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coljhoss's avatar
coljhoss
Explorer
Feb 14, 2014

gfci's wont reset,fridge and living area light only work

all outlets dont work,bedroom has no power,no power in bathroom, living area and kitchen lights work but no other lights.theres a gfci in bathroom and kitchen both are tripped. i replaced both gfci's with green indicater lights showing if properly wired, both gfci's have lit green light.niether will reset.my little knowledge of gfci's tells me theres an open line or short somewhere in the wiring down the line of the gfi'c.first whats the best way to find where the short is,and second theres a box in the shore battery compartment that i believe is a inverter.how do you tell if its bad, and does it even matter since im hooked to shore power.last, how can i get a 120 wiring diagram so i can tell the sequence of outlets to help diagnose or possibly rewire.i changed all outlets inside and out of coach and fuse box and fuses.have a volt meter,but never used one.any help would be appreciated. thanks jess.
  • What kind of RV? We can't help if we don't know what you are working on.

    Very few, if any, RV manufacturers will have any electrical drawings. They wire as needed, without drawings.

    The "indicator" light on a GFCI outlet, does not indicated whether, or not, the outlet is wired correctly. On some, it only indicates there is power to the outlet, on others, it indicates the outlet is tripped.

    How many wires, and what colors, were connected to the old outlets?

    Did you connect the line and load wiring on the correct terminals?

    Pictures would be a great help. Maybe, pull the GFCI's out of the wall (don't disconnect the wires), take a picture and post it, for us to see how you wired it. !!! Disconnect shore power while you are doing this. !!!

    Your non working lights, are part of the 12 volt system, and they are in no way connected to the GFCI's. They are a seperate issue.
  • GFI's have a line and a load connection. Switch off the breaker for the circuit. Start with the outlet closest to the breaker panel and disconnect the wires on the load side. Turn the breaker back on and see if gfi resets. If it does you know the problem lies further down the circuit. Reconnect the load side and go to the next outlet and repeat by disconnecting the load side. process of elimination. Try to isolate the fault. Hope this helps.

    You mentioned you replaced the gfi's...you are aware that the wires (line and load) cannot be switched?
  • My GFI outlets with green lights show the light when they are reset. I have some with yellow lights that show the light when they're tripped. I'm suggesting that possibly the GFI outlets won't reset because they already are. This of course doesn't help a bit to explain why there's no power.
  • Most RV lights are 12V and hence have nothing to do with AC or GFIs so it sounds like 2 different problems. My GFIs have a green light when they are working - so does your GFI have AC power but no downstream power?

    If a GFI doesn't reset, is OK and there is no miswiring then it's neither a short or open - instead it's a ground fault - ie a small amount of current leaking to ground.

    You need to post the rig/year and model number of all related equipment. Good luck on getting any accurate wiring diagram as mfgs are know to make numerous production changes.

    And on top of that:
    i changed all outlets inside and out of coach and fuse box and fuses.have a volt meter,but never used one
    this suggests you should hire help considering you rewired the plugs.

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