Staying at a. Friends house during the fires here in lake County, caAt first 110 was working fine, then turned the ac on! I was sure we tripped a circuit breaker but they were all fine and the outlet works fine for anything else! Ran an extension to the garage after reading about the higher amperage available thereSame issue, ac kills Power, circuit breaker fine, outlet works with everything else. At this point i kick on my generator and plug into it with the same adapter i was using for 110. Everything works fine, ac, microwave. Plug back into verified functioning 110 no power at all. This is a 1982 winnebago chieftain

Transfer switch stuck in generator position?

Redking wrote:Staying at a. Friends house during the fires here in lake County, caAt first 110 was working fine, then turned the ac on! I was sure we tripped a circuit breaker but they were all fine and the outlet works fine for anything else! Ran an extension to the garage after reading about the higher amperage available thereSame issue, ac kills Power, circuit breaker fine, outlet works with everything else. At this point i kick on my generator and plug into it with the same adapter i was using for 110. Everything works fine, ac, microwave. Plug back into verified functioning 110 no power at all. This is a 1982 winnebago chieftainWhat is the gauge and length of the extension cord you used? If a cheap 50' or 100' cord you are losing a lot of voltage. Make sure you use a heavy duty cord and as short a cord as possible.

Have I got this right... Plug cord from generator into power socket for mh and everything works. Plug standard cord into 110 socket at house nothing works, but house socket works for other things. I suspect a bad cord, as it seems to be the only thing not working.

Try running the AC fan only. If that works you know power is getting there. I would highly suspect there is just too much power loss in the extension cord.

Plug into 110 = no power plug into generator = power

11 Replies

YC_1
Nomad
Aug 16, 2016
Did you try running just the fan? Did you measure the voltage at the RV breaker panel? Measure it before turning on the fan portion. Then measure it while someone turns the AC portion on.

I highly suspect the voltage will be low. Then go to the AC outlet you are plugging into and if it is a dual socket you can measure the voltage on the empty one while trying the test. If it does not have a second socket you can pull the plug out just slightly and measure.

This seems to be a simple Ohms law issue. Too much resistance somewhere.
eDUBz
Explorer
Aug 16, 2016
Had similar issues it was a bad cord.
Diesel_Camper
Explorer
Aug 16, 2016
Wonder if the AC wiring is reversed polarity or if friends garage or cord is reversed?
johntank
Explorer
Aug 15, 2016
1) Already to much power usage on that circuit, not enough amps left to run AC.
2) Extension cord to small of gage or to long or both for the amps needed (power loss) to run AC.
JMO
Redking
Explorer
Aug 15, 2016
I've tried 4 different adapters from my local hardware store, and the adapter works fine plugged into the generator. There is no transfer between the generator and shore power you either plug it into shore power or plug it into the genny.

Weird, right? It's the same cable working in a generator vs not working plugged in, microwave, ac, outlets nothing had power unless plugged into the running generator.
MrWizard
Moderator
Aug 15, 2016
It was working and now does not
Outlet did work, has power
The extension cord is bad
Or
The 30 amp to 15 amp adapter is bad
Those little hockey puck adapters burn easily
I quit using those things years ago and only use the dog bone long style adapters when one is needed
YC_1
Nomad
Aug 15, 2016
Try running the AC fan only. If that works you know power is getting there. I would highly suspect there is just too much power loss in the extension cord.
Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Aug 15, 2016
Or bad adapter.
wildtoad
Explorer II
Aug 15, 2016
Have I got this right... Plug cord from generator into power socket for mh and everything works. Plug standard cord into 110 socket at house nothing works, but house socket works for other things. I suspect a bad cord, as it seems to be the only thing not working.
edatlanta
Explorer II
Aug 15, 2016
Redking wrote:
Staying at a. Friends house during the fires here in lake County, ca

At first 110 was working fine, then turned the ac on! I was sure we tripped a circuit breaker but they were all fine and the outlet works fine for anything else!

Ran an extension to the garage after reading about the higher amperage available there

Same issue, ac kills Power, circuit breaker fine, outlet works with everything else. At this point i kick on my generator and plug into it with the same adapter i was using for 110. Everything works fine, ac, microwave. Plug back into verified functioning 110 no power at all.

This is a 1982 winnebago chieftain

What is the gauge and length of the extension cord you used? If a cheap 50' or 100' cord you are losing a lot of voltage. Make sure you use a heavy duty cord and as short a cord as possible.