Power problems

fj12ryder wrote:
Lots of misinformation here. The original post said the lady had a 50 amp "jack" for her RV. But did she? The plug for the RV is a 30 amp plug. So it would seem necessary to find out exactly what the power outlet is that the trailer is plugged into, and what voltage is actually making it into the trailer. Until that point, it's just speculation.

Yup The picture he attemped to post clearly shows a 125/2450 50A 4 wire twist lock.

Maybe he should clarify?

Lots of misinformation here. The original post said the lady had a 50 amp "jack" for her RV. But did she? The plug for the RV is a 30 amp plug. So it would seem necessary to find out exactly what the power outlet is that the trailer is plugged into, and what voltage is actually making it into the trailer. Until that point, it's just speculation.

Local tech idea is a good one. You "helping" without sufficient knowledge after an electrian may have goofed isn't wise.

if your not sure? call a local rv tech talk to them see if they know how things should be , then have him come check all the things that could be burnt out.

Sean Boburk wrote:
Not my RV...helping a lady.

Gal has a 5th wheel...she had a retired electrician wire in a 50 amp jack for it at her house. She "said" that it worked for awhile, and does not now. Also said that he wired something wrong at first and "popped" the power. NO idea if that means it popped the house breaker, or popped a breaker in the RV.
Is he bonded and have insurance? There is NO EXCUSE for the house plug to be miswired as it's a standand household plug used on ovens etc. It is 120/240V 4 wire 3 pole 50A circuit. That means she let the smoke out and needs equipment replaced.

Checked for power at the plug that hooks to the RV power jack. The two L shaped sockets have 120 volts to the non L shaped socket, and have 120 volts to the contact on the side of the plug. I did NOT check L shaped socket to L shaped socket. If I do...these should read a relative zero volts correct? 240 volts would be wrong, correct?
Nope, the flat blade is neutral and the outside ground and from each L bracked to neutral and ground should be 120V. L to L should be 240V. And ground to neutral is 0V

Is the house plug now correct? The round pin is ground, the opposite neutral and the 2 side ones are the hot leads, ie 120V to ground and neutral.

Now, it's voltmeter time.

You need to check everything: 120v at outlets, 120v to converter, 12+ volts at battery, etc. That way you can start to isolate the problem.

Sean Boburk wrote:
The RV end of the power cord Bobbo...two L shaped sockets.

That is a Marinco 120v/240v 50 amp twist lock outlet. The ground is on the side of the socket. The pins are L1, L2, and neutral. The two L shaped sockets should read 240v between them. The straight socket should read 120v to either of the L shaped sockets. The ground, on the side, should read 120v to either of the L shaped sockets, but 0 volts to the straight socket.

If those readings are correct, then the electricity coming into the RV, NOW, is correct. Now, you just need to check for damage inside the RV from when he miswired it in the first place.

fj12ryder wrote:
She has a 30 amp plug to the camper, and a 50 amp plug to the pedestal? Have you checked the voltage at the RV end?

No. That is a 4 conductor 50 amp outlet. The ground is a plate on the side of the outlet rather than a pin. He was checking it at the RV end, hence his description of "L shaped sockets."

Fj12ryder, since I can't post a pic here, and only a link...i had to find a link to that photo to post it. I did NOT unplug the RV cord from the power receptacle, so no idea what the male end of the power cord looks like. The pic on the right is what the RV side of her power cord looked like. The one with the two L shaped sockets in it. I figured if I had power there...it eliminates everything up to there as a source of the problem.

The 50 amp outlet is definitely a 120/240 volt outlet. Some misguided souls will say it is 50 amp 120v because most (NOTE THE WORD MOST) RV's don't use 240v and they can't understand the difference between a 120/240 volt feed and a 120v usage. This is the very reason that I always correct them when they post that erroneous information. It misleads new souls.

When the electrician wired it wrong at first, he undoubtedly damaged components in the RV. You are going to have to get a QUALIFIED electrician or another RVer who knows about wiring to check every circuit and every device to see what was ruined. Do NOT get that "retired electrician." Most likely, the converter/charger is dead. The electronics, like the television, may be dead. If the air conditioner was on, it may be dead. Any other 120v appliances, if on at the time, may be dead.

As far as the 12v circuits, they would have worked until the battery died from a dead converter/charger. If any 12v stuff, like lights or water pump, work, then all the 12v stuff should work.

Sean Boburk wrote:
The RV end of the power cord Bobbo...two L shaped sockets.

She has a 30 amp plug to the camper, and a 50 amp plug to the pedestal? Have you checked the voltage at the RV end?