Hooked up to 220v on accident

[Wayne_Ballou]

Okay I'll be the new moron of the Forum. Name is Wayne- Nice to meet you!

we were putting a new pull behind trailer on the property for a friend to stay in, had to run an outlet to plug it in... the guy who wired it (and i swear it wasn't me... yeah... :S ); accidentally wired it as a 220v because I have done so many stoves and dryers lately- my buddy who picked up the breaker grabbed a 2 pole 30 to put it on and I didn't think twice... YES I take the cake as the village idiot.

So- I have been looking it up online, reading other forum posts of similar situations. Most of the conversations turn into "How could you accidentally do that?" Well I just explained that above, so I am hoping this doesn't turn into a conversation about what receptacle faces look like, like all the other forum posts I read. haha

Okay! So I Put in a new converter box and all new breakers. It has an AC/DC converter panel.

I am still getting no love on the A/C, The overhead lights, The Fridge & I think the water heater... I am heading back out there tomorrow with a volt meter to test everything thoroughly and make sure power is heading out from the new breakers / panel.

The two questions I have for the experts at this point are:

On my AC/DC converter box, the 12v DC side has little LED's by the fuses, My old panel did not have these... Anyways- They are not turning on at all... Is that a sign that the 12V DC side is not getting power? Would these light up if the panel itself is functioning or could that mean my battery is shot?

&

My main concern is the Air Conditioning right now, We are in Louisiana- It GETS HOT. If the breaker is sending the 20 out and the Air Conditioner is not working, would I likely have to install an entire New Roof Top A/C unit? Or Would it just be in my thermostat control box?? That seems a heavy, heavy chore... Thoughts?

This is by far the most expensive mistake I have made in a while and I am super bummed...

Thank you for all and any help before hand- I will get this sorted out and hoping if i Document it here, it could help others.

[Wayne_Ballou]

Hurricaner wrote:
There is no need to replace breakers, they could care less if they see 240 or 120. You say you replaced the power distribution panel which again there was no need to do. Some power distribution panels contain the converter but many do not. Did you actually replace the converter or just the distribution center?

Sam

Yes sam I started there... I am not extremely familiar with RV wiring, this was a huge lesson all in all- Afterwards we tested and one of the breakers was definitely fried... but 2 of the Originals were in working condition, by the end of it I was wondering if the panel itself ever needed replacement; I am assuming you are right and it did not.

So in that statement I also spent a lot more money than I should have had to spend to fix this problem... If i was more knowledgable in the first place on how RV's wiring worked and just replaced the converter, then diagnosed- I could have likely saved $300+

I wish you chimed in earlier! haha,

Ohwell- All is well that ends well, right?

... except in my wallet

[Old-Biscuit]

Wayne Ballou wrote:
Alright guys! Thanks for the help! I know a lot of you have been RV'ing for years and never had this happen, but it is a fairly common thing from all the RV shops I spoke to, so don't hate too hard on those who have this issue... Life happens, we learn from mistakes.

I got it all sorted out and luckily not very much was blown down the line, in the last steps of diagnostics are going now.

I replaced the electrical panel, the breakers and the converter (it was a stand alone converter box)

All my AC & DC is working now
-Radio works
-Air Conditioner works
-Water pump works
-Water Heater works
-Outlets work

still waiting to see if the fridge will get cold over the coming hours.

All in all i spent around $650 for parts from our local RV shop, I could have probably found them cheaper, but we have a friend waiting to move into this thing so I just paid for what they had.

It was a very expensive mistake and a good lesson learned.

Moral of the story for the others that run into this problem:

-Like mentioned above, get a volt meter and always double check your receptacle before plugging in, this was my personal fault but I could see how this could happen on accident

-If you connect to 220 on accident it's not the end of the world, it wasn't even hard to fix, but it took some patience to go through and follow where the leads went, what was fried and what wasn't

-If your converter is blown, your DC side won't work (obviously), Almost all appliances use both 110v and 12v DC to run, so get the converter fixed first so that you can tell what really isn't working. Don't go buying parts for the fridge, microwave, etc etc until you have your AC/DC panel working properly, there is a chance your appliances aren't working because they use both systems for power.

-In certain models, the converter box is located away from the breaker the panel /DC fuse hub. I found my converter under the kitchen sink.

-Everyone you ask for help from is gonna spend at least 30 minutes explaining to you why the plugs are different and that is where most peoples knowledge on the issue ends. As well as giving you 'your an idiot' attitude. hahaha shake it off, because it's all good and if you understand electrical flow, it isn't too hard to fix.

-After connecting your new panel / converter / breakers, check them with the volt meter to ensure proper voltage is there.

I will give one more update when I confirm that everything is working properly again.

Thank you soooo kindly for the extra knowledge everyone! I really appreciate it.

Good for you!

