50 AMP circuit breaker

[bcbob]

Is it possible for the 50 AMP circuit breaker to go bad yet remain in the on position? In the last two weeks I have gone from repeated GFCI tripping to now getting no current to the coach. I replaced the GFCI but it looks like I didn't have to.

[enblethen]

You are welcome!
And thanks for the update!

[bcbob]

Thank to all that stuck with me on this one. Didn't get to it all week, but yesterday I got to the bottom of it. Special thanks to enblethen. He got me back on the right road when he said :

"Start by checking input to GFCI receptacle. Voltage present to line side of GFCI receptacle, then disconnect load side conductors. Try resetting GFCI receptacle. If it resets, there is problems in the load side wiring. If it does not reset, bad GFCI receptacle."

I did just that and BINGO ! I took out the front TV and all outlets downstream from that GFCI are working. Must have been a short inside the TV from the power cord. I could have taken it to a RV tech like someone suggested. That would have cost me several hundred dollars, plus I wouldn't have recieved this free education. I understand a whole lot more about how this coach is wired.

Thanks again to enblethen.

[bigdisplay]

deandec wrote:
You have also indicated that you have no 120v power when the inverter is turned on and no shorepower or generator power is present.

This situation would indicate that your inverter breakers are not set, the house batteries are not charged, the big fuse that might be in your wiring between the batteries and the inverter is blown, or the inverter is not working.

My rig has two Class T type 300A fuses between the house battery and the inverter. One located near the battery and the other 20 feet away in the inverter area. If one of these fail, there is no 12v power or inverter power.

Iam out

[deandec]

You have also indicated that you have no 120v power when the inverter is turned on and no shorepower or generator power is present.

This situation would indicate that your inverter breakers are not set, the house batteries are not charged, the big fuse that might be in your wiring between the batteries and the inverter is blown, or the inverter is not working.

My rig has two Class T type 300A fuses between the house battery and the inverter. One located near the battery and the other 20 feet away in the inverter area. If one of these fail, there is no 12v power or inverter power.

[deandec]

I solved my Garage GFI popping problem, when I discovered I had wired it wrong.

I had not observed carefully the line and load terminals identified on the back of the GFI outlet.

Once I corrected the wire attachments to the correct terminals on the GFI everything worked as it should.

[deandec]

bcbob wrote:
Deandec said :

“If you replace the problem GFI outlet with a standard 15a outlet, do you still have the same symptoms?” The answer is no. Everything works fine when I replaced the problem GFCI with a standard 15 AMP outlet. I checked all the visible and easy to get to connections last week but have not pulled every outlet from the wall.

B

I have had a similar problem in my garage GFI. It is caused by too much draw on the circuit when both my upright freezer and refrigerator start cooling simultaneously. I avoided the problem by installing a non GFI outlet. This of course does not meet code.

See my next post for my actual fix.

[rgatijnet1]

Have you checked underneath the coach for rodent damage? Mice, rats, squirrels, and other pests, just love to chew on electrical wiring, since the newer insulation is soy based and edible to them. This can cause some weird problems to crop up.

[enblethen]

It is beginning to sound like multiple issue.
One being problem with GFCI circuit and one being a power input issue.
Start by checking input to GFCI receptacle. Voltage present to line side of GFCI receptacle, then disconnect load side conductors. Try resetting GFCI receptacle. If it resets, there is problems in the load side wiring. If it does not reset, bad GFCI receptacle.
Then work on loss of power from shore power connection.

[tropical36]

bigdisplay wrote:
A weak circuit breaker/ what the heck is that? and what would that have to do with a gfi tripping
your story is so convoluted its impossible to figure this deal out on here
but you not knowing a thing about RV electricity.inverters,trasfer switches
etc just go get a RV tech and he will fix it in a heart beat

Even though you're not being the nicest and most diplomatic here, I had to laugh over this ...convoluted... word and one that you don't often see used. With the way it's spelled and pronounced, it must have been derived from polluted explanations. With all due respect to the OP, I must agree that this is the main problem here. After all the guessers and the ...this is what happened to me...even though totally unrelated is said and done, we have some really sharp engineers and electricians on here that would like to help, but, don't even bother, because they don't have a basis for even beginning a trouble shooting conversation.
Anyway, and pertaining to the subject matter, chasing ghosts in a windstorm is never the answer.

[bigdisplay]

enblethen wrote:
I doubt whether it is a circuit breaker issue.
Disconnect the load side wires from the GFCI receptacle and see if it resets. This will show whether the problem is with GFCI receptacle or an issue down stream from it.

BUT what about the one circuit that only run on the gen set and not shore power?

[enblethen]

I doubt whether it is a circuit breaker issue.
Disconnect the load side wires from the GFCI receptacle and see if it resets. This will show whether the problem is with GFCI receptacle or an issue down stream from it.

[bigdisplay]

A weak circuit breaker/ what the heck is that? and what would that have to do with a gfi tripping
your story is so convoluted its impossible to figure this deal out on here
but you not knowing a thing about RV electricity.inverters,trasfer switches
etc just go get a RV tech and he will fix it in a heart beat

[bcbob]

Deandec said :

“If you replace the problem GFI outlet with a standard 15a outlet, do you still have the same symptoms?” The answer is no. Everything works fine when I replaced the problem GFCI with a standard 15 AMP outlet. Three weeks ago when this trouble all began I told my friend Stan. “ I’ll just put in a standard outlet and forget about the GFCI and try not to drop my blow dryer and curling iron in a sink full of water”. That was in jest. I did temporarily replace the GFCI with a standard receptacle this morning before I saw the post from deandec. You can help me with this deandec. Shouldn’t this now put me back to looking for a lose connection somewhere? I checked all the visible and easy to get to connections last week but have not pulled every outlet from the wall.

Back to this morning……after putting in the standard outlet and watching everything work fine I’m thinking…. “lucky me…3 weeks ago I bought a brand new in the box GFCI that was bad”…… So this morning I bought another one. Took it home put it in. Nothing changed. I have current that runs right thru the temporary standard outlet but will not go thru a GFCI. Anyone know how to test for a weak CB like deandec sez it might be? He’s as close to solving this problem as anyone.

[deandec]

On my old Rig with a Freedom 25 inverter, the 110v power travels first to the Circuit Breaker Panel.

Then for the selected Inverter controlled circuits the 110v wiring goes to the Inverter.

From the Inverter, the 110v power goes to the GFI outlet (I only have one GFI located on the same wall as the CB Panel).

Since you have one GFI working and one GFI not working I would think you have 110v to the Inverter, but only one leg outbound to the working GFI outlet.

So the problem might be a weak GFI (which you have tested) or a weak breaker or circuit on the Inverter controlling that non-working GFI?

If you replace the problem GFI outlet with a standard 15a outlet, do you still have the same symptoms?