only have 30 amp power

I'm hoping this is not as bad as it feels.  I have a 2002, 38' Endeavor (which uses 50 amp service).  I was forced to use 30 amp service last week and now my 50 amp cord won't work.  If I convert to 30 amps it works.  It will also work on 50 amps using the generator.
I checked the cord and  (I don't know the technical terms) but it has 2, 120 volts, so guessing that is not it.  Also have checked the power source. 

Has anyone ever had this problem?
Thank you,
Sweets

Sweets said:

I'm hoping this is not as bad as it feels.  I have a 2002, 38' Endeavor (which uses 50 amp service).  I was forced to use 30 amp service last week and now my 50 amp cord won't work.  If I convert to 30 amps it works.  It will also work on 50 amps using the generator.
I checked the cord and  (I don't know the technical terms) but it has 2, 120 volts, so guessing that is not it.  Also have checked the power source. 

Has anyone ever had this problem?
Thank you,
Sweets

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sounds like one wire has broken or come loose in the actuall plug in on the end of the cord? but you say u checked the cord? how did u "check the cord"
maybe you have a bad connection at the transfer switch(generater bypasses/does not use it)

That is what I originally thought so I took the end completely apart and redid it.  No help.  I followed the wire from the plug-in to the transfer box and everything looked fine. 

They did have a power problem with the boxes we were plugged into last week.  Do you think that could have something to do with it?  It kept blowing the breaker but then "they" fixed the problem and everything seemed fine.  I drove back (8 hrs) with the generator and once I arrived on the property I live I didn't notice anything wrong when I plugged into the 50 amp plug here.  I was only home 2 days and when I got to the show grounds last week (I am a professional dog handler) and it wouldn't run on 50 amp I tried 30 amp and it worked.  Got home late last night & have had to run generator continuously as I only have 50 amp plug here, no 30 amp.

Thank you for trying to help me.  I hope my details aren't more confusing.

Sweetie

Sweets said:

That is what I originally thought so I took the end completely apart and redid it.  No help.  I followed the wire from the plug-in to the transfer box and everything looked fine. 

They did have a power problem with the boxes we were plugged into last week.  Do you think that could have something to do with it?  It kept blowing the breaker but then "they" fixed the problem and everything seemed fine.  I drove back (8 hrs) with the generator and once I arrived on the property I live I didn't notice anything wrong when I plugged into the 50 amp plug here.  I was only home 2 days and when I got to the show grounds last week (I am a professional dog handler) and it wouldn't run on 50 amp I tried 30 amp and it worked.  Got home late last night & have had to run generator continuously as I only have 50 amp plug here, no 30 amp.

Thank you for trying to help me.  I hope my details aren't more confusing.

Sweetie

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no it most definitely sounds like the 50 amp service you were pluged into had one leg off  if your positive all the plug connections are good and the transfer switch connection are good . but what does not make sense is your saying you have 50 amp at home?? you telling me that the 50 amp at your house does not work also??
If that's true then I doubt the problem is the 50 amp outlets and your not checking the power cord properly to find the fault .
The chances of your  home outlet and RV  campground outlet both being bad are possible but awefull slim

If you have power to everything when using a 30A to 50A adapter, then your power cord and transfer switch are fine.  The most likely suspect would be the 50A outlet.  How did you test that?

Do you have an energy management system.. A device that sheds loads so you do not trip the park's 30 amp breaker?

From the sounds of what you describe the problem is not yours.. I will translate a bit:

IF you plug into the park's 30 amp outlet using a dogbone adapter, everything works

But if you plug into the parks's 50 amp outlet, directly, nothing works.

IF, you had a problem with your RV, then nothing would work either way.. Exception, screws loose in plug and you checked that.

Ned said:

If you have power to everything when using a 30A to 50A adapter, then your power cord and transfer switch are fine.  The most likely suspect would be the 50A outlet.  How did you test that?

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I totally agree with that  but what,s weird is what are the chances of the outlet at her house and also at a random campground both being bad at basically the same time. But for sure using a 30 amp to fifty amp adaper from a 30 amp outlet and all is well really nullifies the prospect of the 50 amp male plug or wires at the transfer switch as being bad
the other thing is that your saying when pluged into 50 amp nothing works is hard  to believe because usually one leg works and one does not so some things have power in the motor home and some don't (when this is the case)

Does your load share panel have switches to select incoming power?  My '03 Endeavor does.  I leave it alone.  If park has only 30 amp plugs I use an adapter and controller knows what to do.  If you were plugged into a 50 amp plug but one line was dead I would think many things would not work.  Check the converter/charger for burned smell.  Hopefully you didn't fry something with the faulty hook up.  Mine cost $1000 online and I installed it myself.  I would start with control panel (over exit door on my Endeavor).  Try unplugging and plugging back in. 

