1999 Southwind 35s 110v Problem Solved, Circuit Breaker Bad
Just wanted to post this experience to hopefully help the next person who runs into the same problem.
Noticed one day that the little 110v fan my wife had turned on was stopped. I thought maybe it had just died from old age, but she insisted that it was still good. It was plugged in on the kitchen under-cabinet GFCI outlet. I checked all the GFCI outlets, none were tripped. The breaker for that circuit wasn't tripped, either. We were traveling, so I resolved to investigate it after we got home. Later on, running on generator, we stopped and turned on the coffeepot plugged in below the dining table. It came on, then died. This time, the circuit breaker was tripped. Tried to reset it, same result, tripped breaker. It was then that I realized the breaker seemed to move around a bit when pressure was applied, as if it wasn't properly mounted inside the box.
I shut off the generator and undid the metal cover and pulled that circuit breaker out. I noticed that there was broken plastic around the brass groove where it pushes onto the corresponding brass prong that carries the current. It wasn't terribly obvious, but there was some plastic missing.
Looking more closely, I saw that the metal groove was dark and had a rough surface. Looking at the metal prong that fits inside of it, I again saw dark spots and some pitting.
What I surmised had happened is that the breaker had been vibrating and bounced around for years until the connection was less than ideal; this caused arcing and heat, causing the plastic to break away; then, the problem got worse because the missing plastic allowed more motion. The end result was that the pitted connections weren't conducting electricity as they should, instead generating heat and kicking the breaker. Worst case could have been damage to anything plugged into that circuit, or even a fire, but thankfully it didn't get that far. A $20 bill for a new circuit breaker and 5 minutes to swap it out solved the problem.
Noticed one day that the little 110v fan my wife had turned on was stopped. I thought maybe it had just died from old age, but she insisted that it was still good. It was plugged in on the kitchen under-cabinet GFCI outlet. I checked all the GFCI outlets, none were tripped. The breaker for that circuit wasn't tripped, either. We were traveling, so I resolved to investigate it after we got home. Later on, running on generator, we stopped and turned on the coffeepot plugged in below the dining table. It came on, then died. This time, the circuit breaker was tripped. Tried to reset it, same result, tripped breaker. It was then that I realized the breaker seemed to move around a bit when pressure was applied, as if it wasn't properly mounted inside the box.
I shut off the generator and undid the metal cover and pulled that circuit breaker out. I noticed that there was broken plastic around the brass groove where it pushes onto the corresponding brass prong that carries the current. It wasn't terribly obvious, but there was some plastic missing.
Looking more closely, I saw that the metal groove was dark and had a rough surface. Looking at the metal prong that fits inside of it, I again saw dark spots and some pitting.
What I surmised had happened is that the breaker had been vibrating and bounced around for years until the connection was less than ideal; this caused arcing and heat, causing the plastic to break away; then, the problem got worse because the missing plastic allowed more motion. The end result was that the pitted connections weren't conducting electricity as they should, instead generating heat and kicking the breaker. Worst case could have been damage to anything plugged into that circuit, or even a fire, but thankfully it didn't get that far. A $20 bill for a new circuit breaker and 5 minutes to swap it out solved the problem.
