Circuit breakers heating up

double check your voltage. low voltage equals high amps
high amps equal high heat.

tvman44 wrote:
Check for loose connections on all wires in the panel. :)

When my rig was new.. Had intermittent operation of both A/C's. finally got to trouble shooting the first (And last) stop was the power distribution panel (Breaker box) where one of the screws took over TWO FULL TURNS before I felt resistance.

This (And some other happenings) leads me to believe many RVers have a few screws loose (I spolied the joke by telling you what kind first).

Like the six screws inside the Marinco cord outlet on a brand new 5er I assisted once,,,,, outlet came right off the cord. Even the cable clamp was loose.

ALSO make sure the breaker is properly seated, I have seen them "Tilt" forward a bit and not make good contact, but this usually happens on teh park end of the power cord.. Still same breakers in my case.

CavemanCharlie wrote:
My suggestion is to get it fixed right away. There is most likely a loose connection somewhere. If your not very comfortable with this type of work then take it to a professional. If your asking questions on here then I feel you may want to take it to a professional. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just don't want to read about you and your family burning up in a fire. If it gets hot something is wrong. Warm maybe, but not hot. I hope you understand why I'm speaking this way.

I have to agree with Caveman, a properly sized breaker and wiring with good connections will not get hot. Not all breakers are $5.00 but even $15 or $25 is not a lot of money to improve safety. Replace the breaker, clean all plugs and sockets, tighten all terminals. If you're not happy with doing it yourself, hire someone.

Here is a little secret, the Natl. Elect. Code is prepared by a consortium of different interests, Insurance Cos., Fire Suppression Forces, Elect. Materials Manufacturers and the Unions for example. Believe it or not, they really want you to be safe and therefore, build into the codes a safety factor.

HEAT is a warning that there is something wrong.

I normally don't like dialectic grease, it is messy to work with and seldom really needed. In a stationary location like a S&B, it is seldom required, however, since I became an RVer, I keep a container with a flux brush in the RV toolbox and another in the parts cabinet above my workbench in the garage. A RV is a horrible environment for electrical systems, if it's not exposed to horrible weather conditions the electrical systems are exposed to a totally unrealistic vibration test. One of the worse things is the pedestal in campgrounds. Folks forget to turn off the breakers before connecting and disconnecting shore cables and arcing occurs and that invites corrosion. There isn't much we can do about the socket in the pedestal but complain when we find a bad one. Just be aware that if your power cord plug gets hot or even warm, there is a problem and the CG management needs to be notified.

Thanks for posting and now get it checked.

My suggestion is to get it fixed right away. There is most likely a loose connection somewhere. If your not very comfortable with this type of work then take it to a professional. If your asking questions on here then I feel you may want to take it to a professional. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just don't want to read about you and your family burning up in a fire. If it gets hot something is wrong. Warm maybe, but not hot. I hope you understand why I'm speaking this way.

Even if it's a loose connection, replace the over heated breaker

How old is the rig?
A new breaker is about $5 at Lowes or anywhere else you care to get one. It would take about 5 minutes to replace it. Breakers, like anything mechanical, do eventually wear out.

Loose connection in the 120 volt distribution panel.
Buy a tube of electrical grease
Disconnect the shore power cord.
Remove metal dead front to gain access to the circuit breakers neutral buss and ground buss.
Remove one conductor at a time. Inspect for melted insulation and burnt copper wire.
Apply liberal amount of electrical grease and reconnect.

Check for loose connections on all wires in the panel. :)