Had a 30 amp plug put in a house. Brought rv home and plugged in. It was wired as 220. Electrician did not understand what I needed. No 12 volt or ac. All the breakers under the fridge test good and none were tripped. Outlet has been fixed. Where do I start to track down the resulting problems ?
Big mistake
- Thread starter HEGCWM
- Start date
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Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I think you have a series of problems since you do not have AC or DC. If you have a generator your AC 30A cord will land in the transfer switch first before your AC distribution/circuit breakers. Since your receptacle was wired for 220 that means you had 120V on your neutral wire. You may want to unplug your RV from the AC source and track down your neutral wiring to see if it has been burned. Find the transfer switch and locate and isolate the cord wiring and coach wiring and temp. bypass the transfer switch. Turn off all the breakers in your panel in case you have other issues. This way you can systematically track down your problems step by step without causing further damage once you get you AC circuits energized.
With the DC system you may have blown the breaker or fuse near your battery or the battery disconnect which most likely is a latching relay (solenoid) this may be blown from excessive voltage surge.
Keep us posted on your progress. Good luck.
With the DC system you may have blown the breaker or fuse near your battery or the battery disconnect which most likely is a latching relay (solenoid) this may be blown from excessive voltage surge.
Keep us posted on your progress. Good luck.
Rene T
Site Team
HEGCWM said:
Do you have an inverter or converter? There is a big difference.
legrandnormand
Well-known member
As we all know, every motorhome or trailer or 5th wheel has an eletronic device that plugs in the 115VAC and differts it to our 115 VAC appliances and it also converts the AC to 12 VDC to charge the battery(ies) which makes us use our fridge, our furnace heating and some lights; we call that device a converter and some times it is called a converter-inverter.
An optional device can be added to any rv is called an inverter; it takes the 12 VDC from the batteries and inverts it to 115VAC.
An optional device can be added to any rv is called an inverter; it takes the 12 VDC from the batteries and inverts it to 115VAC.
John From Detroit
Well-known member
I recall oh, around 5 - 10 years ago.. Hardly a week went by without another of these threads on at least one of the forums I frequent.
IF YOU TOLD THE electrician this was for an RV.. If the work order mentioned an RV.. You may have rights which vary from state to state so you might want to have a chat with either the electrician (TT-30 outlets are clearly marked 125 volts max) or a product liability attorney.
Also, A true story from another forum.
RVer plugs into a 30 amp outlet at his buddy's house.. NO POWER TO COACH. it's late, he posts on the forum and goes to bed.
Next AM he goes out and investigates,, Looks at his portable Surge Guard Power Protector and it says 240 VOLTS right there on it's display.. Yup same thing you did but in his case the SURGE GUARD/POWER PROTECTOR/ device saved the day.
HE unplugged, pl.ugged in elsewhere and posted to the forum that the problem was solved and what it was.
Normally.. Folks who do that are too embarrassed to post.... but in his case.. Well. He let the cat out of the bag as it were.
I'm sure for every story like that which gets posted thare are many which do not.
In my case.. I've not (yet) made that mistake (only had one chance and did not know it till I knew better so did not do it)
(Parked at a Moose Lodge.. Governor ask if I had found the 60 amp outlet (NO but I had found the breakers feeding it so I knew it was 240 volt,, 30 amp outlets have a single breaker, not a pair ganged). I found it like 2 days later but of course knew it was 240 volt).
In my case since I broke down here I've had like 5 times power has failed for like 1 second.. This tears up air conditioners.
The surge protector I have holds power off for just shy of 3 minutes.. add to that the lag time for the A/C restarting and you have a full 3 minutes of OFF time for the compressor.. THis is the recommended minimum off time to prevent the compressor from trying to re-start under load (Something that is very damaging to it) .... I kind o like that it does that.
IF YOU TOLD THE electrician this was for an RV.. If the work order mentioned an RV.. You may have rights which vary from state to state so you might want to have a chat with either the electrician (TT-30 outlets are clearly marked 125 volts max) or a product liability attorney.
Also, A true story from another forum.
RVer plugs into a 30 amp outlet at his buddy's house.. NO POWER TO COACH. it's late, he posts on the forum and goes to bed.
Next AM he goes out and investigates,, Looks at his portable Surge Guard Power Protector and it says 240 VOLTS right there on it's display.. Yup same thing you did but in his case the SURGE GUARD/POWER PROTECTOR/ device saved the day.
