Voltage Drop - NOT Park Problem
Phoenix Cruiser 2551 30a service - First noticed it when A/C turns on then stumbles. Voltage at another RV outlet dropped well below 100. Capacitors good. A/C working fine until this point. A/C did...
Forum Discussion
Here's an update:
- Problem persists.
- Moved RV to different site feed (site is where I park my RV most of the year fed off a 200a 240 v service in a 50x50' shop. RV is the ONLY place a voltage drop appears. I have a 100a feeder to an RV pedestal outside for summer and an RV plug inside for winter that is ~3' of #10 wire from the main 200a panelboard.
- Replaced the shore power cord with a new one 25 feet shorter.
- Replaced transfer switch.
- Replaced the shore plug to t-switch feeder.
- Replaced the t-switch to main panel feeder.
- Old EMS junction no longer in circuit.
- Took inverter off line; disconnected runs and jumpered the two breakers it used).
- Disconnected the charger.
- Replaced the main breaker.
- Released and retightened all breaker panel terminals.
- I even get the same voltage loss with the neutral bonded to the ground in the breaker panel.
FYI I spent 20 years as a lineman and a residential/commercial electrician so I have a bit of a clue what I'm doing. I'm not above mistakes and errors in this field but they're pretty rare. Every time I made a change I retested for the problem and each time the results were the same; unacceptable voltage loss.
So, I've pretty much rewired the RV so I'm going to have the power company come cut the seal and pull the meter so I can tighten the main lugs on the service and main panel. I can't find anything currently that points to that being a problem but aluminum wire/lug connections are known to loose up over time but not normally in the short time this service was installed.
If the panel lug task doesn't resolve it I'll have the power company check the transformer and underground lateral for problems. They just a month ago replaced the main primary through here and I've noticed since they energized it there is a 4 to 5 voltage variation under no load throughout the day.
That said I've seen no evidence it's a building or service issue. I have a friend who stays a couple of times a year. He saw no issues plugged into the same pedestal I was although in hindsight his rig is 50A, 240 volt. It's possible he would not see a loss but that would be a weird set of wiring coincidences I think.
- Problem persists.
- Moved RV to different site feed (site is where I park my RV most of the year fed off a 200a 240 v service in a 50x50' shop. RV is the ONLY place a voltage drop appears. I have a 100a feeder to an RV pedestal outside for summer and an RV plug inside for winter that is ~3' of #10 wire from the main 200a panelboard.
- Replaced the shore power cord with a new one 25 feet shorter.
- Replaced transfer switch.
- Replaced the shore plug to t-switch feeder.
- Replaced the t-switch to main panel feeder.
- Old EMS junction no longer in circuit.
- Took inverter off line; disconnected runs and jumpered the two breakers it used).
- Disconnected the charger.
- Replaced the main breaker.
- Released and retightened all breaker panel terminals.
- I even get the same voltage loss with the neutral bonded to the ground in the breaker panel.
FYI I spent 20 years as a lineman and a residential/commercial electrician so I have a bit of a clue what I'm doing. I'm not above mistakes and errors in this field but they're pretty rare. Every time I made a change I retested for the problem and each time the results were the same; unacceptable voltage loss.
So, I've pretty much rewired the RV so I'm going to have the power company come cut the seal and pull the meter so I can tighten the main lugs on the service and main panel. I can't find anything currently that points to that being a problem but aluminum wire/lug connections are known to loose up over time but not normally in the short time this service was installed.
If the panel lug task doesn't resolve it I'll have the power company check the transformer and underground lateral for problems. They just a month ago replaced the main primary through here and I've noticed since they energized it there is a 4 to 5 voltage variation under no load throughout the day.
That said I've seen no evidence it's a building or service issue. I have a friend who stays a couple of times a year. He saw no issues plugged into the same pedestal I was although in hindsight his rig is 50A, 240 volt. It's possible he would not see a loss but that would be a weird set of wiring coincidences I think.
