Microwave and front TV zapped?

Escapade wrote:
I have used this 50amp plug on our house since 2011 with no problems. I did run extension cord to the tv and micro from the house and they do not work. Some how I got a surge that took out these.

They do make inexpensive meters/test plugs that can be used to check your outlets throughout the coach to see if you have any ongoing problems. These are available at Home Depot or Lowes. I like to use this type to check voltage, current usage, frequency(when using generator), and the amount of power an appliance uses. Kill-A-Watt

I have used this 50amp plug on our house since 2011 with no problems. I did run extension cord to the tv and micro from the house and they do not work. Some how I got a surge that took out these.

bsinmich wrote:
How long had you been using the 50 amp outlet at home? How was it wired? Is it possible it was wired as a 220V outlet? It wouldn't be the first time for that to happen on this forum.

The 50 amp RV outlet IS wired as a 220 volt outlet. It is the 30 amp RV outlet that must be wired as a 120 volt outlet ONLY.

How long had you been using the 50 amp outlet at home? How was it wired? Is it possible it was wired as a 220V outlet? It wouldn't be the first time for that to happen on this forum.

Taking an extension cord from your home you can check the microwave by unplugging it from the RV and see if it works from the extension cord at home. If it doesn't work then, the microwave has a problem.
Some TV's will allow you access to the 120 volt AC plug. If you can get to it, try the same thing with the extension cord and see if you can get it to work. Make sure that your ignition switch is in the right position as some vehicles have ignition switch interlocks to the TV.
These tests cost nothing and they can at least tell you if your appliances are bad without paying an electrician.
Once you have the microwave unplugged, then you can check that outlet with any other 120 volt appliance to check for power.
Basically before you call an electrician, you can safely check things yourself.
If all of the outlets have power, and you cannot get the TV or microwave to work using a separate extension cord, they will both need to be repaired or replaced.
It is still a good idea to find out what caused the problem which MAY be impossible now if it was caused by a brief power surge.

If you have reached the limits of your comfort zone and need to call in tech support I would rather use a licensed electrician over the the local RV service center. Although I am not a code qualified commercial or residential electrician I did do a lot of work under supervision and haven't encountered major differences between RVIA and NEC. The labor hour costs might actually be less or close to what a service center will charge plus you won't have to wait in line for maybe weeks to get the coach fixed. As an added bonus they'll come to you rather than having to drive the coach somewhere. The hard part might be finding a tech who will work on a coach. An RV might be a bit exotic in their view.

If you want to troubleshoot yourself you can unplug the microwave from the outlet and test that outlet. Check for a correct ground and neutral as well as hot. There should be between 110VAC and 130VAC present. You should as a reference check the voltage at the outlet you plug the coach into from hot (line) to neutral. If you have 120VAC at the plug and a significantly lower voltage at the outlet in the RV you have a bad connection somewhere in between. If you are not comfortable working with normal AC line voltage do not do what I have suggested above. You need to have a qualified RV electrician look at it. Keep in mind that RV AC electrical systems are built to different codes (RVIA rather than NEC) so a household electrician may not be familiar with the requirements for a RV.

We have a converter and not a invertor. Do we use a residential electrician or go to a RV service shop?

Sounds like one of your inverter circuits tripped..check inverter and make sure circuit breakers are not tripped..two push buttons, push in on both of them...

Is it possible that while plugging in that the neutral and ground plug contacts were interrupted? This might have put (for a very short time) 240V across the remaining legs with nowhere to go . . . . possibly finding their way across the front 120 circuit. It doesn't take much.

I repaired a smoked TV by going on ebay for the replacement board. You'd be surprised how many TVs I saw with broken screens, sending the remaining parts to the used market. With basketball finals and Stanley Cup in full swing there might be a lot of broken TVs out there (think flying shoes, glass bottles, etc).

I repaired a uwave also, but had to buy the board from a repair part supplier. They're out there . . . .

Good luck,
- bob