HE unplugged, pl.ugged in elsewhere and posted to the forum that the problem was solved and what it was.
Normally.. Folks who do that are too embarrassed to post.... but in his case.. Well. He let the cat out of the bag as it were.
I'm sure for every story like that which gets posted thare are many which do not.
In my case.. I've not (yet) made that mistake (only had one chance and did not know it till I knew better so did not do it)
(Parked at a Moose Lodge.. Governor ask if I had found the 60 amp outlet (NO but I had found the breakers feeding it so I knew it was 240 volt,, 30 amp outlets have a single breaker, not a pair ganged). I found it like 2 days later but of course knew it was 240 volt).
In my case since I broke down here I've had like 5 times power has failed for like 1 second.. This tears up air conditioners.
The surge protector I have holds power off for just shy of 3 minutes.. add to that the lag time for the A/C restarting and you have a full 3 minutes of OFF time for the compressor.. THis is the recommended minimum off time to prevent the compressor from trying to re-start under load (Something that is very damaging to it) .... I kind o like that it does that.
I had an inverter/ converter combo.
The inverter only is being returned. It was time to get her in to the repair shop. Got out of the driveway and was blocking road when batteries died and so did engine. Tow truck will be here tomorrow.
Thanks for input. I will make sure repair shop puts in all the surge protection it can
The inverter only is being returned. It was time to get her in to the repair shop. Got out of the driveway and was blocking road when batteries died and so did engine. Tow truck will be here tomorrow.
Thanks for input. I will make sure repair shop puts in all the surge protection it can
Rene T
Site Team
HEGCWM said:
No need to have the repair shop install something which will cost you money for labor. All you need is one of these: http://tweetys.com/portable-50-amp-electrical-management-system.aspx
Just google it and find the best price. Progressive also have them where they're built in. Simple to install.
Well we had to get it towed in. The engine batteries would not accept a charge. Estimate and insurance approval tomorrow. The tow truck driver said the air bags looked a little dry rotten. The shop could not give me an estimate on installation I think this is a must produce. I will post when I have an estimate and a list of damage. I hope I have shown why you always test the socket before you plug in.
Kevin Means
Site Team
Believe me, you aren't the first person to have that problem. I hope it all gets repaired quickly and to your satisfaction.
Kev
Kev
inscop
Well-known member
Here are two useful pages you might want to show your electrician:
http://www.myrv.us/electric/
http://www.dasplace.net/RVWiring/wiring.html
And EVERY RV should pack one of these (or similar). I use mine every time prior to connecting to shore power, even at reliable places like state parks.
http://www.amazon.com/TRC-44260-Amp-Circuit-Analyzer/dp/B00JYMZ8HK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1442250071&sr=8-3&keywords=rv+power+surge+protector
http://www.myrv.us/electric/
http://www.dasplace.net/RVWiring/wiring.html
And EVERY RV should pack one of these (or similar). I use mine every time prior to connecting to shore power, even at reliable places like state parks.
http://www.amazon.com/TRC-44260-Amp-Circuit-Analyzer/dp/B00JYMZ8HK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1442250071&sr=8-3&keywords=rv+power+surge+protector
If it's a propane fridge and if it was set to AC mode the AC heating element and fuses should be checked.
Was it an older linear (big transformer) power supply converter that fried? Many switched mode power supplies work fine on 240 V but need to be switched for that. If you're lucky there may be a blown fuse inside that can be changed and nothing else fried. An old converter might also be fused internally.
Was it an older linear (big transformer) power supply converter that fried? Many switched mode power supplies work fine on 240 V but need to be switched for that. If you're lucky there may be a blown fuse inside that can be changed and nothing else fried. An old converter might also be fused internally.
legrandnormand
Well-known member
inscop said:
I use this one for my 50 AMPS entrance http://www.progressiveindustries.net/#!ssp-50/c2210
All repairs seem to be done and all systems working. Progressive was very easy to work with. The only remaining problem is the generator is pushing 152 volts through system. Camping world said they would have to replace gen set and it would be part of the claim. Upon further investigation it was determined to be a bad regulator and possibly board. They are replacing today and are confident it will be covered on initial claim.
ALWAYS CHECK BEFORE YOU PLUG IN !!! I won't make that mistake again
ALWAYS CHECK BEFORE YOU PLUG IN !!! I won't make that mistake again
