power loss to appliances

[bzp]

Hi everyone,
I have a 2004 Winnebago Journey Diesel that I love. When I connected to the shore power yesterday, I forgot to first confirm the shore power breaker was off and it wasn't. I heard a snap like the sound of a spark as I connected. I then discovered that I had a loss of power to all of my appliances: ref, micro, tv, battery charger, and AC. However, my 120V receptacles have power. I checked all the breakers and none were tripped. I also disconnected all power and reconnected hoping for a reboot. My Power line energy management center says it is powering everything properly. However, my appliances still will not work unless I route and extension cord to power them from a receptacle. I cannot find anything like a surge protector on my coach but I think there must be something that tripped to protect my appliances. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

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[ktmrfs]

dougrainer wrote:
1. ALL appliances listed EXCEPT the AC and Battery charger work from the Inverter. There is no way for you to run an extension cord to test the AC and the Charger function of the Inverter.
2. That means either the Inverter has a 120 breaker that tripped and the pass thru 120 power to those appliances is dead---Find the Inverter and reset the tripped breaker
3. BUT, A tripped breaker on the Inverter does NOT cause lack of charging on the Inverter. That points to the Interior SUB-Panel most OEM's install for Inverter power. You need to verify and turn off all 120 breakers and reset. They can trip and not look tripped. You also need to verify there is not another 120 sub panel that has 4 to 6 breakers that is dedicated to the output of the Inverter.
4. The fact you have wall receptacles still functioning points to the Inverter DOES have pass thru as usually 50 percent of the receptacles in an RV are powered thru the Inverter. Have you checked ALL the wall outlets to see if the all have 120 power?
5. The spark you had when connected to Shore Power is a normal reaction. AS you do, it is always best to kill power before connecting. Doug

Unless you installed it, there is no built in surge protector to protect appliances. The Powerline system SEE's 50 amp service and if it see's power on BOTH legs, will then show connected to 50 amp service. Does your Powerline show 50 amp service? If so, odds are you need to find and reset the affected breakers. Hopefully the Powerline system has NOT failed to close the relay's that control the appliances you have listed. If the Powerline relay board has failed, then the appliances you listed are indeed controlled by it, except the Inverter/Charger. BUT, it would be extremely rare for a Powerline board to fail the relay's and still show 50 amp service or it is functioning to spec.

the symptoms the OP describe were exactly like a friend of mines MH with a similar inverter setup to what you are describing. He was perplexed to say the least. After digging out my trusty meter and going through a few steps I discovered his system works exactly as you described, and the inverter breaker had tripped.

[Bobbo]

Listen to dougrainer, he does this for a living.

[dougrainer]

1. ALL appliances listed EXCEPT the AC and Battery charger work from the Inverter. There is no way for you to run an extension cord to test the AC and the Charger function of the Inverter.
2. That means either the Inverter has a 120 breaker that tripped and the pass thru 120 power to those appliances is dead---Find the Inverter and reset the tripped breaker
3. BUT, A tripped breaker on the Inverter does NOT cause lack of charging on the Inverter. That points to the Interior SUB-Panel most OEM's install for Inverter power. You need to verify and turn off all 120 breakers and reset. They can trip and not look tripped. You also need to verify there is not another 120 sub panel that has 4 to 6 breakers that is dedicated to the output of the Inverter.
4. The fact you have wall receptacles still functioning points to the Inverter DOES have pass thru as usually 50 percent of the receptacles in an RV are powered thru the Inverter. Have you checked ALL the wall outlets to see if the all have 120 power?
5. The spark you had when connected to Shore Power is a normal reaction. AS you do, it is always best to kill power before connecting. Doug

Unless you installed it, there is no built in surge protector to protect appliances. The Powerline system SEE's 50 amp service and if it see's power on BOTH legs, will then show connected to 50 amp service. Does your Powerline show 50 amp service? If so, odds are you need to find and reset the affected breakers. Hopefully the Powerline system has NOT failed to close the relay's that control the appliances you have listed. If the Powerline relay board has failed, then the appliances you listed are indeed controlled by it, except the Inverter/Charger. BUT, it would be extremely rare for a Powerline board to fail the relay's and still show 50 amp service or it is functioning to spec.

[Bobbo]

rrupert wrote:
Did you physically turn the breakers off and on? They can be tripped and still look like they are on.

This is the very first thing to try.

stickdog wrote:
Bad 50 amp breaker.

Except that the 120v outlets are working. Of course, he may have those on an inverter.

OP, take a DVM (multimeter) and check for current between the neutral bar in the breaker box and the screw on each breaker that holds the wire. If none of them have power except the 50 amp breaker, you have a bad or tripped 50 amp breaker. If the 50 amp breaker has no power you have a break in the circuit before it gets to the breaker box. A bad transfer switch comes to mind. If ANY of them in addition to the 50 amp breaker has power, you are good to the breaker box and you need to troubleshoot the breakers that have no power.

[stickdog]

Bad 50 amp breaker.

[rrupert]

Did you physically turn the breakers off and on? They can be tripped and still look like they are on.

[ksg5000]

Have you checked GFI's?