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]

Glad to hear you found your problem and fixed it. You probably learned a lot in the process too.

Enjoy your RV.

[rileybrake]

Alright guys just to let you know I figured out the problem. There was a neutral wire behind a set of wall lights that was disconnected. It was closest to the panel and the first in line which would explain why none of the outlets worked. Thanks for all the help everyone and sorry for the late reply. I was gone to the lake and didn't have service.

[tenbear]

All the neutrals go to a buss bar in the distribution box. With the power disconnected, make sure the screws holding the neutral wires to the buss bar are tight, especially the white wire that is paired with the black wire of the problem circuit.

With the power on, turn the circuit breaker off then on again. Use your voltmeter to measure the voltage between the black wire on the circuit breaker and the white wire. It should read about 120v. If it checks out as good, see if the outlets are working.

If the problem is still there I would suspect the GFCI, or the circuit breaker.

[westend]

You should have a full path between the circuit breakers and the neutral bus. While UNPOWERED (remove shore connection), place a jumper wire in a faulty receptacle and check for continuity between the breaker's output terminal and the neutral bus in the load center. Make sure you have nothing else plugged into any receptacles that would store power in a capacitor. Check with a meter for lack of power, first. You should have continuity between the kitchen receptacle's breaker and the neutral bus with the jumper wire at the receptacle as you know this is operable.

You state "There is another breaker that controls the rest that don't work". Could that breaker be faulty?

[rileybrake]

OK so nice checked today and the kitchen is on its own breaker. There is another breaker that controls the rest that don't work. I opened up the GFCI outlet in the bathroom as I suspect that's the first in the line. I tested the wired going to it and it reads 8 volts. This leads me to believe that the problem is further back. I then opened up the breaker panel and couldnt see any arcing or anything abnormal on any of the wires. The white wires I suspect would be neutral? Is there any way to test to see if it even works at the panel?

[westend]

rileybrake wrote:
OK but the thing is that I have power to every outlet in the trailer. I've confirmed this by grounding it out. It's just the neutral won't complete the circuit. I'm thinking it's got something to do with a broken neutral wire somewhere.

As mentioned, check the neutral bus in the load center and the shore cord. Many times, when the neutral is over heated (like using a long, small gauge extension cord) the wire will part or char at the neutral bus.

[rileybrake]

tenbear wrote:

rileybrake wrote:
I also have a continuity tester that I bought when I was trying to figure out 12V boat wiring. It basically looks like a small test light. Would this work to be able to isolate which receptacle has the broken wire?

I don't know enough about your continuity tester. If it depends on 12v it wouldn't work on 120v. If it functions like an ohmeter and does not require the circuit to be powered, then it would work.

I'm pretty sure it'll work. It doesn't require the power to be on in order to work. I'll shut the power off and see if I can pinpoint which outlet doesn't work.

[rileybrake]

OK but the thing is that I have power to every outlet in the trailer. I've confirmed this by grounding it out. It's just the neutral won't complete the circuit. I'm thinking it's got something to do with a broken neutral wire somewhere.

[tenbear]

rileybrake wrote:
I also have a continuity tester that I bought when I was trying to figure out 12V boat wiring. It basically looks like a small test light. Would this work to be able to isolate which receptacle has the broken wire?

I don't know enough about your continuity tester. If it depends on 12v it wouldn't work on 120v. If it functions like an ohmeter and does not require the circuit to be powered, then it would work.

[tenbear]

Usually the GFCI is the first in the chain. When the GFCI is tripped it cuts the power off to itself and to all the outlets that follow it. It's purpose is to cut off the power if it detects a current flow in the ground wire, or is it a current unbalance in the hot and neutral. If you trip the GFCI, the GFCI and all the outlets that follow it should be without power. Plug a light into the working outlet an see if it is controlled by the GFCI. Try the same with one of the non-working outlets.

Edit: Re-reading your posts, you may have a bad GFCI IF it is wired after the one working outlet. I would think that the manufacturer would want the kitchen outlet protected by the GFCI.

Check your outside outlets. If they have gotten wet and are GFCI protected, they could be your problem.

[rileybrake]

I also have a continuity tester that I bought when I was trying to figure out 12V boat wiring. It basically looks like a small test light. Would this work to be able to isolate which receptacle has the broken wire?

[rileybrake]

I didn't really get a chance to look at it today but hopefully I will tomorrow. I have checked the GFCI thats in the bathroom. Thats the only one that I know about in the trailer. I will look again inside the cabinets etc. for a hidden one though. If The GFCI was tripped would I be getting power to the outlets? I have 120V when hooked to the ground plug. The outlet thats working is the closest to the panel. The panels labeling is somewhat confusing so i'll have to determine if they're all connected to one another (which I'm pretty sure they are) on my own with the multimeter. If they're connected i'll start with the one that works and work my way back.

[PaulJ2]

Intermittent? Plug a lamp or something you can see into one of the non working outlets. Go back to the working one in the kitchen and rap on it good with a screw driver handle or something. Light comes on? Found your problem area.

[Bobbo]

tenbear wrote:

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.

Correct. If your ground wire has power, you have a much more pressing problem.