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Camperluver43's avatar
Camperluver43
Explorer
Jul 23, 2013

Electrical Issues - 1994 Wilderness 5th Wheel

Good afternoon everyone, first post but I have been reading this forum for a few years to help me along with my first camper purchase.

We have a 1994 Wilderness 5th wheel that we bought fairly cheap due to a few issues:
1. Refrigerator was unhooked because it was "$800 to fix so we had it unhooked"
2. Small Roof leak - I have since patched and repainted with rubber epdm paint.
3. Awning was damaged.

Anyways, we used it twice last summer and it worked well. AC Worked, Stove worked, Microwave/water/ lights all worked. The refrigerator turns on (lights up) but goes to "Check" after looking for gas/electric. Also, I noticed that the rearmost outlets on the wall did not work.

Fast forward to this summer. I removed the panel behind the fridge and found a melted plug outlet that I assume used to be mounted back there. The PO tied the wiring together (looks like household electrical wiring) but there is one more connection leading towards the back of the camper that is just hanging there that I assume leads to the rear outlets.

First time out this season was same as last, everything was fine. This second time was this past weekend. I ran the AC at my house, checked the lights, etc. everything worked. We got to the campsite and I turned on the AC after plugging in (30A service). AC was on for about 30 minutes and I ran in to use the bathroom. I go to turn on the light in the bathroom and the AC stops along with a breaker tripping sound.

I pull the breaker panel back and see 5 breakers- Main, AC, General Power, Microwave, HW Heater. The General Power breaker is tripped. I try to reset and it trips immediately. I try to turn the AC back on and it won't work.

After about another 20 minutes of just leaving everything alone, I try the AC again and get it to work on Low only. Fan will work on hi/low, but AC will only blow cold on Low. The General Power breaker still wouldn't reset- immediately tripping with a small spark each time. All lights and outlets in the camper don't work.

I pull the covers off the lights in the main entrance area and find both bulbs are black and blown. All other lights seem to be ok. We wake up Saturday morning (everything happened Friday evening) and now the AC will not cool anymore but the fan runs. Since then I can't get the AC back on and when I got home I attempted the breaker again and it tripped - it also tripped the outlet at my garage along with the garage breaker as well.

I'm fairly well versed at repairing stuff like this but mostly from doing it on cars and some household wiring. If anyone needs additional info/pictures I can grab them tonight and upload in the morning when I return to work (Can only access internet from my phone from home)

Thank you all in advance!

17 Replies

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  • Camperluver43's avatar
    Camperluver43
    Explorer
    Aug 01, 2013
    Just as an update, finally made more headway on determining the issue.

    - Last night I hooked everything up and removed the tail lights. Breaker still tripped in garage & camper.

    - Tested all outlets with "general purpose/power" break off. No outlets worked, so I've found that basically is what the breaker is for - the power to the outlets.

    - I then removed every outlet pulling as much of the wire out as possible to inspect, everything looked fine-solid clean connections.

    - Stumped, and with my lights still on in the camper - I went to turn on the wall lights that are mounted just behind the fold down couch. This area was slightly water damaged when we purchased the camper and these lights are never used/never worked. Well, once again all power was lost, breaker in my garage tripped (this was still with the general purpose breaker off).

    - I then pulled the lights off the wall and found that one was badly corroded on the back. The wires looked ok, but the fixture was rusty. Also one of the lights had moisture on the wires as well so I have yet another leak to find. I decided to remove the wiring and cap them all off. I did this on both lights, turned everything on again, then the moment of truth, I reset the "General Purpose" breaker and it stayed on and the garage didn't trip either.

    - I then checked the outlets and now have power to only 2 - one by the window behind the couch (next to one of the lights) and one in my bedroom. All other outlets don't work.

    - I then used my circuit test light (cheap one where you connect the wire to a ground and use the prong to check for power and it lights up), to check the wires from the lights. With the tester clipped to the bare copper ground and touching the prong to the black wire, the breaker trips and I lose everything. I tested the other wires which show no power so I'm sure this one wire is the feed for the other light and I'm assuming the rear outlets of the camper.

    - I don't get why this would cause the breaker to trip unless the ground isn't grounded or its backfeeding somehow? If left alone the camper is fine, but as mentioned none of the outlets really work anymore (including the one needed for the inverter which is now connected to an extension cord).

    - My plan is to have my wife shake this wire while I try and figure out where it exits the wall below and pull it though with a string tied to the end so I can feed a new wire through. Then obviously check for damage or other issues.

    Open to feedback on all of this!
  • Camperluver43's avatar
    Camperluver43
    Explorer
    Jul 29, 2013
    handye9 wrote:
    Camperluver43 wrote:
    I have pulled the entire panel out and all of the wires into the bar are tight. I actually haven't checked the outlets to see if they'd work but the rearmost outlets never worked.

