Forest River Independence Trail 172 Electrical issue

[WunMn]

  I bought the trailer brand new January 2022 and have taken it on 3 trips in that time with approximately 800 miles on the trailer. In the past trip, I started to experience electrical issues. When connected to my generator(Predator 3500 Super Quiet Inverter), the surge protector and the LED signal lights on the stock power plug have given multiple issue codes. When power is given to the camper with all breakers on, I get a “open negative” signal on my surge protector and a “reverse negative” on the signal LEDs on the power cord. When turning off breakers to isolate the issue, the issue goes away when the 12 volt battery charger breaker is off, the microwave breaker is off, and the GFCI outlet breaker is off. Unknown if it is connected to the issue but the domestic fridge/freezer has resorted to only operating through propane and will not operate electrically. No fuses are blown and it has always been used on level ground. These issues started less than a month after warranty ended and trying to not break the bank.

[opnspaces]

Have you recently removed any battery cables just before this started happening? As said above you should check that you don't have a swapped positive and negative wire.

Also two things I would try,

Buy an electrical outlet tester at your local home improvement store. Spend the extra dollar for the tester that has a GFCI test button. Test all the outlets in the RV and see what the tester says.

Most generators have an open neutral by design. This can be fixed by purchasing a replacement plug at you local home improvement store. Then ground the neutral and ground by placing a short jumper between neutral and ground screws in the plug.  Insert the plug into the generator and the open neutral should go away.

[MNtundraRet]

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@WunMn wrote:

  I bought the trailer brand new January 2022 and have taken it on 3 trips in that time with approximately 800 miles on the trailer. In the past trip, I started to experience electrical issues. When connected to my generator(Predator 3500 Super Quiet Inverter), the surge protector and the LED signal lights on the stock power plug have given multiple issue codes. When power is given to the camper with all breakers on, I get a “open negative” signal on my surge protector and a “reverse negative” on the signal LEDs on the power cord. When turning off breakers to isolate the issue, the issue goes away when the 12 volt battery charger breaker is off, the microwave breaker is off, and the GFCI outlet breaker is off. Unknown if it is connected to the issue but the domestic fridge/freezer has resorted to only operating through propane and will not operate electrically. No fuses are blown and it has always been used on level ground. These issues started less than a month after warranty ended and trying to not break the bank.

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It sounds like the battery may have been installed wrong or possibly grounded on the wrong side. The ground wire may have come disconnected from the trailer chassis. Have you checked the trailer manual?