Forum Discussion

cruthas's avatar
cruthas
Explorer
Jul 22, 2013

C-750 Runabout Electrical Question

I had some rot issues under the jacks of my 1989 Sunline Runabout truck camper so I started tackling it last night. It was going great until I saw a wire hanging down. It looked like it had been cut before so I assumed it didn't go to anything and cut a good portion of it off. When I plugged the camper in after I was done my work the extension cord sparked and turned black, tripping the breaker inside of my house. When I unplugged the extension cord from the camper, the adaptor prongs that had been plugged into the extension cord looked like they had ben dragged on the ground. I tried flipping the breaker inside my home several times and trying to plug the camper in with no luck. I never had an issue until now. I attached a couple photos. Wondering if what I cut was the ground and hoping you guys have suggestions on how to reground and fix it. I don't have much of an electrical background but with the right guidance I can make due. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

How far back I cut
http://detourdispatches.com/img/photo_2.JPG

What I cut
http://detourdispatches.com/img/image.jpeg

It should be know that this piece of copper was just hanging down loosely attached with one screw and looked like someone had already cut it once. I've owned it for about a month.

Thanks!
Truck Campers
  • Beefie's avatar
    Beefie
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2013
    From the pictures it does look like it could be a ground wire. Have you tried reattaching it to see if it fixes the problem?


    Beefie
  • cruthas's avatar
    cruthas
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2013
    Hey Beefie,

    I tried reattching the wire using the clamp in the photo with no luck. Maybe a bad connection? Someone said it might be a safety ground that needs to be touching the camper siding so I will try that tonight. Hopefully that is all it is :/

    -Dave
  • Jeepers92's avatar
    Jeepers92
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2013
    You had to get the ground wire touching a hot lead. You have opened circuit breakers and/or blown some fuses. You will have to also replace all the burned wiring.
  • cruthas's avatar
    cruthas
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2013
    From what I can tell, I haven't fried any wiring inside the camper. I'll check the fuses tonight and try to fix the ground wire as well. I hope that fixes the issue :/
  • Reddog1's avatar
    Reddog1
    Explorer II
    Jul 22, 2013
    Your ground is touching a hot wire. Replacing the ground wire will only, will not fix the problem. You must find where the short (ground to hot) is. Hopefully, it was not shorted long enough to melt the insulation from the wires behind a cabinet. If the short is due to melted wires, it can be intermittent. With an ohms meter you can see that the system is shorted without plugging it in to 120-volts. Much safer, and will not melt the wires even more.

    If an intermittent short, you don't know when the wires will touch. It can cause a fire, even with a breaker. I would not plug into 120 until I found the problem. I would not leave the TC unattended and plugged in till I was sure the problem was resolved.

    Wayne
  • cruthas's avatar
    cruthas
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2013
    I inspected all the wiring coming from the breaker last night and everything looked really clean and nothing was fried or melted. Almost looked new. My extension cord got a little black. If there is a short in the system where might it be if it's not around the breaker? No appliances were running or plugged in only a couple lights were turned on....
  • ticki2's avatar
    ticki2
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2013
    Reddog1 wrote:
    Your ground is touching a hot wire. Replacing the ground wire will only, will not fix the problem. You must find where the short (ground to hot) is. Hopefully, it was not shorted long enough to melt the insulation from the wires behind a cabinet. If the short is due to melted wires, it can be intermittent. With an ohms meter you can see that the system is shorted without plugging it in to 120-volts. Much safer, and will not melt the wires even more.

    If an intermittent short, you don't know when the wires will touch. It can cause a fire, even with a breaker. I would not plug into 120 until I found the problem. I would not leave the TC unattended and plugged in till I was sure the problem was resolved.

    Wayne



    Or a hot wire is touching ground ( hot to ground ) . I'm thinking there is a hot wire touching the skin or some other ground .

    It might also be the extension chord , try another .
  • cruthas's avatar
    cruthas
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2013
    ticki2 wrote:



    Or a hot wire is touching ground ( hot to ground ) . I'm thinking there is a hot wire touching the skin or some other ground .


    Can you give me a little more detail as to what that means? What should I be looking for when I get my eyes on it this evening? Thanks for the help, I'll be glad once this is over.
  • Reddog1's avatar
    Reddog1
    Explorer II
    Jul 22, 2013
    Simply stated, the insulation on the hot wire is damaged. Could have a bare spot, could be a cut. Either way, it could allow the copper of the hot wire to touch a grounded part of the TC, or the ground wire.

    I had a short in one of my TC circuits due to the manufacture running a screw in that went into the hot and ground wire. I have seen staples do the same thing.

    You probably have a breaker panel in the TC. Turn off each breaker (in TC). This will help you isolate the problem. If all breakers are off, and you still have a short, you know it is your main wire (extension plug to TC panel). If no short, turn each breaker on one at a time. The circuit with the short will trip your breaker. This will narrow down where you have to look.

    As I previously posted, an Ohms meter is the best way to do this due to safety. Then you do not have to use the 120-volts for testing.
  • ticki2's avatar
    ticki2
    Explorer
    Jul 22, 2013
    cruthas wrote:
    ticki2 wrote:



    Or a hot wire is touching ground ( hot to ground ) . I'm thinking there is a hot wire touching the skin or some other ground .


    Can you give me a little more detail as to what that means? What should I be looking for when I get my eyes on it this evening? Thanks for the help, I'll be glad once this is over.


    Reddog1 pretty much said it . Try to narrow it down as he said . It could be almost anywhere but I would first look at any areas that you have worked on last .

About Travel Trailer Group

44,029 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 19, 2025