    In regards to drilling, yes I installed LED tail lights on it and needed to drill new holes. Part of me was thinking of this as well. I guess I'll pull those off and take a peak/test it again.


    Figure out what is on that non working circuit. Does fridge work on AC power?

    If your air conditioner, converter, fridge, and microwave are working, all that is left are outlets. Either the wiring is compromised, one of the outlets is shorted, or something plugged into one of the outlets is shorted.


    Well my Fridge never worked - it was disconnected by previous owner because "it stopped working and would cost $800 to fix". All I've found out about that is the melted plug in the rear compartment of the fridge, and a bare wire (household 120 style) hanging around not connected to anything. Then the wires that used to be connected to the outlet are twisted and capped together.

    I had always assumed this was the reason the rear outlets never worked. The Fridge does light up and do a check after checking it just stays on the "CHECK" light. As is now, it will light up and go to Check as well.

    Nothing is plugged into the outlets.

    My next thought as you said is something is compromising the outlets or wiring. I'm going to pull them out tonight and see if I can't find anything along with removing my trailer tail lights as well.
  • handye9's avatar
    handye9
    Explorer II
    Jul 29, 2013
    Camperluver43 wrote:
    I have pulled the entire panel out and all of the wires into the bar are tight. I actually haven't checked the outlets to see if they'd work but the rearmost outlets never worked.

    In regards to drilling, yes I installed LED tail lights on it and needed to drill new holes. Part of me was thinking of this as well. I guess I'll pull those off and take a peak/test it again.


    Figure out what is on that non working circuit. Does fridge work on AC power?

    If your air conditioner, converter, fridge, and microwave are working, all that is left are outlets. Either the wiring is compromised, one of the outlets is shorted, or something plugged into one of the outlets is shorted.
  • Camperluver43's avatar
    Camperluver43
    Explorer
    Jul 28, 2013
    I have pulled the entire panel out and all of the wires into the bar are tight. I actually haven't checked the outlets to see if they'd work but the rearmost outlets never worked.

    In regards to drilling, yes I installed LED tail lights on it and needed to drill new holes. Part of me was thinking of this as well. I guess I'll pull those off and take a peak/test it again.
  • handye9's avatar
    handye9
    Explorer II
    Jul 28, 2013
    Something is shorted in that particular circuit.

    Any nails or screws put in the walls, recently?

    What is not working, while that breaker is turned off? Wall outlets, maybe?

    Have you removed the breaker panel cover and checked for loose wires on neutral / ground bus bars, and that breaker itself? DON'T DO THIS WHILE PLUGGED IN !!!
  • Camperluver43's avatar
    Camperluver43
    Explorer
    Jul 28, 2013
    Sorry for the delay but I'm finally getting to checking the camper. I pulled the breaker box out and everything looks ok albeit a little dirty. I then removed the battery which was dead and have tossed it on a charger to see if its any good. Next I found the converter/inverter which looked normal but I once again found a house style outlet that the inverter was plugged into along with another bare wire (house style 120). I have pictures of all this I will post in the morning.

    I decided to plug the inverter straight to my house outlet and give everything a shot. With just the inverter plugged in all of my lights worked again. Also my fan/AC clicked for me. So I then hooked the camper plug up to my house as well (30amp plug) and tried the breakers again. Once again my house breaker tripped. So I tried it again but this time I left the "general power" breaker tripped and reset all the others. Wouldn't you know it my AC kicked on, the lights work, microwave works etc. But if you try that general power breaker everything trips again.

    So now my next question is what would cause this?
  • Camperluver43's avatar
    Camperluver43
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2013
    Yeah I am going to pick up something on my ride home today, no sense in shooting in the dark.

    I also just remembered which got me thinking - we found a dead mouse (or two) in the camper this spring. I had traps in the outter compartments but I believe my wife had found one under the sink as well.

    I've dealt with a lot of wiring issues in vehicles at work from rodents, so this made me think that they possibly have chewed the wiring in the camper somewhere and a hot wire is touching the camper skin/grounding.
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2013
    Abandoning the mystical approach, one the handiest instruments you can own is a clamp-on AC/DC ammeter, with built-in voltmeters. When a fuse "pops" it's always nice to know how. If a circuit is supposed to be off and it is drawing power it is an excellent clue that an over current fuse failure in imminent. One voltage value at the battery or converter and another really different anywhere else is also a clue that you are in for problems.

    Trying to cure problems without just a bit of technology is similar to trying whatever medicine is on the shelf to cure an ailment. Very little guesswork is involved.

    I am going to post something just below this...

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