Low voltage with ac on

wa8yxm wrote:
I am assuming the surge guard is near the house 50 amp outlet and is still showing good (120) volts so the drop is between it and the inside of the RV.

CHECK ALL PLUGS AND OUTLETS for any signs of blackening or tarnishing.

That is in addition to the excellent suggestion to tighten all screws above.

(My line is "Many RVers have a few screws loose, then I point you toward those same screws he mentioned)

The DW says there's a lot more than a few :B

I am assuming the surge guard is near the house 50 amp outlet and is still showing good (120) volts so the drop is between it and the inside of the RV.

CHECK ALL PLUGS AND OUTLETS for any signs of blackening or tarnishing.

That is in addition to the excellent suggestion to tighten all screws above.

(My line is "Many RVers have a few screws loose, then I point you toward those same screws he mentioned)

To really find the issue measure voltage at the house breaker then at the RV main breaker. If the drop is more than 5 volts you can measure all points along the way and find where the issue is. At the very least check each connection for heat after running a few hours.

This may or may not be related to your problem.
Here, on very hot days, typically around 5PM when all workers are returning home, the local utility company intentionally reduces voltage (as much as 6 volts). This is a brown out and they do it to reduce the load.
We have 50 feet of cable also; this further reduces our voltage. We have seen the voltage as low as 110. I panicked the first time, thinking there was a problem with our rig. Two hours later, when the sun went down, the voltage returned to normal; the power company had resumed full power transmission.

Its hot, many A/C are running, probably lucky to have 110 volts.
Quit lookin at the voltmeter, and instead listen for a good positive compressor startup. If I recall, 110v works just fine.

Thanks to everyone for the replys. I guess it is the longer cable run although it seems strange to me that 30 amp cables would drop the voltage when only carrying 14 amps.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I assssssssume the surge guard is after the cord meaning on the RV side?

(Surge guard with ac on or off 120 volts, 14 amps with ac on. Multi meter inside RV 120 volts with ac off but drops to 110 when ac is on)

Surge guard is at the power outlet. i.e. immediately after the dog bone. I think I will move it to after the extension cord. Surge guard connectors are not for direct connection to RV. Don't think any are since they are to go between power pedestal and power cord. Hard wired excepted.

j-d wrote:
Question, Chief...

In addition to the 50-ft 30A extension, is there also a shore tie cable from the RV to that extension? That is a LOT of wire, even when "correctly sized."

We camp at a lot of state parks. Many are 50A and of those, some have had their wiring recently replaced. It it's very hot (everybody running A/C), we get low voltage and breakers tripping. We like to position ourselves "just so" on the site, but lately I've decided we pretty much cannot get far enough from the power pedestal to need an extension. And our "30A RV Extensions" are only 25-ft.

That is one 25' extension and one 25' power cord.

smkettner wrote:
What is the voltage when plugged in direct?

best troubleshooting step so far

Check for heat.