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DeanintheMT · 01-22-2023, 01:20 PM

Hi everyone,
New poster but long-time voyer. I searched and searched and can't find this solution on any RV forum.
2004 40' Monaco Diplomat 3 slide roadmaster chassis. On 50a Shore power OR with diesel generator running - same problem. Been living in the RV for 5 months and problem started happening 2 weeks ago. Only change in last few weeks is weather in AZ has been unseasonably cool - highs in the 50's

Last 2 weeks, when I have multiple outlets going - phone chargers, coffee brewing, and I run the microwave, the outlets all shut off but only for about 10 seconds. Then everything comes back on. I have run multiple outlets prior to 2 weeks ago with the coffee brewing and a space heater going. Running both of those at once would pop the breaker on the inverter and I would have to go outside to push the breaker back in to reset. THis is different in that I don't have to do anything - it just resets after 10 seconds.
Is the microwave outlet on a seperate circuit? I have heard of self healing or resetting breakers/relays. Is anyone aware of these on the '04 Diplomat? Could one be getting a little old and sensitive? Is it the temperature?
I look forward to hearing from anyone who has had a similar problem and/or has some ideas of where to look. I am good with a multi-meter and moderate electrical work.
Thanks!
Chad

YC1 · 01-22-2023, 02:15 PM

Welcome to the forum:

I too have one leg of the 50 amp that goes out momentarily. I have been chasing that issue for a couple of years. It is annoying especially since my Direct TV boxes take 15 minutes to reset.

I have changed my plug on the cord because it went bad.

Recently I overhauled my cord reel. I made a youtube video on how to do that.

I am a certified electronic tech so you would think I could sort this out but I cannot seem to catch it.

My transfer panel has been replaced and you should definitely remove power and inspect and tighten everything inside.

As for a self resetting breaker, no there would not be any on that circuit.

You should inpect your inside AC breaker panel as well for loose wires and pull the large breakers out to inspect the connections.

Hopefully someone else will offer suggestions. You are on the largest forum but there is one forum that is just for Monaco's and Holiday Ramblers.

jacwjames · 01-23-2023, 07:30 AM

Do you have a wiring diagram to see what the common denominator is between the circuits??

On my 2002 Windsor most of the outlets go through the inverter, I have an RV2012. Inverter is fed from the main service panel and the inverter would feed a separate breaker panel with circuits for ~4 different circuits. The inverter itself has a pass through function so that if you plugged into shore power the AC goes through it to power the circuits.

Not sure if there could be something going on with your coach that involves the inverter??? Not sure if there is some sort of auto reset breaker in the circuit or not, I just have a push button type breaker on mine, it is not resettable but I have never had it trip.

I had a problem in 2021, I thought my inverter was bad, I even pulled it out. Called the Xantrex help center and that individual said the inverter was bad and gave me all the info to replace. I was skeptical based on my symptoms so I found the number of a Xantrex repair center near Nashville and talked to a technician there who was very knowledgeable. I described what was going on and the ohm readings on the two circuits and he said he didn't think it was my inverter but another problem. Tech advised me to put the inverter back in and gave me some advise on how to troubleshoot the circuits by turning off all the breakers and start turning them on one at a time. BINGO one circuit causing the problem. Turned out to be one bad circuit, I suspect mice, and it would kill the inverter which would kill the generator (not sure if it would happen with shore power as once I had the problem I kept the coach unplugged). I had to rewire that circuit but it solved my problem.

vyndance · 01-23-2023, 07:37 AM

Have you checked to see if the pedestal is the problem? Are you running through a management system?

DeanintheMT · 01-24-2023, 06:03 AM

I appreciate the responses. In order to quickly rule out anything to do with the 50a cord, pedestal, etc or anything else to do with the 50a, I ran the generator, unplugged the 50a and tried to recreate the problem.
Now one thing I did not put in my original question, which jacwjames brought up, is that when I ran the generator and tried to recreate the problem it killed the outlets and the generator. Very similar problem to @jacwjames. So thank you, jacwjames for stirring my underperforming memory. Now that I think about it, the mere fact of the generator dying is much more relevant to this problem than almost any other fact I put in the original question.
This weekend I will try to isolate the problem to one circuit and see if I can narrow this down.

jacwjames · 01-24-2023, 07:45 AM

Sounds like your problem was like mine. One circuit had a problem and it would kill the generator. What I did was turn off breaker on the generator and all breakers in the service panel and inverter subpanel. Started the generator and then started by turning on the breaker on the generator. Generator stayed running. Then stared turning on the breakers in the service panel starting with the 50 amp breaker. I did this until the generator died.

I ended up being one circuit on the inverter. Took me some time to figure out the routing of the wire from outlet to outlet, here is a post I did trying to solve the problem.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/mon...-547757-3.html

I ended up taking my whole service panel looking for a wiring problem BUT all he wires went up into the ceiling and then to each of the different locations. In my case the problem ended up being in the ceiling, which I suspect was caused by mice.

When I was building our house I lived in the coach parked in a wooded area. Towards winter I was invaded, I started to hear them in the ceiling, took me a while to get rid of them, I ultimately found they got in through the back cap, I found a large hole up through the black foam sprayed around the air intake box.

In late 2021 when I replaced my AC's I did an inspection of my AC ducts using a remote camera, found holes in several places from the mice.

YC1 · 01-24-2023, 10:32 AM

Jim, that is great information. Just as a useless note on my 2008 with the 8K onan. If the breakers are off while the generator is running or they trip, I have to turn my generator off before resetting them. I have not bothered to look into it and just assumed it was the design.

I will read the link you posted because I am very curious how a circuit could "kill the generator".

I can understand it tripping breakers but making the generator die/quit is very interesting.

jacwjames · 01-24-2023, 06:21 PM

No idea how the circuit was killing the generator, I would have thought it would have tripped the GFCI breaker. Nope, it would kill the generator and when I checked it I did find that I could when I checked continuity I was getting a reading across to ground, can't remember it if was hot or neutral though. So maybe the inverter was sensing this and dying.

I isolated the problem to the run of wire in the ceiling going back to the to Jbox on the rear wall of the end cap. The Jbox is where they tied in the circuit when they dropped the ceiling onto the house.

Luckily there was a return wire that went to the rest of the circuit so I was able to rewire the circuit using that wire and tying into the outlet that was behind the TV. Had to get a little creative.