Wiring Disaster

A grounded neutral in a 240 system is functionally inconsequential. In a 120vac system only a sine wave exists. It depends if the stator is wound Delta or Wye.

Here is an update. I had a few electricians look at the generator but they were unable to determine the problem. When anyone hears that someone fooled around with the wiring they don’t want to bother with it, or they want you I charge a lot of money ($600) to just trouble shoot all the wiring with no guarantees. If I pay money I want certainty that the problem will at least be determined. I scheduled an appointment with Cummings, but they can’t look at it until April, so I had my mechanic change a few basic things until then. We changed the oil, air filter, all the mini circuit breakers, starter solenoid relay in the generator, 100 amp breaker, house battery, and nothing changed, it would just click when trying to start it.Then we changed the actual starter, and the unit now turns but it won’t start. It gets very close to sounding as if it will start but it doesn’t. I feel like we are making progress and I will keep you guys updated, if anything hopefully it can help someone else.

Problem resolved!!!!! I bypassed the mini circuit breaker inside the coach that sends power the generator starter and it started right up. I think the original problem was the starter, but when the initial Rv repair guy messed with wires he crossed something. The reason I think it’s running now is because when I bypassed those wires, it actually joins them together and resolved the problem of the wire being on the wrong side of the breaker. Thank you for all those who stayed on topic and actually tried to help.

CA Traveler wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:
Actually a built in RV generator should have a bonded neutral and ground.

Should have? Say who. Mine did not. Neutral floated. I know cause it "Bit" me.. (Well slight tingle) annoying more than painful. but it very clearly was NOT bonded.

And now you know why they should be bonded. Without the bonding both the neutral and hot wires are hot and potentially dangerous. Normally the neutral is expected to very close voltage wise to the ground because of the upstream bonding like in the CG distribution.

Plus there is equipment that does not work or work correctly on a non bonded circuit. EMS is an example and of course the 3 light tester.

Portable gens are excepted in part because they typically are not necessarily designed for RVs. Some RVs will modify there portable gen for neutral ground bonding.

I had to make a bonding plug to make my Honda portable generator work on my motorhome

I am a retired electrician , worked years in commercial residential and industrial, I don't recall any NEC that says a generator installed in a mobile vehicle on land, has to bond the neutral to ground,
Bonding the neutral to ground creates a 120v hot to frame/chassis hazard, while an unbonded neutral offers a lower 60v hazard from either wire to chassis/frame,
RVs are considered a remote sub panel, neutral bonding is only Done at the main service drop from the power utility or the installation of a fixed generator location, even secondary sub panels in the same building , do not bond neutral to ground at the sub panel,
The RV breaker panel is a sub panel, shore power, portable generator, installed generator

Here is a picture of my Breaker Panel


Click For Full-Size Image.

Ground Buss Bar on left
Neutral buss Bar on bottom aka white wires
Mounting screws holding Neutral buss are insulated
None of the ground wires on the ground buss bar connect to the neutral buss,
None of the white wires on the neutral buss bar connect to ground Buss or the box,this is a floating neutral
Yes generator ground is connected to ground, but generator neutral is Not Bonded to ground

Some may think that the very bottom ground wire on the left, is connected to the neutral buss, ...... look again closely that wire crosses over the neutral buss and goes into a Romex clamp at the back of the panel (not visible at this angle) and is connected to a circuit in the RV,

MrWizard wrote:
I am a retired electrician , worked years in commercial residential and industrial, I don't recall any NEC that says a generator installed in a mobile vehicle on land, has to bond the neutral to ground

NEC 250.34(C) is where the requirement is stated, if I'm not mistaken, albeit in the usual opaque way the NEC states these things. Where there is both a shore power cord and the generator, the generator is part of a separately-derived system, and as such must have the neutral bonded to ground. Presumably the same requirements would apply to built-in inverters interconnected to the RV electrical system via a transfer switch.