JohnNW said:

Does your load share panel have switches to select incoming power?  My '03 Endeavor does.  I leave it alone.  If park has only 30 amp plugs I use an adapter and controller knows what to do.  If you were plugged into a 50 amp plug but one line was dead I would think many things would not work.  Check the converter/charger for burned smell.  Hopefully you didn't fry something with the faulty hook up.  Mine cost $1000 online and I installed it myself.  I would start with control panel (over exit door on my Endeavor).  Try unplugging and plugging back in.

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I believe your opining on a entirely different situation to of which the Op has explained the way I read it. it also does sound like there was a "faulty hookup"
he simply had a 50 amp campground outlet that did not work so he switched to the 30 amp and everything worked fine.The stickler is he says when he got home his fifty amp at home did not work and he cant figure out why

Thank you, everyone!

Originally I was in Biloxi, MS where they only had 30 AMP power.  (My Coach usually does the 50 to 30 automatically but also can control that on the panel.  I tried switching that just in case).  They had many, many temporary boxes set up with 8 plug-ins each.  They had a problem (with a breaker, I think) & it started blowing my breaker in my coach.  They eventually fixed it.  I thought this might have something to do with my problem?

I drove back to FL using my generator.  I was only in FL (at the property where I live) & plugged in to my 50 AMP plug for a couple of days.  I noticed the batteries were starting to get low when I left again.  When I got to the next show site they had "good" power boxes with multiple plugs; 50 AMP, 30 AMP, etc..  I plugged into the 50 AMP and when I checked the panel to see if everything was working the window that shows the Amperage in use was black.  It should have shown there was a draw, even if it was minimum.  I tried several of the 50 AMP plugs in different boxes.  When I tried the 30 AMP plug using my 50 to 30 converter all the lights were showing on the panel.  The batteries even charged back to full power.  I then thought it was my cord or the cord end.  When I got home last night I plugged into the 50 AMP plug here, where I live.  Again, the "in use" power window was black.  I do not have a 30 AMP plug-in here so am having to run my generator constantly.  I have determined it is not the power cord.

Could it be the "box" or whatever you call it that switches the power from 50 AMP to 30 AMP?

Sorry, I have to fix most everything myself and obviously I am not good at explaining the problem.

Again, thanks!

Sweetie

(Has anyone guessed that I'm a girl that lives and travels in my Motorhome?)

you do not have a system that switches automatically from 50 to 30 persay.the CG plug outlet is what determines what the input amperage is.If your plugged into a 30 u get 30 if your pluged into a 50 u get fifty.I know what your saying but its not doing what you perceive it to be doing
the auto deal is when u plug into a 30 amp outlet it switches the load sence  to 30  amps available from from 50
it sounds almost ridiculous to say but based solely on what your claims are here it makes me think the 50 amp plug in at the CG was not hooked up and it sounds like your home 50 amp outlet is dead.also. did u check the breaker that supplies the one at home to see if it was tripped?

Yes, I tested the cord plugged in and it was getting two, 120 volts.

Sweets said:

Yes, I tested the cord plugged in and it was getting two, 120 volts.

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then your transfer switch is not working as Generater bypasses it

question
have you plugged into your home 50 amp and then checked with your voltage tester to see if your getting boths legs live at the transfer switch and then u need to go inside and check both loads in and out at the inside duall 50 amp breaker

buchanan said:

then your transfer switch is not working Generater bypasses it

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Generator does NOT bypass the TX switch.  It does use a different path into the switch, so may be bypassing a problem area (contact).

Just Lou said:

Generator does NOT bypass the TX switch.  It does use a different path into the switch, so may be bypassing a problem area (contact).

