2017 Montana 3100RL 5th wheel Ground Fault

Question

I have a 2017 Montana 3100RL 5th wheel. At home I have the RV connected to a 20 amp 120V circuit to keep the battery charged. Getting ready for camping trip I noticed that the ground fault on this 20 amp external circuit was tripped therefore no power to the RV. After some investigation it appears that the refrigerator is tripping the ground fault. It is the same circuit that is for the side of the living room/kitchen that the refrigerator is located on. Refrigerator is on the kitchen slide. While investigating the problem I noticed a green light blinking off/on at the circuit breaker power box. Is green blinking light normal?

After I killed the wasp that have built a nest near the refrigerator outside access panel I will be able to disconnect the refrigerator and verify this is causing the ground fault. Any suggestions on why refrigerator is tripping the ground fault?

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grit_dog · Answer

Is the fridge plug a dedicated circuit or part of a circuit for say the kitchen outlets?
And does that circuit have its own gfi outlet? (That could be defective when drawing juice to run the fridge)
Also being in a slide out, chance of an actual ground fault, chaffed wire etc should be investigated.
Could be just a bad gfi as well. 2 years old or 20 years old, I’ve replaced a fair number of gfi outlets and/or breakers. They are west parts to an extent.
Just some suggestions.

tenoc · Answer

Yes, it is the refrigerator.  Unplugged it from 120V and no ground fault.

enblethen · Answer

Inspect the wires for the 120-volt element at the where it enters the stack. Common place for it to go to ground. You may be able to move wires away from the sheet metal. You could have enough room to tape wires.

bb_tx · Answer

Check your fridge neutral wires for any bad insulation touching metal. If it was a hot wire touching metal it would most likely trip your breaker.

It could also be a bad heating element if an absorption fridge.

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2017 Montana 3100RL 5th wheel Ground Fault

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