Power outage

[Routemaster]

On Sunday at this RV part around noon, we had a power outage wife had the washer running so I switched on the onboard generator for close to an hour then the power came back, and off goes gen.
Now 5:30 am Monday a bang was heard I found out that was the washer along with a smell. Not only that but the transformer for the radio alarm clock on GFI is gone and a power strip I have for the TV and stereo popped/failed with no tripped breakers even on the slide-out breaker. Three circuits no tripped breakers whats is going on everything else OK? At some point, I did see Brown out on the display I guess that may apply to Sunday.
One other thing when I have done a warm-up run on the gen with both its 30amp switches off, and the micro goes out, have I got a leak somewhere?

 

[Routemaster]

Now I found a DVD recorder is gone.

 

[Dahillbilly]

sounds like you lost one leg from the pedestal if on 50amp. Depending how comfortable you are using a voltmeter check the pedestal legs. The power cord can be checked for continuity first. Connect cord to trailer remove fromt cover to breaker panel & turn on power; should have 110 volts on eack bus bar to neutral. ONLY DO THIS STEP IF YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WORKING WITH LIVE POWER!! Good luck

 

[Bogie]

Do you use an RV surge protector at the pedestal or wired into the RV? My Progessive Dynamics surge protector is wired into the RV and gives a readout of the last fault detected.

What you are describing also has the earmarks of power surge. Power strips frequently have surge protection built in. If TV and Stereo still work, it may have done the job but was sacrificed in the process. Also the radio and DVD would likely have circuitry susceptible to power surges. Not sure about the washer.

 

[CoveredWagon]

This is exactly why I prefer the onboard progressive surge (etc) detector. I have mine wired in AFTER the power cord and directly before the the fuse box.

 

[Routemaster]

This is what I have. Took the board out and I see there are three or four components fried, the new board is required.

 

[Dahillbilly]

This is exactly why I prefer the onboard progressive surge (etc) detector. I have mine wired in AFTER the power cord and directly before the the fuse box.

same here for me

 

[Bogie]

Still has the earmarks of power surge to me. Question is, did the damage to the Surge Guard occur before or during the most recent surge.
You might gain some additional insight by calling TRC . You might be able to send them pictures and get their opinion. You can find their number on the bottom of THIS form.

 

[centerline]

ive seen these exact symptoms before....

what I found was the cause in this case, (which is a factory mistake) was because of improper wiring of a circuit, using a common/shared neutral wire grid from other circuits, using single duplex circuit breakers.... its legal, and can save time and money, but mistakes can very easily be made when wiring the circuit panel, especially if using single duplex circuit breakers....and which can cause 240v to leak/run thru the 120v circuits....

test the neutral wire of the problem circuits and see if there is still continuity to the PDP....

the potential for the problem I experienced was there since the trailer was new 25years earlier, but it wasnt until the electrical circuits were loaded with space heaters during some cold weather, that it finally gave up... and it was hard to troubleshoot, but easy to fix....

 

[Routemaster]

Many thank for your post, being I am not a "Sparky" any help to fix the problem would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Routemaster]

PS. What make of trailer did you have 25 years ago? We have had two oil heaters running on low one in the bathroom and one down in the lounge through the winter months.

 

[Routemaster]

I just checked all sockets in the coach and I do get a continuity buzz from earth to return. Is that not dodgy?
I am now finding other items fried, also would it be a reason when I have the breakers on the gen shut off and have warm-up run and the microwave goes out?
What if one has solar on, on the road making 250v say running a fridge something goes wrong, should one have an earth strap dragging on the highway?

 

[centerline]

I just checked all sockets in the coach and I do get a continuity buzz from earth to return. Is that not dodgy?
I am now finding other items fried, also would it be a reason when I have the breakers on the gen shut off and have warm-up run and the microwave goes out?
What if one has solar on, on the road making 250v say running a fridge something goes wrong, should one have an earth strap dragging on the highway?

im not understanding your question.... solar has nothing to do with the AC circuits, as it only connect to the battery, which is DC..... your problem is in the AC circuits...

its easy to pull the PDP out of its hole and check to see if there is any sign of overheating where the wires connect to the back of it, which is hopefully where the problem will be found.....

and, as ive said many times on many rv and boat forums, an affordable CIRCUIT/WIRE TRACER should be in the tool box, so that when an electrical problem happens, the issue can be quickly located....