Shore Power Connection Testing

[sen]

Hi everyone.

I recently purchased a travel trailer that I'm trying to fix up. One thing I'm having trouble with is the electrical. I don't have much (any) experience with electrical, but I'm reading and learning how to do basic things.

When I plug in our shore power cable I get no power in the camper. I know that this could be a variety of issues, but I figure starting with the shore power cable would be a good start. Problem is I can't figure out where to place my multi meter probes on the connector for the trailer. I haven't been able to find even a picture of the same connector as I have online and certainly nothing explaining what the slots are.



Here is a picture of the connector. Could anyone point me in the right direction to figure out how to test this guy.

[Sea_scape]

If you are going to do that much work, think about replacing the converter. If memory holds, the converter used in that email of Triple E was connected to the battery but in no way could be described as a smart charger. I also remember mine had both 12 volt and 115 volt lights.

I remember using an adaptor so i think the panel was 30 amp. Look at the size of your main breaker and it will indicate. Also check the panel nameplate, if it is still there.

Not hard if you have someone that can guide you. It will be a good learning experience.

[sen]

Thank you for all the advice everyone!

I think I will end up replacing the connection on the trailer as well as most of the interior electrical. I would like to learn how to do it myself since it seems like a very handy skill to have, but I will be sure to have someone that KNOWS what they are doing help me and get a good inspection when I'm done.

Thanks again!

[Jayco254]

That cord has a 120v 15or20a connecter on one side anyway, so if you're going to put a 30a connecter on it I'd have the trailer checked to see if the internal components can take the extra juice of 30a if you use a hot water heater, a/c or maybe an electric heater. I know ours is set up for 30a and I'll pop our circuit every once in a while. Unless your trailer is going to be very basic 15-20a isn't enough.

[Bob_Landry]

Considering the age of that setup and the amount of use that it has probably had, I would guess that the wiring is broken internally. You aren't going to be able to find the connector. I would replace it with one of current configuration. Your cord is a 15A version, Marinco makes inlets for 15A & 20A plugs that will work with standard extension cords as well as components for 30A service.

[beemerphile1]

The plug on that cord is a regular 15 amp plug. You can plug it into any 15 amp receptacle.

The end that connects to the trailer has been modified by a previous owner but is safe to use.

Plug the 15 amp end into a receptacle and use your meter set on voltage and insert into the other end. Most likely one of the slanted slots is hot, one is neutral, and the straight slot is ground.

Then connect to the RV and see if you can duplicate the same measurements inside the RV at the breaker panel. Be careful, potential of electrocution exists when testing live circuits.

Tell us what you find.

[Sea_scape]

On my 1977 Triple E the cord was permanently connected in the trailer, and you pulled it out to plug in. You may be looking at a retrofit, and whoever did it did not worry about standards. Also, wiring standards have changed a lot since 1976.

If you want to keep using that cord, realize that it cannot be replaced. On the first page there is a diagram of a receptacle wired to standard. I would first use an ohm meter on the cord itself to check which are the hot, neutral and ground. Then check the trailer to make sure the hot (black) goes to the bus bar for the breakers, the neutral (white) goes to the neutral bus bar and the green goes to the trailer panel ground.

If that all agrees, and it probably will, use the tester with three leds plugged into any of the trailer receptacles to insure correct wiring.

You likely don't have a problem, but have someone who has some experience help you look.

[sen]

Here is some more pictures as requested.

Here are both ends of the shore power cord.



Here's the cover for the plug on the RV. It says 120v - 35A on it.



And here is the plug underneath that cover.



The trailer (as far as we can tell) is a 1976 Triple E 1600 TM. It didn't come with any documentation.

[othertonka]

Per your own admission you have no electrical experience so I suggest you get a electrician experienced in RV's to come to your place and get a first hand look at your problem. Be safe because your pictures do not even look like anything even RV related. It will be money well spent and you will get it right. Remember it is 110 Volt AC, not 220 Volt AC.

[westend]

What you have is three conductors in a sheath with a female end that is not common for RV use. It could work if the male end is either a 30 amp RV three prong, the wire is of sufficient size to carry 30 amps, and the three conductors attached to the ends are connected correctly. It could also work at lower amperage if you have a standard 120v male end but you will be limited to connecting to 20 amp service. It would really help if you posted a picture of the male end and a pic of the text/numbers on the jacket of the cable.

To test, you would set your multimeter to "continuity" or "resistance". Place one probe in each female opening and the other probe on the corresponding male end of the cord. All three should have individual continuity and zero resistance. None should have continuity to another. You also want to check that the round pin of the male end is the prong used for ground. I believe you might have inadvertently found the latter out if you plugged the cord into a receptacle. If the round pin was not ground, there would have been a short to earth and a circuit breaker would have tripped.

We could definitely use some more information including the wire size, if your trailer end has the matching male socket, and what the male end of the cord is.

[Dtaylor]

As RoyB pointed out, I would change what you have to the standard RV 30amp equipment. The power cord in your photo does not appear to be anything related to an RV. (Almost looks like an older arc welder cord) I am guessing that someone may have changed it before you got it. Working from a standard will put in a much better position to eliminate your problem. Besides, when dealing with electricity, I would feel much safer knowing I have good equipment that is properly installed

[RoyB]

If it were me I would get it all back to a standard RV connection - somewhere something is going to happen and burn up all of your 120VAC items inside the trailer or hurt your dog or worse yet your kid...

Your RV trailer gets its only frame ground through the standard RV 120VAC connections with shore power... Without proper grounds when connected to shore power connections could be a shocking experience for you

Nothing should be hokie pokie or things happens out of your control...

I am probably jumping the gun here with my safety hat comments - things may be ok once all of this identified properly... You have to be extra cautious working around electrical connections or something or somebody gets hurt because someone thinks they can do a big red neck engineered short cut here and there to save a few dollars. If it wasn't for folks being safety conscious all of our 120VAC receptacles might look like this. Can you believe you can order one of these today...


instead of this


Just my thoughts...
Roy Ken

[Les_Repas]

Take a photo of the other end so we can see what it is.

Someone may have made this cable up or if the ends are molded and the other end matches this one you can't use it in its present form. There is a way to get around it but you will have to do some surgery on the cable.

[APRSRVer]

You've got a three phase receptacle in your picture. If that fits the RV, it's not standard but will work. However, if the plug end of the cord has the same configuration, you won't be able to connect in a campground. My guess is the two angled contacts would be 120 ac (one hot and the other neutral). The horizontal one is probably safety ground.

[RoyB]

I just now noticed you said it is a 120VAC 15/20AMP service (I think)

use this photo to identify the three plugs on the 120VAC 15/20AMP receptacle connection. You can see where the BLACK -WHITE-GREEN wires come from.


Then use this photo to tell you what the other end should be.


Then use the chart to tell you where to measure your 120VAC voltages.