mstravelrn
Member
So half of my outlets went out today, check the GFCI outlet and was not tripped. Checked breaker in box and not tripped. Turned both of them off and on and outlets will not come back on. What should I try next?
electric outlets not working need help
- Thread starter mstravelrn
- Start date
danemayer
Well-known member
Assuming you have 50 amp service, you've likely lost 1 of the 2 legs. Next thing to check is to ensure the shore power cord is fully seated at the RV connection.
Other possibilities depend on how your rig is equipped. If you have generator prep, power is routed to a transfer switch. A bad connection inside the box could cause a problem. If you have an electric cord reel, you could have a problem with the internal connections.
A bad connection on the back side of the main circuit breaker panel could also be responsible.
And if you are plugged into a 30 amp pedestal using a 50-->30 adapter, the adapter could have a problem.
Other possibilities depend on how your rig is equipped. If you have generator prep, power is routed to a transfer switch. A bad connection inside the box could cause a problem. If you have an electric cord reel, you could have a problem with the internal connections.
A bad connection on the back side of the main circuit breaker panel could also be responsible.
And if you are plugged into a 30 amp pedestal using a 50-->30 adapter, the adapter could have a problem.
Piperflyer
Well-known member
Are you sure you checked all the GFI outlets, mine has several. I had a loose wire connection one time. It was where all the wires located under my pantry bottom shelf join the fuse box. The quality control of this mess of wires are hardly the best and they all are in a big mess bundled together. I was just lucky I found the loose connection. Just a thought if you can't locate the problem.....
wdk450
Well-known member
Do you have an AC voltmeter, AC test light, or non-contact voltage tester? These are primary essentials in checking out a loss of AC power. In testing live circuits DO NOT TOUCH ANY PART OF YOUR BODY TO ANYTHING METAL IN THE TRAILER AND WIRING!!!! Shut off all AC power at the campground pedestal circuit breaker between tests when you have to disassemble panels or other stuff for voltage testing!!!
The below discusses a typical RV 2 phase, 220 volt/120 volt RV power feed:
Your AC power supply in the trailer has 2 main areas: 1 Before the inside mains circuit breaker panel and 2 after the mains inside circuit breaker panel. Testing at the mains inside circuit breaker panel will divide the possible trouble spots in half. You need to remove the circuit breaker surround cover by removing the 4 corner screws to expose the live wiring inside. You will see 2 big tied-together circuit breakers (usually on the left side) along with a bunch of smaller breakers all trailing off away from the mains. You will see a big bunch of green wires (ground wires) screwed into a lower buss bar, and another bunch of white wires (neutral power wires) tied into another buss bar. The Mains breakers have 1 large wire each screwed into their bottom ends - THIS IS THE INCOMING AC POWER ORIGINATING AT THE TRAILER'S OUTSIDE AC POWER PLUG. So, connecting an ac voltage testing device at each one of these 2 large incoming wires one at a time with the other side of the testing device connected to either neutral or ground should show that 120 volts AC is present. If there is no ac voltage indicated at either or both these points, the electrical problem is prior (upstream) to the breaker panel. If both mains incoming wires test with good 120 volts AC, then individually test each of the black wires where they are connected to their breaker of 120 volts AC. If all of these are not live with 120 volts AC you have a problem with your mains breakers, breaker box breaker connector buss rails, or the individual breakers themselves. I have had a mains breaker make bad contact with the breaker buss rail, causing loss of power to every other breaker.
The incoming power from the pedestal has many possible points of connection failure. Actually you start testing this 1/2 of the power system by measuring what is coming out of the park pedestal outlet - Many times the outlet breaker or wiring in the park outlet is at fault. Downstream of the park outlet you have the plug/socket on your trailer's power cable, the power inlet socket on your trailer, maybe the contacts assembly and wiring interconnect points on your cord reel (if you have one), the wiring interconnects and relay contact points on your transfer relay (if you have a generator or generator prep package), the interconnects and relay contacts on your electrical power protection box ( if you have added one) and finally the incoming power connections at your inside mains breaker. Each of these points needs to be checked in whatever sequence is best for you until you track the problem down.
The below discusses a typical RV 2 phase, 220 volt/120 volt RV power feed:
Your AC power supply in the trailer has 2 main areas: 1 Before the inside mains circuit breaker panel and 2 after the mains inside circuit breaker panel. Testing at the mains inside circuit breaker panel will divide the possible trouble spots in half. You need to remove the circuit breaker surround cover by removing the 4 corner screws to expose the live wiring inside. You will see 2 big tied-together circuit breakers (usually on the left side) along with a bunch of smaller breakers all trailing off away from the mains. You will see a big bunch of green wires (ground wires) screwed into a lower buss bar, and another bunch of white wires (neutral power wires) tied into another buss bar. The Mains breakers have 1 large wire each screwed into their bottom ends - THIS IS THE INCOMING AC POWER ORIGINATING AT THE TRAILER'S OUTSIDE AC POWER PLUG. So, connecting an ac voltage testing device at each one of these 2 large incoming wires one at a time with the other side of the testing device connected to either neutral or ground should show that 120 volts AC is present. If there is no ac voltage indicated at either or both these points, the electrical problem is prior (upstream) to the breaker panel. If both mains incoming wires test with good 120 volts AC, then individually test each of the black wires where they are connected to their breaker of 120 volts AC. If all of these are not live with 120 volts AC you have a problem with your mains breakers, breaker box breaker connector buss rails, or the individual breakers themselves. I have had a mains breaker make bad contact with the breaker buss rail, causing loss of power to every other breaker.
The incoming power from the pedestal has many possible points of connection failure. Actually you start testing this 1/2 of the power system by measuring what is coming out of the park pedestal outlet - Many times the outlet breaker or wiring in the park outlet is at fault. Downstream of the park outlet you have the plug/socket on your trailer's power cable, the power inlet socket on your trailer, maybe the contacts assembly and wiring interconnect points on your cord reel (if you have one), the wiring interconnects and relay contact points on your transfer relay (if you have a generator or generator prep package), the interconnects and relay contacts on your electrical power protection box ( if you have added one) and finally the incoming power connections at your inside mains breaker. Each of these points needs to be checked in whatever sequence is best for you until you track the problem down.
