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tdosha · 10-08-2012, 05:37 PM

Whatever it is, with my luck, I'm sure it is expensive.

We have been doing remodeling on our '95 Gulf Stream Conquest. When we need interior lighting, I have been running the generator and everything has worked well. With the days getting shorter and some work schedule changes, I decided to plug it in to a 30 amp service we had wired for our previous camper. The outlet was done by a licensed electrician. Not long after we started using it with our previous camper, our less than 9 month old Dometic refrigerator went out. The fridge was covered under warranty but the tech said that the "electrical side" of it's wiring was what went out. Additionally, our A/C never would run off of the outlet.

Enough with the background. I unplugged the cord from the generator outlet and plugged it into my outlet. When I went in, the microwave was not lit up letting me know that I didn't have power. I checked the breakers on the camper and found 2 of them had been tripped. I rest the first and moved on to the second. When I reset the second one, a loud bang and even larger electrical flash occurred behind the solid front section just to the left of the breakers. I know very little about electricity and even less about the camper's converter, but I know letting the smoke out is bad.

What do you think I did and where do I start checking?
Thanks for all the help!

JohnFreyja · 10-08-2012, 05:49 PM

It's like an electric motor and they run on smoke. If the smoke leaks out it quits.

Martind4 · 10-08-2012, 06:45 PM

I'd check the 30 amp outlet to make sure it wasn't wired as a 240 volt instead of 120 v. If it was wired as a clothes dryer or welder outlet, it could very well be 240.

If the outlet checks out OK, then I'd unplug everything I could from the suspected circuits, reset the breaker and hope it holds. If it stays energized, then I'd start adding each appliance, one at a time. When the circuit breaker trips, you know that's the appliance that needs repair.

My guess is the 30 amp outlet is wired incorrectly.

Good luck.

KIX · 10-08-2012, 06:56 PM

I'm going to have to agree with Martind4. If you have a volt meter you could set it on AC power and 600 volts. Check the outlet and I'll bet a cold beer that it was wired as 240volts and not as 120volts which is what you need for your RV.
By the way, if you odn't know how to do this call the electrician that installed it and ask him to check it.

tdosha · 10-08-2012, 07:32 PM

I will do this. Do you think it fried the converter?

KIX · 10-08-2012, 07:40 PM

Probably Unless the breaker interrupted the power

Brockx · 10-08-2012, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdosha

Whatever it is, with my luck, I'm sure it is expensive.

I decided to plug it in to a 30 amp service we had wired for our previous camper. The outlet was done by a licensed electrician.
Thanks for all the help!

No longer than I have been RV'ing I know 2 people personally that were burned by electricans. You are, I'm afraid, in for some expense.

For anyone else reading this, if you have an electrician do this type work for you explain to him/her it is a 120 not a 240 circuit. Most electricians will look at the plug and confuse it with a dryer plug and wire it 240. If he/she wants to argue send them away.

chuckinthebus · 10-08-2012, 07:43 PM

If it is wired for 220v and you asked your electrician to install a 30amp RV outlet and paid for same, your electrician may have fried your converter. jmo

okmunky · 10-08-2012, 07:46 PM

When I paid a licensed electrician to put in a 30 amp plug at my daughter's place, I had to show him one of the RV electrical sites that I have bookmarked before he would believe that RVs don't use 220 power. I guess they don't teach RV in electrician school. He shook his head and said, "that just doesn't make sense".

I did make him prove to me that he wired 110 volts before letting him plug in my rig.

tdosha · 10-08-2012, 08:17 PM

I've been doing some searching/reading on the subject and have some additional questions. Do you think i screwed up the converter or the inverter? Should I plug back into the generator and start it up? I ask because I don't want to cause any more damage.

KIX · 10-08-2012, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdosha

I've been doing some searching/reading on the subject and have some additional questions. Do you think i screwed up the converter or the inverter? Should I plug back into the generator and start it up? I ask because I don't want to cause any more damage.

is the converter & inverter in one unit or two separate units?
Don't plug back into the genset ........yet.
You should get a volt-ohm meter and learn how to use it. First thing is to test the plug that you plugged the RV cord into. If it's 220 volts then you've got a lot of testing and repair/replace work to do before you should use the RV electrical system.

"007" · 10-08-2012, 08:33 PM

RV outlets have to be wired differently or you have found the result.

Here is another for your electrican.

Shadowcatche · 10-08-2012, 08:36 PM

I wired my own and checked it with a meter prior to plugging the trailer in. I also check campground pedestals, to pare a phrase, don't trust and verify.

tdosha · 10-08-2012, 08:56 PM

I have determined that I in fact do have a 220 volt 30 amp outlet.

Now it's time to start to access the damage and begin repairs. Is there any chance there is a blown fuse before it gets to the inverter?