GFCI at shore power tripping

[drummer2020]

Hello Everyone. Brand new to this. Hopefully someone can help me out. I have a 2021 Amerilite 199DD travel trailer. I inadvertently drained the hot water tank for winterizing and thought I had the switch off but I did not. The element failed of course. The GFCI on the shore power tripped to alert me. I went ahead and installed a new element, but alas, the GFCI tripped again after a few hours. I went ahead replaced the converter thinking that that may have been damaged in the element failure but still, the GFCI tripped. At this point, I isolated it down to the "GEN" circuit. When this one is in the "off" position, the GFCI at the shore is not tripping. I have a 30 amp to 15 amp plug adapter for the power source and have been using this for the last 3 months with no issue until the element failure, for information sake. If someone has some words of wisdom that would be super. Thanks!!

[Flute_Man]

Added comment. If the RV is wired correctly they play very nice with GFCI ‘s.
Jerry Parr

[drummer2020]

After doing some review of the hot water tank diagrams, and how it is wired, I suspect that I caused damage to thermostat/hi limit, ECO switch and it has failed. But again, I will do some testing to verify. Standing by...

[enblethen]

Trip button is normally on the 120 volt thermostat. That would go when element failed. Double check your wiring.
24 degrees and falling!

[drummer2020]

So here in Bellingham we just got an out of the blue cold snap and snow and I don't want to put water in my hot water tank to start my testing/pinpointing until it gets a few degrees warmer. That being said, when I went to drain the tank by removing the anode rod, I noticed that the trip button on the tank has been tripped. That tells me it is an issue within that hot water tank circuit. I also installed a 12 gauge extension cord and dogbone electrical adapter that will be better suited than what I had. Just wanted to keep folks in the loop. So until some warmer weather comes, we are in a holding pattern.

[road-runner]

Bobbo wrote:

It is not that there is no problem, it is that the problem is no longer being detected.

Finding the problem and correcting it will let the RV play well with the GFCI.

It takes some serious diagnosing to find GFCI problems sometimes.

1. Turn off all breakers in the RV. If the problem goes away, it is one of the hot wires leaking to ground. Turn the breakers on one at a time to identify the wire, then trace it. If the problem persists with all breakers off, it is not a hot wire leaking to ground.

2. Disconnect all neutral wires in RV breaker box. If the problem goes away, one of the neutral wires is touching ground. Reconnect each neutral one at a time to identify the wire, then trace it. If the problem persists with all neutral wires disconnected, it is not a neutral touching ground.

3. If the problem persists after #1 and #2, the problem is either the outlet, or between the outlet and the breaker box. That means one of the adapters, the plug on the RV, the point where the RV power cord is connected to the RV, or the ATS (if you have one).

It should go without saying, but I will say it anyway, UNPLUG THE RV BEFORE WORKING IN THE BREAKER BOX!

With one or two lines added to provide context, I nominate this info as a sticky. The subject comes up often, and there's so much misinformation about it.

[Bobbo]

Land Yachters wrote:
I had an almost identical issue a few months back but without the water heater element. For no reason that I know of, the GFCI I had been using for almost a year, popped as soon as I plugged in. I was using a 50 A to 30 A to 20 A dogbones. I finally plugged it in to another outlet, (non GFCI) and there was no problem.

It is not that there is no problem, it is that the problem is no longer being detected.

Land Yachters wrote:
Never figured out why, but I was told RV's and GFCI's typically do not play well together and to avoid using one if possible.

Not true. Finding the problem and correcting it will let the RV play well with the GFCI.

Land Yachters wrote:
I have been on the road since this episode, but expect I will have to replace outlet when I return.

While that may be the problem, it also may not. It takes some serious diagnosing to find GFCI problems sometimes.

1. Turn off all breakers in the RV. If the problem goes away, it is one of the hot wires leaking to ground. Turn the breakers on one at a time to identify the wire, then trace it. If the problem persists with all breakers off, it is not a hot wire leaking to ground.

2. Disconnect all neutral wires in RV breaker box. If the problem goes away, one of the neutral wires is touching ground. Reconnect each neutral one at a time to identify the wire, then trace it. If the problem persists with all neutral wires disconnected, it is not a neutral touching ground.

3. If the problem persists after #1 and #2, the problem is either the outlet, or between the outlet and the breaker box. That means one of the adapters, the plug on the RV, the point where the RV power cord is connected to the RV, or the ATS (if you have one).

It should go without saying, but I will say it anyway, UNPLUG THE RV BEFORE WORKING IN THE BREAKER BOX!

[Land_Yachters]

I had an almost identical issue a few months back but without the water heater element. For no reason that I know of, the GFCI I had been using for almost a year, popped as soon as I plugged in. I was using a 50 A to 30 A to 20 A dogbones. I finally plugged it in to another outlet, (non GFCI) and there was no problem. Never figured out why, but I was told RV's and GFCI's typically do not play well together and to avoid using one if possible. I have been on the road since this episode, but expect I will have to replace outlet when I return.

[stevenal]

I'll agree with Flute Man. The heating element may be off now, switched off on the hot leg. Neutral may still be connected, and GFCIs detect neutral-ground leakage. Brand new elements can have poor insulation that will cause a trip.

[Bobbo]

Wrong thread.

[ktmrfs]

Dusty R wrote:
You may know this but I'm going into it anyway.
A GFCI measures the flow of current between the hot and neutral wires, if some current flows to ground then the GFCI trips.
So somewhere you have some current flowing to ground.

not quite accurate. yes, It does measure the difference in current between the hot and neutral, and trips on an imbalance. It doesn't care if the current is flowing to ground, or a path to another neutral or coming from another hot, it just cares that the hot and neutral are not equal.

Now in the vast majority of cases, the trip is caused by current flowing from the hot to ground.

the term "ground fault interupter" is a nice description, and gets the point across, but really isn't a accurate description. It's a hot/neutral imbalance interupter.

Also all GFCI sold today must also trip if there is a ground/neutral connection downstream, even if no current is flowing in the ground or neutral. So if somewhere the ground and neutral touch by accident, the GFCI will trip. Or in a trailer if someone violated code and bonded ground and neutral together.

[Flute_Man]

I am a professional electrical troubleshooter. A good troubleshooting rule is to go back to the last place you were. So disconnect the heating element completely and try it again.
Let us know the results and we can go from there.
You may call me and I can help you over the phone. Please don’t chase symptoms all over the place because you might accidentally introduce another fault and then you really won’t know what happened.

[Dusty_R]

You may know this but I'm going into it anyway.
A GFCI measures the flow of current between the hot and neutral wires, if some current flows to ground then the GFCI trips.
So somewhere you have some current flowing to ground.

[Dusty_R]

You may know this but I'm going into it anyway.
A GFCI measures the flow of current between the hot and neutral wires, if some current flows to ground then the GFCI trips.
So somewhere you have some current flowing to ground.

[time2roll]

I would unplug the fridge as it might be on that "GEN" branch circuit. Remove the outside cover to access the plug.

I would say check the outside outlet for moisture, blow it out with some air. Although this will usually be on a "GFI" branch circuit.

Anything else plugged in to remove? Is the converter on the circuit? I know you replaced it but for testing I would disconnect. Think divide and conquer as you separate components.