Coincidental or electrical gremlins?

[Ranger431]

Ok, so I've been wondering if I've just had aome bad luck, or a bigger problem. The RV in question is a Flagstaff 831BHDS - 2014 vintage.

Last trip, after sitting for the winter out CD/DVD player wouldn't respond to anything. Thought it had just died a premature, but natural death.

Then, brought the unit home yesterday and the main TV and the microwave are both DOA. The recepticals have power, and other things plugged in seem to work fine. No blown fuses or breakers.

I found both of these issues when plugging in the unit at home (have a 50 amp outlet in the garage. The TT has been plugged in there on and off for a couple of years with no issues.

Any advice for trouble shooting, or just a nasty string of coincidence? Obviously been thinking a lot about an in line power management system / surge protector.

Thought?

Thanks!

[myredracer]

Need an AC/DC voltmeter, if you don't have one. A problem on the radio (12 volts DC) and MW & TV (120 volts AC) is unrelated.

Check voltage at rear of radio - may need to cut & strip a wire and reconnect with a wire nut. Check voltage at receptacles and not with a non-contact voltage tester. Microwave and TV would normally not be on same circuit. If MW and TV work on an extension cord, there is a bad connection between them and the breakers. You could map out the circuit that each receptacle is on, then shut off the breakers that don't supply the MW or TV. Then pull each receptacle out of the wall and inspect connections at the rear of them.

It's possible to have an improperly executed crimp connection on the 12 volt wire to radio, somewhere between the radio and 12 volt fuse in the panel. It's also possible to have the wires at the back of a receptacle improperly installed. It's even possible to have a loose wire at the connection to a breaker. These can be caused by bad workmanship at the factory and we have had all of these happen in our TT. Finding a bad crimp connection can be a challenge as they could be in many locations and some hard to find.

Intermittent electrical connections can be very difficult to track down. Sometimes they are simply gremlins and may go away on their own... :R If you do happen to find a bad connection(s), there is always the possibility of more lurking around somewhere.

If you haven't got an EMS, order one today! Get a Progressive Industries one. Also, an LED type voltmeter permanently mounted inside is a good thing to have.

[cabranch47]

You said that you checked the outlets with a "circuit tester". Is that one of those pen type units that you stick in an outlet and it light/beeps? If it is you might go back and check with an actual voltage meter. Sometime those circuit testers will pick up an induced or "ghost" voltage even when those outlets are turned off, and show that it is hot. Just saying.
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[Bobbo]

Best in the business, Progressive Industries EMS-PT50X. (I had the hard wired version in my previous RV, and pulled it out and moved it to my current RV.) Works just as well plugged into 15 amp, 20 amp, 30 amp or 50 amp. However, you still should turn off the breaker before plugging in or unplugging your RV. Just good practice.

[Ranger431]

ScottG wrote:
Probably coincidental, especially the 12v stuff.
OTOH if you plug in your 50A without having the breaker off you can inadvertently end up with a floating neutral for a instant. That can be enough to send 220 through the rig and electronic things like TV's are never really "Off" so damage can occure.
If you don't have an EMS system, it's a good investment for 50A rigs.

Can you recommend a good non hardwired model? Do any o them Allo functionality on both 30 and 50 amp? Use 50 the vast majority of the time, but some older paka just have 30.

[Ranger431]

Thanks. I was able to plug another TV into the recptical the original ones were in and they worked fine. Will try the extension cord to the larger TV tomorrow, but can't say I'm too optimistic.

Thanks!

[ScottG]

Probably coincidental, especially the 12v stuff.
OTOH if you plug in your 50A without having the breaker off you can inadvertently end up with a floating neutral for a instant. That can be enough to send 220 through the rig and electronic things like TV's are never really "Off" so damage can occure.
If you don't have an EMS system, it's a good investment for 50A rigs.

[BFL13]

You could run the TV/DVD and microwave from an extension cord from the house independent from the 50a shore power. If they work, then you can plug into a receptacle in the rig (you say work) If ok there, then it is the receptacles they normally plug into.