5th wheel tripping circuit on generator

CeeCee

Active Member
We have been out of power here in NJ since the hurricane.we bought a new 6500W generator to run our 5th wheel and as soon as we hook it up the generator's gfci circuit breaker trips.Any idea what could cause this to happen?
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi CeeCee,

Can you describe how you're hooked up to the generator? What RV power cord and adapters? What generator outlet?
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Take a look at the 30amp portion of this website. It may be that the 30amp outlet on the generator is not RV compatible and the breaker trip may be saving you from damage.

If you can get your hands on a 2nd adapter to take the 30amp rv plug down to 110V, you can keep a lot of stuff running - no Air Conditioners, and not much else if using the microwave, or coffee pots. Maybe plug the RV into one outlet and run an extension cord in to power the RV or coffee pot.
 

TedS

Well-known member
The 30-amp should be a 3-prong outlet, not a 4-prong. The generator has a 4-prong, 30-amp, 120/240volt outlet?
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
Your generator is a contractor rated machine, I'll bet. OSHA requires that generators on construction sites have the neutral and ground terminals internally bonded for safety. This is seen as a parallel current path to ground which instantly trips the GFCI when connected to your RV. Look in your owners manual, or contact the help desk for your your generator to separate the the neutral and grounds. Usually, this is a 2 or 3 inch jumper across a couple terminals inside the end cover of the generator.
 

CeeCee

Active Member
Ted, It has both 4 prong and 3 prong but we only have an adaptor for the 4 prong. Due to storm damage I can't get to rv store to get 3prong and we thought 4 prong would work.
 

CeeCee

Active Member
Rick,My husband was reading about "neutral bonding" and was wondering if that could be the problem but he called the dealer and was told that they had never heard of that being a problem. It sounds like you have a good explanation and we will look into it. Thank you.
 

CeeCee

Active Member
Ted,that looks exactly like the adapter we r using except ours is made by Camco.The rv has to go for warranty work Tuesday so one more thing to add to the list. Thanks for all the feedback. I'll keep you posted. If we get it figured out i will post it in case someone else runs into the same problem.
 

porthole

Retired
The Honda inverter series generators, popular with RV's do not have the ground and neutral bonded. The ground is bonded to the genny frame.


This will cause issues with electrical management systems like the Progressive EMS. The EMS will not allow power through to the panel as it "sees" an open ground. With the Progressive EMS, knowing that is your issue, you can turn off the protection when connected to one of these open ground gennys.


This does not cause any GFI tripping in the trailer.


The fix for this is to take heavy duty 15 amp male replacement end and use a jumper inside the cover from ground to neutral, green to silver screw.


This takes care of the "open ground" issue error With the EMS.
You should also ground the generator if you can.


Oddly enough, and I can't get an answer why, this open ground with the Honda will not allow my hot water heater to run in the house.
I have a high efficiency AO Smith gas heater with electronic controls. The open ground allows the fan to come on, igniter to heat up, gas to flow and light and then it shuts off.


The "bonded male plug" solves my water heater issue.


Just though I'd throw this out for others that may be in the same boat we are in, using portable gennys for living.


Currently we are on day 5 without power, had 3 days with no water.


You get what you pay for. Our Honda 3000 is currently supplying our fridge, freezer, water heater, Keurig coffee, electric frying pan, 3 TV's although we have no cable. Several lights, phone and iPad chargers, laptops as needed.
Occasionally the Fein shop vac (like the Honda, powerful and quiet).


I also have 250' of 12-3 extension cord across the street to my neighbors house for their fridge, freezer, chargers and TV.


Last night we also plugged in one of those oil filled radiators for the bedroom.


The Cyclone is plugged in too. First two days that was where the hot showers were. Although we didn't fill the bath tub (lesson learned) I did put 120 gallons of fresh water in the trailer before the storm. The Cyclones gas tank was full too. Which is good, as gasoline is in short supply and rationed around here. Reminds me of the 70's. But back then the $20 limit would fill our cars!


Obviously not everything is on at the same time. The Honda inverter series use engine management to generate electricity. Meaning the engine speed varies with load.


I can hear the genny go up and down with speed, but in 5 days so far we have not tripped a breaker on it.


And, they are quiet. My generator is on my back deck. Standing in my driveway you can barely hear it. I can hear all the generators in my neighborhood though.
 

wdk450

Well-known member
I looked at the generator schematic on my Boily, and although it has a 30 amp RV outlet on it, neither power wire from the alternator is grounded. I believe I proposed before making a special 15 amp plug for the purpose with a short between the neutral and ground pins of the plug, and plugging that into the 20 amp outlet (paralleled with the 30 amp RV outlet) when powering the Bighorn from the generator, but not using this plug when using the generator for other household uses.
 

porthole

Retired
Something else I have done is made all 10 gauge extension cords off the genny to my power splitters/junction boxes. Trying the minimize the voltage drop I'm sure is helping quite a bit.
 

porthole

Retired
Bill, that is exactly what I did.
The black and white below the orange Tee is my jumper.






Duane
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

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porthole

Retired
CeeCee, where are you located and what adapter do you need?
30 amp 3 prong twist lock to your trailers 50 amp plug?

im not gonna burn a lot of gas getting to ya :) but I do have a 30 twist lock to 30 RV adapter plug and a 30 RV male to 50 RV pig tail. And if you want to move the genny away from the trailer due to the noise level I also have a 30 to 50 10 gauge, 30+ foot extension cord.

im not using them currently and you are welcome to borrow. My area still has a 7 day plus estimate for power restoration. What about where you are?
 

CeeCee

Active Member
Duane, We are northwest Nj by Delaware Water Gap. We decided to just run extension cords from gen to house and hope that power is restored soon. Everyone has been great offering help and we greatly appreciate it. There is power back down the road a mile or so away so we are hoping ours will be next. Where are you in Nj? You kept your power? We were very lucky only a few downed trees but no structural damages.
 

porthole

Retired
where are you in Nj? You kept your power? We were very lucky only a few downed trees but no structural damages.

exit 98, 3 miles from the beach.
We have not had power since Sunday night. Latest word is still another 5-10 days without power.
 

CeeCee

Active Member
We were told maybe have power by the 12th. I keep hoping it is sooner. Lots of roads closed & trees down. Just horrible . I feel for those who lost their homes. Did u have much damage?
 
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