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yes that's true I thought it simple for now to say what I said.Differnet path is correct for sure.Perhaps I should put it this way. maybe it(TS)uis jammed in genrater mode  BUT the OP says the SP works fine  when only 30 amp SP is available so that theory is out also

I think the OP is all mixed up here and is simply explaining things the incorrect way
1) she says plug in is fine
2) says the power coming out of her home plug is 120 on each leg
3) says the power get,s through both legs to TS
4) has full 50 amp power when on gen set
5) has 30 amp only on SP

if this is as she says then there is noting wrong  but there must be something wrong because she says no 50 amp power from SP but what is realy confusing is
if u have 120V power out of each outlet pin at the house outlet as she claims then the SP 50 amp has to be working

As just Lou says, the ATS is NOT bypassed. The ATS relay passes the power from the cord through to the power centre when plugged in. When the generator is operating the ATS relay operates and passes the power from the generator to the power centre instead.

I suspect that the ATS relay has a bad/burned contact(s) on the power cord  side and is failing to pass one of the legs of 120 volts. Have you measured each of the power 120v inputs to the ATS and then each of the power outputs (towards the CB panel)?

Alfa38User said:

As just Lou says, the ATS is NOT bypassed. The ATS relay passes the power from the cord through to the power centre when plugged in. When the generator is operating the ATS relay operates and passes the power from the generator to the power centre instead.

I suspect that the ATS relay has a bad/burned contact(s) on the power cord  side and is failing to pass one of the legs of 120 volts. Have you measured each of the power 120v inputs to the ATS and then each of the power outputs (towards the CB panel)?

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yes that's what I said" bad transfer switch " BUT she claimed she has NO POWER at all when using a 50 amp service and if u read I corrected my statement about bypassing.I tried to simplify things but was taken out of context and I corrected my explanation
If one leg of the TS was bad as we suggested she would have some power when pluged into SP while using a 50 amp outlet and she claims no power unless she in turn plugs it into a 30 amp outlet

I think as I suggested a few posts ago is have the powered metered as it comes out of shore line and as it comes out of the TS and then at the breaker panel and iam sure a tale will be told and the problem discovered

Thank you!

I will try to test tomorrow morning. 

Sweetie

If one leg of the TS was bad as we suggested she would have some power when pluged into SP while using a 50 amp outlet and she claims no power unless she in turn plugs it into a 30 amp outlet

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You are absolutely right and I too feel that the ATS is not at issue, assuming the problem description is accurate. However, my experience here over the years is that RVers often give descriptions that turn out to be misleading. I hope Sweets won't be offended, but it would not surprise me a bit to learn there is actually some power present when on that troubled 50A outlet.

Sweets said:

Thank you, everyone!

I plugged into the 50 AMP and when I checked the panel to see if everything was working the window that shows the Amperage in use was black.  It should have shown there was a draw, even if it was minimum.

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Now how would we know you are a girl who lives in a motor home less you tell us ?
(And why should it matter)

There are two kinds of boxes and panels that show current use.. One is often called a Surge Guard.. But

I suspect yours is an Energy Management System.

How to tell the difference: The Surge guards usually have a display that cycles through several displays, including L-1 and L-2 current.. they do not have any indicator that says 30 or 50 and if they have a button, it is marked bypass. slience or reset.  NOTE: THese are sometimes called Energy MONITORING systems (Which is a far more accurate name than surge guard)

The Energy Management system will have indicators for 30 and 50, and may or may not have manual input buttons.

On an Energy Management System  (not monitoring) system,  The amperage display will be dark on 50 amps.

Here is why... I want you to imagine a water system....

Now water, under the influence of a pump. flows in pipe 1,,, the flow turns a turbine which drives a fan,, Then it flows past a "T" fitting, turns another turgine turning another fan,, and then back to the tank via a suction pump.

Connected to the "T" is a pipe that also goes to the tank, no pump though.  IN this pipe we have a flow meter.

Now... if both fans are on,, there is no flow past the flow meter as the water from Pipe 1 goes out via pipe 2.

But if we turn off one fan, then water either returns to the tank via the flow meter, or is drawn via the flow meter (Being at the other "Leg" is shut down).

This is 50 amp service.

NOW let's convert to 30 amp.

Dump these two 50 gpm pumps and get ONE 30 GPM pump, the output of this pump goes to a "T and feeds both Pipe one and Pipe 2 above.. Water from this pump now turns both fans,, and flows back to the tank via the flow meter.

IF you understand what I have said... Then you understand the difference between 120 volt 30 amp service
And 120/240 volt 50 amp service.