Plugged into incorrectly wired 30A and think I fried my appliances.

MitchG36

Member
As a self proclaimed 'Handyman' I often learn TONS from my mistakes. The latest mistake was thinking i could make a shore power cord for my 5th wheel using the 30A outlet normally used for my welder. WRONG!! Needless to say, this created a 220V situation that the RV did NOT agree with. Now the microwave has no function other than the light coming on and the turntable turning when the door is opened (weird), the fridge is apparently dead, and the converter is suspect. Finally my QUESTION.... : Can the circuit board on the fridge be replaced to correct the dead fridge issue? All 3 of the fuses that I can find on the fridge are intact, so I am not sure a circuit board swap would do anything. I still have power (120V) at the outlets that each of the appliances are plugged into, so i know it is no longer a power SUPPLY issue. Any suggestions (other than permanently hanging up my Handyman hat)?
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
I would start by getting a hold of my insurance company. It's an honest mistake and they should be able to help you out. The outlets won't know if it was 110 or 220 should there would be no damage there. Your convertor, water heater circuit board, furnace circuit board, refrigerator and microwave will know the difference. Some may have fuses to protect from damage....Good luck...Don
 

Hastey

Oklahoma Chapter Leaders
So, Since I was going to pick up the hardware to run a 50A and replacing my 30A TODAY! at Lowes, This scares the $%&!! out of me.

So, did you accidentally push 220V down both legs? or am I missing something? I assumed that when you run a 50A it was a normal 220V with 120V going down both legs and it worked like a normal breaker box in the trailer. I was under the impression that the 30A side of the breaker took care of the major load of service to the trailer and 50A allowed you to run things like the second A/C off of the other side of the breaker box. When I installed my hard wire surge guard I had two 120V legs.

Does anyone have a schematic of how to wire one of these?
 

Hastey

Oklahoma Chapter Leaders
Here is a link that should answer all your RV electrical questions.
http://www.myrv.us/electric/

LOL! Thanks Dave, I just left that site reading and was gonna put a link in. It is exactly what I thought it was. I have a 30A and have been using an adapter on the 5er, but, since I put on the second A/C I need 50A so I can run everything. I plan on living in it while we do some remodel on the stick and brick.
 

MitchG36

Member
So, does anyone know if replacing the circuit boards on the affected appliances will fix them or will they require complete replacement with new ones?
 

slmayor

Founding California Northern Chapter Leader
On some of the appliances (refrigerator mostly) they can be jumpered to check. The HWH boards can usually be put on a tester. Microwave probably is an internal fuse. Get it to an authorized (Dometic, Norcold, etc.) Service center. Might cost you an hour of service time, but would be worth it unless you have money to keep throwing parts at it until it's fixed. You aren't the only one that has done this, at least in our neck of the woods, we see a few every year. In most cases, the fuses do what they're supposed to do. Good Luck!!
 

MitchG36

Member
UPDATE! Good news! After much investigation and diagnostics I was able to determine that the damage was minimal. Thanks to help from members on this forum, I rewired a proper 30 amp 120V shore line, recharged the battery with my lawnmower battery charger, replaced the power converter and microwave. EVERYTHING else was undamaged and is working fine. Cost: Converter= $154 + Microwave= $80

I am so very thankful for all the help and advice. After reading other posts about similar over voltage problems, I was worried that the damage would be extremely costly. I'm not sure why I had so little damage except that none of the undamaged appliances were actually turned on during the over voltage issue. My wife just might allow me to continue my handyman ways after all. THANKS AGAIN !!!!
 

kakampers

Past Heartland Ambassador
Now...install a Progressive EMS and you won't have to worry about bad wiring ever again...
 
Top