Only half my electrical outlets work

Thanks everyone for all the help...I'm overwhelmed! Since we weren't fortunate enough to find the true problem, I'm definitely going to keep all this info...for next time!

Problem solving tip. Have power indicated on a non contact voltage tester but whatever that line powers does not work?

Continue on to the device(s) powered up but not working. Follow the "other" wire the neutral wire. The voltage tester will keep beeping! It should be playing possum.

There is a break in that neutral wire. Keep following it and you'll find your broken bad connection.

Hope this helps

A tripped GFCI is usually what causes this and as said, they can be hidden in unlikely places. But if the receptacles started working again without doing anything, it's not a tripped GFCI.

It could be a loose wire at the converter panel, either the connection to the breaker or to the neutral bus. Not all that uncommon.

I have seen a wire on the rear of a receptacle almost barely hanging on. RVs and mobile homes use a self-contained device ("SCD") receptacle (or switch). The hot, neutral and ground are pushed onto a pair of fingers/slots on the rear. It is supposed to be done with the correct tool but I'm not sure if all electricians at the factories use them or if they are just sloppy (wouldn't be a surprise).

It is also conceivable that you have a hot or neutral wire that is just barely touching the finger on the back of a SCD and travelling is causing it to make or break contact.

Tracking down any intermittent electrical problem can be difficult. If it is intermittent, I would definitely try and find the cause as it could potentially be unsafe. If you can catch it when it's not working, do the following.

As mentioned above, a non-contact voltage tester (or "NCVT" for short)would be a good diagnostic tool for this. See photo below. IIRC, they're around $20 at places like HD. Remove the cover off the converter panel. First check for a loose hot or neutral wire by visual inspection and wiggling the wires. If that looks okay, use the NCVT to verify that the hot (black) wire out of each breaker is working. A voltmeter can be used to see if the power stays on for each circuit in the panel as you wiggle the neutral wires. Use insulated pliers.

If the panel looks okay, then what I would do is systematically pull one receptacle out of the wall at a time and inspect the connections at the rear of it. There are wings that hold the receptacle to the wall and the cover on the rear just pops off. Use the NVT to see if the incoming and outgoing wires are all live. Then with the power off, visually inspect the connections to the fingers. If there is a loose or improperly terminated wire, it will be obvious.

If you can't catch it when it's not working, then I would check the panel as above and then pull out one receptacle at a time and visually inspect the connections.

Good Deal! Hopefully it'll keep working and thanks for the update.

Our house requires maintenance and it isn't being bounced down the road. It can be tedious but it pays to check connections now and then.

Let me throw in something I've seen, even though it didn't happen here: The connection between the flexible shore tie cable and the solid RV wiring seems to be prone to working loose. Can get discolored, burned, failed. An RV tech told my friend that the problem seems to happen more in RVs where the owners use a couple plug-in heaters in the winter.

The weirdest thing happened. I got home yesterday morning and everything was working...had been for about 26 minutes, and my husband had been gone for a couple of hours by that time. He told me he found a loose ground wire the night before, but we don't have a CLUE why everything's working now.

I had the same issue with mine. I was getting 120V at gfci in bathroom but would not charge the vacuum. I also didn't have any power to any of the outlets in the slide. It ended up being a bad GFCI. Replaced that and everything was good to go. It was tight getting a residential GFCI in that tiny little box, I had to use an extension cover.

Thanks everyone for the help. I'm printing it all out now for dear hubby...I work nights and he's on days so I have to pass on the info when I can. I'll post our success!

if your electric is of mainly in a slide area i would check junction boxes on the frame for loose or burned wires

welcome to designed in Mexico wiring systems S.A. de C.V.

Get a flashlight, open all cargo bays. Look for "convenient" hidden GCFI receptacle placed for outdoor patio use.

These rigs are wired to save on amount of wire, not maintaining intelligent intuitive diagnosis.

This is where a NON CONTACT AC electrical detector "pen" is priceless.

Use multimeter set on AC voltage. Stab left side (shortest) electrical outlet slot with one probe, the other to neutral to see if there is -any- voltage. Even one volt. This is a clue.

When I had that happen in my laredo. It turned out to be a loose neutral wire on the circuit board panel. I was at a loss and just for the hey of it got a screw driver and checked all the screws for tightness there.

Obviously I did not electrocute myself in the process. :W