[Wayne_Ballou]

Alright guys! Thanks for the help! I know a lot of you have been RV'ing for years and never had this happen, but it is a fairly common thing from all the RV shops I spoke to, so don't hate too hard on those who have this issue... Life happens, we learn from mistakes.

I got it all sorted out and luckily not very much was blown down the line, in the last steps of diagnostics are going now.

I replaced the electrical panel, the breakers and the converter (it was a stand alone converter box)

All my AC & DC is working now
-Radio works
-Air Conditioner works
-Water pump works
-Water Heater works
-Outlets work

still waiting to see if the fridge will get cold over the coming hours.

All in all i spent around $650 for parts from our local RV shop, I could have probably found them cheaper, but we have a friend waiting to move into this thing so I just paid for what they had.

It was a very expensive mistake and a good lesson learned.

Moral of the story for the others that run into this problem:

-Like mentioned above, get a volt meter and always double check your receptacle before plugging in, this was my personal fault but I could see how this could happen on accident

-If you connect to 220 on accident it's not the end of the world, it wasn't even hard to fix, but it took some patience to go through and follow where the leads went, what was fried and what wasn't

-If your converter is blown, your DC side won't work (obviously), Almost all appliances use both 110v and 12v DC to run, so get the converter fixed first so that you can tell what really isn't working. Don't go buying parts for the fridge, microwave, etc etc until you have your AC/DC panel working properly, there is a chance your appliances aren't working because they use both systems for power.

-In certain models, the converter box is located away from the breaker the panel /DC fuse hub. I found my converter under the kitchen sink.

-Everyone you ask for help from is gonna spend at least 30 minutes explaining to you why the plugs are different and that is where most peoples knowledge on the issue ends. As well as giving you 'your an idiot' attitude. hahaha shake it off, because it's all good and if you understand electrical flow, it isn't too hard to fix.

-After connecting your new panel / converter / breakers, check them with the volt meter to ensure proper voltage is there.

I will give one more update when I confirm that everything is working properly again.

Thank you soooo kindly for the extra knowledge everyone! I really appreciate it.

[cmoecmoe]

My buddy did the same thing. We opened up the converter and there was a ceramic fuse inside that was blown. We replaced that and the convertor started working again.

Maybe you could get that lucky also!

Craig

[Hurricaner]

There is no need to replace breakers, they could care less if they see 240 or 120. You say you replaced the power distribution panel which again there was no need to do. Some power distribution panels contain the converter but many do not. Did you actually replace the converter or just the distribution center?

Sam

[Learjet]

aruba5er wrote:
I always say " put a piece of wire in a guys hands and right away they think they are electricians" Your ac may not work because the transformer 120/12 volts in the AC my be shot. The AC runs on 120 volts but the thermostat is 12 volt DC so there is a relay in there somewhere. I can hear mine clicking the the AC. Or there may not be a transformer but just a relay. I don't know but the thermo controls it so it just might be a relay only I doubt if the ac is shot. Too d**m bad people can't read. It says right on the outlet the voltage and amperage

Normally the house 12 volt system provides the DC for the thermostat control.

[aruba5er]

I always say " put a piece of wire in a guys hands and right away they think they are electricians" Your ac may not work because the transformer 120/12 volts in the AC my be shot. The AC runs on 120 volts but the thermostat is 12 volt DC so there is a relay in there somewhere. I can hear mine clicking the the AC. Or there may not be a transformer but just a relay. I don't know but the thermo controls it so it just might be a relay only I doubt if the ac is shot. Too d**m bad people can't read. It says right on the outlet the voltage and amperage

[time2roll]

Wayne Ballou wrote:
this may be another amateur question, but will the DC side work if the battery is dead or disconnected?
Does it have to have a complete circuit or can it function off of power from the AC side alone?

Dead but good battery is fine. RV will run fine and charge the battery in due time.

RV will run fine with no battery when all systems are good. The converter will supply a steady ~13.6 volts DC to run all the DC components.

[Bumpyroad]

Twomed wrote:
Who needs one of those darn surge guard thingys anyway??? 😞 😞

YEP, I've RVed for 80 years without one and never had a problem.
bumpy

[Twomed]

Who needs one of those darn surge guard thingys anyway??? 😞 😞

[Dave_H_M]

Ron3rd wrote:
Professional electricians wiring 30A RV plugs for 220 happens from time to time and I've read several of these stories on this forum over the years.

I think the word "professional electrician" should be left out of this thread. :W

[Ron3rd]

Professional electricians wiring 30A RV plugs for 220 happens from time to time and I've read several of these stories on this forum over the years.

[M_GO_BLUE1]

More than likely all your electronic items are fried...I would check everything that works off electricity

[Darryl_Rita]

WyoTraveler wrote:
BTW this problem is more common than many think. The 30 amp plug for RVs is the same plug that many 220 vac name brand welders use. Unless you wired it youself you would never know. In fact I have one wired for my welder mounted by the door of my shop.

No,it's not the same. Close, but not the same.