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nothermark · 07-10-2017, 11:11 AM

You probably have nothing wrong with the RV and nothing wrong with the vacuum cleaner. Current through the GFCI is a cumulative issue. If you have 2 ma of leakage in the Converter, 2 ma is damp dust around some outlets and then plug in a vacuum that has 2 ma of leakage the GFCI sees 6 ma and trips. Nothing faulty in the Converter, nothing faulty in the vacuum. Unlikely you are going to clean your sockets. I could add several other potential sources of small leakages but the point is that you should not be plugging the RV into a GFCI!!! They have their own for the circuits that need protection.

n2587n · 07-10-2017, 11:12 AM

there must be a partial open in the white common wire , there is some small amount of currant running in the green ground wire , using a a/c volt meter it can be traced ,

nothermark · 07-11-2017, 04:22 AM

What is a partial open?

If you think it through an open wire in a single phase circuit like 120 VAC all you get is power ceases. Nothing moves to the ground. The only way current moves to the ground is if there is a current path established.

The extension cord could be the problem. It's not an issue of the cord too small. The problem is current flow across the socket face due to dirt. It will be aggravated in damp conditions. It's a well known phenomenon in certain places. Also why some places have to wash their power feed insulators on a schedule.

steve11669 · 07-11-2017, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicr

...Please don't post electrical advice when you have no clue of what your saying.

Wait a darn minute here! If we can't do this type of posts anymore, the forum is going to be very sparse!

Yuk yuk yuk

Berzerker · 07-11-2017, 05:00 AM

whew.. the gods must have been shining on me.. as you recall, low draw items did not trip the house GFCI, anything higher that a simple box fan would cause a trip. I literally took a magifiying glass and examined all 50ft of the shoreline and dicovered a minute tear. I cut open the tear and boom... there was a portion of the white wire exposed which rubbed the green wire bare. Since this entire journey has been a electrical nightmare and a comical farce.. it only stands to reason that the tear was in the middle of the shoreline...could i have spliced it?...i guess. I just sprung for a fresh shoreline and all is aok.... much thanks to those who responded....

Dutchstar08 · 07-15-2017, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berzerker

.. oh yes important tidbit... the shore line is a tad to short to reach the garage gfci outlet. m I an running a 50 ft extension cord..small diameter. ..it has been working fine in the past. ..

What do you mean by Small Diameter? It should be at least a 12 gauge ext. cord. Small cheap cord can be easily damaged inside allowing a voltage leak which will trip the gfci. The more load the higher the leak.
Try a good 12 ga. cord.

gateaux01 · 07-16-2017, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicr

The vacuum probably has voltage leakage from hot to neutral causing the GFCI outlet to trip. It's doing what it is supposed to do. And anyone who thinks a GFCI his an over current protection device just had a whole continent of electricians and engineers laughing. Please don't post electrical advice when you have no clue of what your saying.

Best answer so far.
Plug vacuum into a different gfci and see if it trips it as well. If so the problem is in your vacuum.
The gfci is monitoring the current coming back on the neutral. If this does not match it assumes it is going to ground. BTW these things are measuring in the ma of current.

gateaux01 · 07-16-2017, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berzerker

But here is the rub....I attempt to turn on the water heater. . pop.. microwave. .pop...ac unit. .pop.. (each separately)...plug the vacuum directly into the garage gfci..works like a champ.... and just to muddy the waters a but more.. The box fan runs fine in the rv. ..as does the fan only on the ac...simultaneously. .. oh wait there's more... I turn off the converter breaker... turn on the micro wave.. it run fine for a few seconds then just slows down as if not enough juice.. I turned it off after 10 seconds or so...oh wait there's even more... when I went to remove the extension cord from the always tripping gfci in the garage as the box fan was running.. it tripped the gfci in the garage....arrrrrrrrrrgggghhh

You need to call an electrician. You have more going on than a bad gfci

nothermark · 07-17-2017, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gateaux01

You need to call an electrician. You have more going on than a bad gfci

Probably not. Read post #15. Ditch the GFCI as the plug in point in the garage.

n2587n · 07-17-2017, 07:18 AM

some where in the rv the green and white wires bolt together like in the breaker box or some thing like that . similar to your home breaker box . if the white develops a bad connection between that point and the house some power can travel through the ground . if the white wire in your home breaker box failed power would flow through the green ground . the rv is wired similar to a house. if the gfi sees power in the ground it trips . power in the ground can be dangerous , and a bad connection in a hot or common can get very hot , lost of people can give you advice ,the problem can be traced by some one that under stands the system "electrician" my advice would be to find one and have him look at it .

Vicr · 07-17-2017, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n2587n

some where in the rv the green and white wires bolt together like in the breaker box or some thing like that . similar to your home breaker box . if the white develops a bad connection between that point and the house some power can travel through the ground . if the white wire in your home breaker box failed power would flow through the green ground . the rv is wired similar to a house. if the gfi sees power in the ground it trips . power in the ground can be dangerous , and a bad connection in a hot or common can get very hot , lost of people can give you advice ,the problem can be traced by some one that under stands the system "electrician" my advice would be to find one and have him look at it .

You need to read up on how a GFCI works. Also, we don't call them white and green wires. They are called neutral and ground and they should not be bonded anywhere but the main electrical panel (where the meter is).

nothermark · 07-18-2017, 04:32 AM

You can translate that to the neutral and ground should not be bonded anywhere in the RV on the shore cord side of the transfer switch. They are bonded on the generator side of the transfer switch.

Either way you have devices in the RV that are not protected by the local GFI because they don't need to be and probably have low leakage currents under normal conditions. That is why plugging into a GFCI is a bad move.