110V trailer plugs don't work.

[rileybrake]

Hi I have a 1994 Kit Companion Sunchaser 5th Wheel and I'm trying to figure out why the plugs inside don't work. The only one that works is the one in the kitchen. There are about 5 or 6 other ones that don't work. This has been an ongoing problem that seems like it comes and goes. We even drove 2 hours back to the dealer only to realize the problem fixed itself. When they plugged it in and tried it worked fine. At first I blamed it on being plugged in with a 100 foot extension cord and it losing so much power over the distance. Although when I took the generator out and tried plugging it directly into that it also didn't work. I Then started to dig a bit deeper. When I tried the outlets with my voltmeter, I get 120V with the power lead in the right hole and the negative lead in the bottom ground plug. With the negative lead in the left hole and power lead in the right, I only get a reading of about 8 Volts. I've tried everything from looking at fuses and breakers to trying to rest the GFCI outlet in the bathroom(which has a green light lit up dimly, but outlet doesn't work) to even trying to find a dirty ground somewhere. I honestly think its a dirty ground somewhere but I have cleaned all the grounds that I could find. I'm out of ideas to try. Does anybody have any problems like this or know of any solutions that I could try. I had one plug out of the wall already but nothing looks out of the ordinary.

Thanks

[tenbear]

rileybrake wrote:
K so the grounds have nothing to do with the 110v inside the trailer?

The ground is not used to carry the electrical power. It is used only for safety. The electrical power is carried by the hot wire, black, and the neutral, white.

The 120 vac is measured between the black and white wires.

[rileybrake]

K so the grounds have nothing to do with the 110v inside the trailer?

[bobwalter]

It appears the problem is in the neutral wire. TURN OFF THE POWER! before the following test. Using an ohm meter, check continuity between neutral sides between receptacles. To do this, use an extension cord to extend the meter to different outlets. Check between #1 and #2, then between #2 to #3 then #3 to #4 and so on. This will indicate where the bad connection is in the series of outlets. I would guess it is somewhere between #1 (which works) and #2. Are all outlets on the same circuit breaker? If so, the bad connection is in the wire between #1 and #2. If there are more than one circuit for the outlets, the bad connection is in the load center.
Intermittent problems are the worst. Let us know what you find. Good luck

[tenbear]

It sounds like the outlets are built for RVs. With the power off you should be able to unsnap the back exposing the wiring. In there the copper wires are forced into the contacts. I don't remember the exact details, but with the back off you should be able to see if the contact is good.

If you can, don't put the first back in until you check the second one. It would be good to check the voltage at the second one before replacing the first, and so on down the line.

Be careful with the power on!!!

[Houston_Remodel]

It will look like a standard household outlet.

Look for burnt marks from arcing, loose wires, or a wire that has fallen out.

Since you said it fixed itself after being on the road, that indicates a bad connection. Jiggle the wires to find the loose one (usually the hot wire) if there is no clear evidence of arcing.

[rileybrake]

Alright I'll try talking the one that works apart. Am I just looking for broken wires, burnt wires (hopefully not) etc.? The one that works is the closest to the breaker/fuse box. I had a broken one apart already but it didn't look like a standard household outlet. There were two bundles of wires going in from the top and I could hardly get enough slack in the wire to flip it around and take the back apart (to see how the wires actually hooked up. I hope that makes sense... If not I'll upload a picture maybe.

[kaydeejay]

rileybrake wrote:
Anybody know of any other ground locations on that trailer or possibly a wiring diagram(kind of a long shot I know) I checked and cleaned the ones in the battery compartment, the front compartment, inside the plug-in compartment and one underneath the trailer toward the back. I may be able to contact the manufacturer for one but i fear that because its so old and they're not even in business anymore that ill be out of luck.

You are checking the wrong wires - everything you mention is your 12 volt system.
You need to focus on the 110 volt side.

[westend]

You can forget about the ground connections for right now, the only ones that matter for your 120V system is the connection to trailer frame and the connection within the load center.

Since you have used a long extension cord and lowered the voltage to the load center, I'd start at the shore power cord and make sure there is continuity on all three connectors. Since you have one receptacle working, one would assume it will be judged OK.

Next to check is the load center and the individual wires from the circuit breakers and the individual wires to the neutral bus. You could also check continuity from the neutral bus to any and all of your receptacles. The kitchen receptacle should show good continuity, as should the rest.

If all of the above checks out, you will need to determine which branch circuit powers which receptacles. This may be marked on the load center panel or you may have to trace with your meter. As was mentioned, trailer receptacles are usually daisy chained with the ones closest to the load center wired in first. The remainder will be wired along from that one in a chain. Look for loose wire connections.

You should also try to locate any hidden GFCI devices, under sink cabinets, outside the RV, etc. Test and reset the GFCI's. If they won't reset, there is no power present at the device.

Good luck with your power.

[tenbear]

Seems like a loose wire to me. Can you determine if all your outlets are powered by the same circuit breaker? Have you checked your GFIs?

Manufacturers usually try to wire the outlets so they use the least wire, so the outlet closest to the distribution panel is probably the first in the chain. The closest outlet to the first is probably the second, and so on. In this case, the one that works is the first in line.

Turn the power off, then start with the one that works, take the outlet out of the box and check the wiring. Continue down the line until you find the bad connection. It will either be in the one that works or the first one after that.

Good luck.

[BarneyS]

Moved to Tech Issues forum from DIY.

[stevepk]

Tripped GFCI

[BTPO1]

kaydeejay wrote:

Houston Remodeler wrote:
You have a loose connection.

I agree, but based on your observation of 110V from hot to ground, but only 8V from hot to neutral I would suspect an open neutral, maybe even as far back as the panel.
Start there and check your connections for tightness and lack of corrosion.

X2, Quite possibly a loose neutral wire. This problem is in the 120VAC circuit and not the 12VDC circuit. JMO

[rileybrake]

Anybody know of any other ground locations on that trailer or possibly a wiring diagram(kind of a long shot I know) I checked and cleaned the ones in the battery compartment, the front compartment, inside the plug-in compartment and one underneath the trailer toward the back. I may be able to contact the manufacturer for one but i fear that because its so old and they're not even in business anymore that ill be out of luck.

[rileybrake]

Ya ill have to take a look tomorrow. I just find it weird that it's happening to almost all the outlets in the trailer except the one in the kitchen which works flawlessly. Would they be all connected? (Sorry Im no good with electrical... especially 110V)

[kaydeejay]

Houston Remodeler wrote:
You have a loose connection.

I agree, but based on your observation of 110V from hot to ground, but only 8V from hot to neutral I would suspect an open neutral, maybe even as far back as the panel.
Start there and check your connections for tightness and lack of corrosion.