amps initially. If you are on a "dedicated" line, with no other loads present -- then I think Hitchhiker is correct when he said -- Call the electrician back.

Green lights and soft breezes,

NeilV · 04-15-2007, 02:01 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TwoOfUs:
It's the breaker in the house panel. This is the second new breaker, and still, trips when I plug in the MH power cord.
I had this happen at a campground once, the maint guy came and replace the breaker with some sort of ground fault(?) breaker, but that's the only time I ever had a problem at the campgrounds. Just here at the house.

Ron P
2003 Dolphin </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Switch off the main breaker in your RV and if the house breaker still trips when you plug in then your electrician definately reversed the common and the hot leads when he wired the outlet. They did the same when they wired mine but since I have a SurgeGuard and an Autoformer I got a trouble light indicating that the outlet was not wired correctly when I plugged in which was before the electrician had gone.

The 30 amp RV outlet does not always have clear markings on it indicating polarity nor do they all have brass and white terminal screws so it can be pretty easy to get things reversed.

hamdave · 04-16-2007, 02:09 AM

I think NeilV has it right. The reason the house panel breaker will trip is because when you plug in the MH you have a direct short. The 30 amp breaker to be correct has a VERY definite way it is to be wired, the black(hot), white(neutral) and the ground(bare or green ins wire). I agree it sounds like your black and white are reversed at the new plug.

Mahlon · 04-17-2007, 05:00 AM

For the two 30A receptacles I've bought, the terminal screws weren't color coded, but I found that the color code is written on the very edge of the phenolic body next to the openings that the wires go into. The lettering is tiny and extremely hard to read without a magnifying glass, unless you are a pilot.

I found all of this out after I reverse-engineered it with a 50-to-30A pigtail adapter, so I double-checked the color code writing with an ohmmeter and the adapter and found it to be correct.

Kiwi · 05-01-2007, 02:20 AM

Hello TwoOfUS,
I recommend that one of you purchase a voltmeter and learn how to use it. Go to the Electrical department of Home Depot or Lowes and get an instrument to check voltage.

Also purchase an outlet polarity tester. To use it on a 30A RV plug you will need the 30A to 20A adapter from a Camping World type store. Keep these items in your RV.

With the volt meter on the 120V plug you will have three "holes".
The one in the center is the ground
One of the other ones is the hot leg
The other side one is the neutral.

Test from Ground to one side leg. One should be dead. The other shoudl read 120v.

Now, test from the 120V side leg to the other side leg. It must also read 120v. If it is not wired correctly, it will read 240v.

Note that voltage is nominal. A 120v circuit will read from 110 to 125 ... this is okay.

But a 120v circuit should never read 220 or 240!!!

Learn to do your own checking. If you are careful this is a safe test. Just hold the plastic part of the probe.

Walt

TwoOfUs · 07-01-2007, 06:34 PM

Well, sorry it's taken so long to get back here.
Several of you indeed diagnosed the problem - the commons were switched. Once I reversed them, all is well. Funny about the connections not being color coded (brass/silver). I appreciate everyone's input.