2011 northtrail 21fbs wiring problems

kwopper1

Member
hello:

i am new to this forum and i recently purchased a 2011 north trail 21fbs, on our first camping trip i noticed that the kitchen outlet and outside outlet and the bathroom gfi had no power, i reset the gfi and as soon as i plug anything into the kitchen outlet or outside outlet it trips immediatly. called dealer and was told it was a bad gfi - so i replaced it with a new one. SAME PROBLEM. i plugged a circuit tester into the gfi(said wired correctly) plugged tester into two other outlets and said positive and neutral reversed then trips gfi quickly, i checked the boxes and the wires are not reversed. the two outlets in the front by the bed work fine as well as outlet for tv. i checked all fuses and breakers and the connections and everything seems to be fine(no loose wires at breakers and power panel) the problem is annoying because the camper is new and having problems already. i am very handy and dont mind repairing things on my own, i just dont know how to fix this problem. HELP PLEASE!!!!!
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Hello kwopper, welcome to the forum. I am sure that you will get plenty of ideas to help solve your problem.
Being a handy person sure helps when you own a trailer. I enjoy fixing stuff, cause then I learn about it.
Even though your tester said everything is wired properly, I would remove each receptacle and have a look. I would start by isolating them. Start at the GFI and disconnect everything after it. See if you can plug in without tripping something. Then add the wires for another receptacle such as the outside one, then plug in.
If you can not solve the problem a trip to the dealer may be in order.
Please come back and let us know the outcome.

Peace
Dave
 

chris4905

Member
Hi kwopper1-

Welcome to the forum.

As you probably know, most RVs are very similar with their construction, operation, and the means of troubleshooting problems.

It's been a couple weeks since you posted your problem, but you haven't posted a solved problem thread, so I'll respond as though you still have a problem.

A "bad gfi" is always a posibility, but in your case it sounds like the gfi may be doing exactly what it is designed to do.

I would remove power from the trailer and use a multi-meter to determine if you have continuity, where continuity should not be. I would start with the unit's power cord, putting a lead on the neutral prong, and the other lead on the hot prong, to determine if you have continuity in those two items.

I would think a wire has come loose somewhere in the system and is touching somewhere it shouldn't. It would seem if the trailer was was wired improperly from the factory, this problem would have surfaced from day one when you took delivery of the trailer.

Check where the unit's 120V cord connects, which I would imagine is the converter.

It is all a mater of deduction and may entail pulling and checking all your AC duplexes until you find a shorted wire. RVs are famous, due to the moving nature of the beast, for having romex wires coming loose from connections.

I would next check the convertor and all of it's connections.

It sound like this is a fairly new trailer, and if you can't locate and repair the problem, a trip to the dealer is definitely an option. Sometimes it's more of an inconvience to take the unit to the dealer than to make your own repairs, unless you can't locate the source of the problem.

Good luck with your troubleshooting,
Chris
 
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