Bighorn AC and DC Electrical problems

[celebritygreen]

TALKED TO JIM LAST NIGHT AND HE TOLD ME TO PUT THIS INFORMATION OUT FOR ANSWERS. Left Missouri for South Texas on Monday. No problems either Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday, we began to blow secondary fuse for trailer stop lights/turn signals. Also blew the fuse that charges the battery in the RV. Both these fuses are located in the F250. With the help of friends following, we made it into the RV park. After hooking up to park power, I was showing on my Camping World volt meter well over 130+++ volts. Maintenance came down and checked the 50 amp connection. One post showed 117 and the other post showed 127. Checking with an actual volt meter, my plugs throughout the RV still showed well over 130. My RV is only 2 months old. I am going to try to get it in to a dealer this next week, if possible. But, of course, the factory is down for the holidays and will reopen Jan. 5. I am not new to RVing but I am not much for working on this big of problem. My question is, am I in any danger of burning up any appliances or air conditioning because at this time, we are living in it full time.

Gary Phillips
3600RL 2009 Bighorn

 

[jbeletti]

Hey gang,

Yeah, hoping some of you can give Gary some ideas on this, what to check etc.

On the AC voltage issue, when connected to shore power, what is most puzzling to me is how the voltage could be higher in the RV than at the power post outside (as measured on both legs).

Gary is not running an autoformer or any sort of EMS. He also does not have an inverter.

Then on the DC side, he is having these fuse blowing issues in his truck, only when the trailer is connected (7-wire).

I don't see a connection between the AC and DC power issues but here again, hoping you old pros can draw on your vast experiences and give Gary some ideas.

I did ask Gary to take his Camping World AC tester and his VOM out to the power post to check the 20 amp connector himself to see what he gets compared to what the park maintenance crew got.

Thanks team!

Jim

 

[ct0218]

I do know that a bad ground can cause some really strange readings on both AC and DC, so I would verify that the ground is good and has little resistance. Like Jim, the problem with both AC and DC is puzzling. It is usually best to work your way backwards when troubleshooting electrical problems--start at the tail lights or outlets and work your way to the source, checking at every connection. Switch sources of power, such as the truck, and see if the problem persists. Use the process of elimination to find the problem.

 

[leftyf]

Hey gang,

On the AC voltage issue, when connected to shore power, what is most puzzling to me is how the voltage could be higher in the RV than at the power post outside (as measured on both legs).

Then on the DC side, he is having these fuse blowing issues in his truck, only when the trailer is connected (7-wire).

I don't see a connection between the AC and DC power issues but here again, hoping you old pros can draw on your vast experiences and give Gary some ideas.

Jim

There is a ground loop or floating ground. somewhere. Both AC and DC voltages are measured to ground. The ground inside the rV is not the same as the one outside. The ground or return at the trailer probably ate it or is loose. Take the wooden blocks out from under one of the jacks. Lower the jack until it touches real dirt. See what happens then.

This can be a dangerous situation here if the ground is hosed the frame of the trailer can be "HOT". The frame of the trailer is the ground (COMMON) for both AC and DC. If you take a voltmeter and measure using the VOLTAGE setting...and go between the frame of the RV and real ground (dirt), you will see that there is an induced voltage that you can read. That's why the fuses are blowing in the truck. The ground potential between the truck and trailer are different. I think there's a problem with the trailer wiring. Again, the potentials are different.

Lemme know

I had it happen to my old airstream.

 

[Niles]

I agree with Lefty, you have a ground problem maybe something crossed giving you the problem. And usually it is just going from one end to the other trying to find the problem, good luck.

 

[celebritygreen]

UPDATE: The shore power connection only has a 50 amp and a 30 amp. There is no 20 amp connection. The voltage today has dropped down and varies from time to time when I check it. Right now it is just on the high side of the green in the red but not like it has been the last couple of days.

Jim: Celebritygreen is our boat at the lake. It is a green and white 24' Celebrity, therefore the name Celebritygreen.