GFCI HAS tripped - Page 2

BrucePerens · 12-15-2018, 02:18 PM

This is one reason that I have the Progressive Industries power protector permanently wired into my Trailmanor. It tells me if they've mis-wired the post right away. Although I haven't actually hit bad park power yet. It only complains about the missing Earth ground in my generator.

tentcamper · 12-16-2018, 08:45 AM

Bruce, nice mod.

Shane826 · 12-16-2018, 11:34 AM

Has anyone mentioned the notorious burned out electric water heater element? Is the water heater electric switch off? Has it ever been turned on or left on with no water in the tank? This causes all kinds of electrical nightmares when (not if) it burns out.

**Bill** · 12-16-2018, 11:50 AM

Shane -

That was my initial reaction, too, but I wanted to see which GFI he was talking about. The GFI in the trailer controls the string of outlets in the trailer, but nothing more. The notorious water heater issue will trip a GFI outside the trailer (in a household outlet or a campground power post), but it should not trip the GFI inside the trailer. And even if it did, it would cut off only the outlets in the trailer, nothing else. The OP appears to have other problems, too.

He has since pointed that it is the GFI in the trailer that has tripped, so I don't think it is the "notorious water heater issue". I like that term, though.

I also wanted the OP to explain how he determined that the white wire is hot. Tentcamper may have hit on that problem (color codes), but until we have that answer, it is hard to trouble-shoot the problem.

Bill

BrucePerens · 12-16-2018, 02:15 PM

The combination of a potentially dangerous situation and a trailer owner who can't reasonably be expected to be an electrical wiring expert is an uncomfortable one. If I were to approach this, I'd need to make really sure of the proper power post wiring before I even started, and I might need to find an earth ground to connect to or drive a temporary rod. This can be used to test the post and then to apply a safety ground to the trailer frame. Only after validating the post wiring could I move to the Trailmanor's wiring. I'd be very cautious, and that goes double for someone with less electrical experience.

**Bill** · 12-16-2018, 07:39 PM

Bruce is right - caution is extra-important for a neophyte. A 3-light tester is a good start. It will indicate almost all likely problems. It will certainly show a hot-neutral reverse (which it sounds like you are experiencing, based on the hot-white-wire symptom), open neutral, or open ground. If you can find a 30-amp male to 20-amp female adapter, you can run the same tests on the power post.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...&pictureid=452

Bill

**dr carver** · 01-07-2019, 05:55 AM

Has there been a resolution yet?
Inquiring minds and all...

**Bill** · 01-07-2019, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avalie

the return wire from the bottom breaker which controls the GFCI is hot

I'm still confused about what you are doing and seeing. I suspect others are as well, and that's why there is no resolution yet.

You refer to "the breaker which controls the GFI". Do you have a GFI breaker in the converter box, or do you have a GFI in one of the wall outlets? In other words, is the breaker you refer to a GFI breaker? Or is it an ordinary breaker that controls a GFI-equipped outlet on a wall somewhere?

A GFI breaker has a white wire that connects to the neutral buss (not to ground). If you have a GFI breaker, is this white wire "hot"? If so, as TentCamper asked in Post #10 above, how do you know it is hot - how are you measuring it?

Quote:

and the breaker that controls the water heater, converter, and fridge circuit is also hot.

Non-GFI breakers don't have return wires. The only wire connected to a non-GFI breaker is a black wire, which is hot. If you have any white wires going to a non-GFI breaker, this is a bad problem.

Bill

BrucePerens · 01-07-2019, 03:04 PM

Hopefully they are away from the campsite where this happened by now. It may simply have turned out to be a bad power post they were plugged into.

Avalie · 01-09-2019, 08:30 AM

I apologize for the slow response everyone. Also thank you to everyone who has responded to this, I very much appreciate your kind efforts. We are up and running just fine now.
I worked on it for nearly a week and still had the same symptom. (The return Wire from the CB which controls the wall GFCI was hot.) I finally was able to schedule an electrician to come and work on the problem. In the process of Re-connecting all the wires and putting everything back To the way it was at the start of the problem, The return wire went back to being a return wire and was cold. This immediately resolved the problem. I know none of us care for this type of resolution. My best guess is the feed wire from the circuit breaker to the Wall-mounted GFCI may have been touching the hot wire to the metal ring which clamps it as it passes through the plastic cover on the converter. So in the process of reconnecting wiring that one may have moved position enough so it no longer shorted through the metal ring.
In a related issue, several days before this solution magically happened, I did discover the 30 amp feed plug into the bumper of the trailer had significant heat damage on the return white wire. I replaced to damaged plug. This did not change the symptoms inside the trailer. My best guess on that, is that damage to the plug was a result of the short not the cause.
I’ve tried my best here to convey the problem and solution as I understand them. As you can tell I am not a technical writer.
We still have a few weeks left here in Tucson before heading back to winter time in Utah. I am mildly confident, in other words holding my breath, that this problem will not appear before we check out. Thanks again everyone, happy trail manoring.