Help! 5th wheel had power now it doesnt!

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chaoticcreations

chaoticcreations

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Joined
Oct 4, 2014
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all over
Hello!
1999 gulfstream seahawk 5th wheel. Had power but then our landlord switched to a better cord and didn't realize it was reversed, then fixed it.  The problem is we still do not have power. There's power to the cord, but when we plug in the 5th wheel, nothing! We replaced fuses, turned the breakers off and back on. The light on the intellimonitor says it's in storage mode. Batteries still power the lights in 5th wheel. The converter manual says it has a built in reverse polarity feature in case it happens. So, anyone have any ideas because we are stumped!
 
Reverse polarity protection only applies to direct current (DC). We assume you are talking about the landlord changing the AC connection. What kind of AC connection do you have? 30 amp (3 pins) or 50 amp (4 pins)?
 
If the landlord had the power wired wrong, it may have fried many of the AC components in the FW.  If it is a 30A rig (3 wires) and he wired a new box like a drier 30A with 240V power, then anything turned on and many things plugged in got a 240V jolt.  I hope I am wrong, but...
 
Two things one I just "Discovered" 3 weeks ago.  (not my problem)

FIrst. The procedure.

You can start at either end with a test light.  You keep probing for power working your way toward the other end. problem exists between BRIGHT and Dark. NOTE Since you are working on live wires BE CAREFUL.

Suspect list is every plug, socket and connection

Now ... the park I was at 3 weeks ago the guy had a good 30 amp cord and the 30 amp socket was good. and properly wired. but the blades on the plug WERE NOT LONG ENOUGH

We provided a short term loan of a 30-50 Dogbone and POWER .. I could feel the blades on the plug engage the socket when I plugged it in.. He got his own dog bone and returned mine.
 
grashley said:
If the landlord had the power wired wrong, it may have fried many of the AC components in the FW.  If it is a 30A rig (3 wires) and he wired a new box like a drier 30A with 240V power, then anything turned on and many things plugged in got a 240V jolt.  I hope I am wrong, but...
Click to expand...

Hate to agree with this but I think grashley is probably right - if it worked before your landlord got a "better" cord, and he admits it was wired wrong initially, and now you have no power, I would guess you have one or more fried components as a result of the mistake. You'll need to methodically start at the shore power post and ensure you have power (the correct power!) there, then check at the input to the converter and the main breaker box to see that you have power there, then check output of the breaker box and converter. Since these check must necessarily be done with power on, if you're not comfortable around high voltage it may be best to call someone in who is.
 
grashley said:
Scott:  Why do you hate to agree with me??  Is it something I typed??  ;D  ;D  :D  ;)
Click to expand...

He posted that in the morning...Maybe he was still waiting on his coffee. ;D ;D ;D
 
Gizmo100 said:
He posted that in the morning...Maybe he was still waiting on his coffee. ;D ;D ;D
Click to expand...


That's it, lack of coffee. That my story and I'm sticking to it.  ;) ;D
 
chaoticcreations said:
Hello!
1999 gulfstream seahawk 5th wheel. Had power but then our landlord switched to a better cord and didn't realize it was reversed, then fixed it.  The problem is we still do not have power. There's power to the cord, but when we plug in the 5th wheel, nothing! We replaced fuses, turned the breakers off and back on. The light on the intellimonitor says it's in storage mode. Batteries still power the lights in 5th wheel. The converter manual says it has a built in reverse polarity feature in case it happens. So, anyone have any ideas because we are stumped!
Click to expand...
  This is the reason to always use an rv circuit analyzer of some kind before you plug your rv into anything. You never know...?...
 
buy a multi-meter and learn how to use it. Start at your shore power and work your way to you trailer. 50 amp= 240 volts L1 to L2. 30 amps = 120 volts L1 hot to neutral.
 
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