100ac service 1988 southwind

If recently purchased a southwind 1988 31 foot motor home. 55k cream puff. Everything works except the 110ac power receptacles in the bedroom and dinning area . These things say gfi on them but they have no power in the wire to them so gfi is useless. Shore power gives nothing. I do have a 110 ac source below the sink. I am wondering if the power is cut off to the other plugs in this area. the breaker all have power out. The nightmare for me is that I have no idea the origins of the ac power. No wiring diagram... Anybody help with this issue?

Look for a GFI receptacle. The usual location is the bathroom.It will look something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-7599-RPW-SmartlockPro-screwless-wallplate/dp/B000P1QLMK/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1344654780&sr=1-4&keywords=gfi

Push the reset button and power should be restored. If you can't find a GFI plug then check the electrical panel for a GFI breaker.

bingo thanks ...
now she really is a creampuff. I have more questions ....does this ac run inverted off of the batt system . In other words can we just plug a computer in these receptacles with out shorepwr or genset? I think no unless we get an inverter...

A 1988 Southwind would not have an inverter unless one was added by a previous owner. Without an inverter you will only have 110ac when on shore power or generator.

You can have an inverter added. There are several ways to do this depending on the need (what do you what to power when off shore power), the budget and whether one has the knowledge needed to correctly install it.

ken

I will make a copule of Inverter recommendations if you like

True sine wave: There are two kinds MSW and TSW,  There is a long list of things including electric blankets, clocks and all audio, radio and television gear that may not play nice with MSW inverters.. the last item on the list is "Any device needing more power than the inverter can supply"

The list for TSW inverters is: Any device needing more power than the inverter can supply"

That's the whole list.

Inline/stand alone. If you go stand alone install new outlets, red or orange in color, it powers those.  Stand alone's ONLY convert battery to 120vac.

INLINE (Recommended for you for other reasons) can pass shore power to the outlets if you got it (Or generator) and when doing this they charge the house batteries,  The converters in these are usually very good 3-stage or 3-stage plus a feature converters.  Among the very best out there.  These replace your existing converter which in an RV that old may well be a single stage battery killer.

How to do in inline inverter line drawing (I'll skip the 12 volt this line)

Main breaker box,-----Inverter----Sub panel with multiple breakers---Loads.

12 volt---Big heavy cable short as possible---Inverter

Mount inverter in a compartment NEAR the batteries, but not the same air space.

How big
About the smallest TSW you will find is 300 watts, that is enough for computer and televisions as a rule, or if you shut down the computer your electric razor.

A bit bigger insures enough for all the above

1,000 can power a SMALL microwave

2,000 A larger Microwave, TV's Computer, and a bunch of other stuff. (A good size).

Batteries,, you need roughly 200 amp hours per kilowatt of inverter, so a pair of GC-2 Golf Car batteries (230 amp hours at the 20 hour rate) is ideal for a KW. will work with a 2KW but two pair... Better.