Ground fault when I plug into 120 v outlet
I have no problems when plugging into a campground 50 amp outlet or when running off the generator, but when I plug into the 15 amp, 120v outlet at my storage lot I open the ground fault breaker at th...
Forum Discussion
Neither a generator nor a standard 50A RV outlet has a ground fault interruptor on them, and so a ground fault (except a low-impedance hot to ground fault that carries a lot of current) will never trip them.
As ScottG says, there's a fault somewhere, and while finding a ground fault can sometimes be tricky, it's something that needs to be fixed and under the right (wrong?) circumstances could be a genuine safety hazard. Fridge and water heater elements leaking a bit of current are common sources of ground faults. A neutral wire making contact with ground somewhere also is not uncommon, and can be less than easy to locate.
Occasionally it is possible that individual harmless leakages, expected ones from things like RFI filters on the inputs of grounded electronic devices, can add together enough to make a ground fault interruptor trip. This is comparatively rare, though.
One way to begin troubleshooting is to start with all the breakers in the RV turned off and see if the GFCI trips. If it does, look for a neutral/ground fault--possibly in the breaker box, possibly somewhere else. If it holds, turn on the main breaker, and then the branch circuits one by one until you find one that is causing the fault.
As ScottG says, there's a fault somewhere, and while finding a ground fault can sometimes be tricky, it's something that needs to be fixed and under the right (wrong?) circumstances could be a genuine safety hazard. Fridge and water heater elements leaking a bit of current are common sources of ground faults. A neutral wire making contact with ground somewhere also is not uncommon, and can be less than easy to locate.
Occasionally it is possible that individual harmless leakages, expected ones from things like RFI filters on the inputs of grounded electronic devices, can add together enough to make a ground fault interruptor trip. This is comparatively rare, though.
One way to begin troubleshooting is to start with all the breakers in the RV turned off and see if the GFCI trips. If it does, look for a neutral/ground fault--possibly in the breaker box, possibly somewhere else. If it holds, turn on the main breaker, and then the branch circuits one by one until you find one that is causing the fault.
