120Volt outlets all of a sudden go dead.

[invstbiker]

Hello All,

I have a 2020 Coachman 27QB. Every system has been working flawlessly. Plugged into shore power one day my 120 Volt outlets decided to not work. The GFCI in the bathroom would not test, so I replaced it properly, have a green light. Still no power at the outlets.

Decided that maybe the new GFCI was a bad unit out of the box, so I replaced that. Second unit wired correctly, green light and will not test and no power at the outlets.

Any ideas as what to check next? I'm stumped.

Thanks

Steve

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

The GFCI outlet you replaced could not light up without power, so that outlet should be working. That implies at least that circuit has power. It's plausible most outlets are fed on a single circuit that may or may not be GFCI protected but not 'all', so going around and verifying which outlets are affected might help narrow the fault. First stop will be your power center and checking, with a meter, there is or isn't 120v present on the load side of all the beakers. If OK there, I'd be hunting for another GFCI outlet that's tripped.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[invstbiker]

The GFCI outlet you replaced could not light up without power, so that outlet should be working. That implies at least that circuit has power. It's plausible most outlets are fed on a single circuit that may or may not be GFCI protected but not 'all', so going around and verifying which outlets are affected might help narrow the fault. First stop will be your power center and checking, with a meter, there is or isn't 120v present on the load side of all the beakers. If OK there, I'd be hunting for another GFCI outlet that's tripped.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Thanks Mark for the quick response. Yes, it's very strange. I'm using a Southwire GFCI receptacle tester and NONE of my outlets have power including the newly installed GFCI in the bathroom, which has a green light on. I've checked all my fuses and circuit breakers and all of them are good. I do not have a volt meter.

 

[bigbAZ]

Without a volt meter you are working blind. You need to verify 120 volts from hot to neutral on the line side of the GFCI. If there is not 120 volts between the line side hot and neutral you have an open wire upstream or you wired it wrong. Most if not all of the GFCIs with the green light will still show the green light if line and load are reversed but the device will not reset and won't deliver power.

Depending on the brand of the GFCI the line terminals can be on the top or the bottom, so you can't just transfer the wires over to the new one assuming you wired it the same. Did you notice the LINE and LOAD identification on the back of the GFCIs? Did you know that the yellow tape covers the LOAD terminals on the new GFCI?

 

[DonTom]

I do not have a volt meter.

They are cheap enough to buy at HFT, Home Depo, Lowes or Amazon.

I prefer analog VOMs for just about everything, but digital ones are cheap also.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Kirk]

I've checked all my fuses and circuit breakers and all of them are good. I do not have a volt meter.

Without a multimeter there is no way to be sure that those statements are correct. Since the fuses are for the 12V side of things, they would play no part in a lack of power to the outlets. The circuit breakers do play a vital part as does the outlet that you plugged the RV cord into. Does the microwave work? It is powered only by shore power so is an easy way to check that. If you would get a cheap multimeter, that would enable you to see if there is any 120V power to connect the RV to. Nearly all such meters come with instructions on how to use them. Be sure that you set the meter to AC volts and that the range is more than 120V. You could also then use the ohm scale to verify that any suspected fuse is good by removing it and measuring through it, but that would be for another problem on another day.

 

[OldWEB]

Thanks Mark for the quick response. Yes, it's very strange. I'm using a Southwire GFCI receptacle tester and NONE of my outlets have power including the newly installed GFCI in the bathroom, which has a green light on. I've checked all my fuses and circuit breakers and all of them are good. I do not have a volt meter.

May be the tester?

 

[DonTom]

You could also then use the ohm scale to verify that any suspected fuse is good by removing it and measuring through it, but that would be for another problem on another day.

And be sure to NOT leave a VOM on ohms and later try to measure voltage.

Is there anybody here who has used a VOM often who has NOT blown out (at least the VOM fuse) a VOM or two? I lost count how many times I made that mistake over the years.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[John From Detroit]

Thanks Mark for the quick response. Yes, it's very strange. I'm using a Southwire GFCI receptacle tester and NONE of my outlets have power including the newly installed GFCI in the bathroom, which has a green light on. I've checked all my fuses and circuit breakers and all of them are good. I do not have a volt meter.

Test with a plug in light or something if GFCIs come (For this post) In two flavors. Usually a green light means "Working" A red one "Tripped" but no guarantees on that.

If the light is green a test light should light try the southwire device on a known good outlet

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

I do not have a volt meter.

Wally world, any hardware store, any auto parts store, harbor freight, northern tools. A $10 one checks the box, a $20 one is overkill. Buy two, they're handy for lots of uses. Without one you're just guessing.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[DonTom]

Second unit wired correctly, green light and will not test and no power at the outlets.

Green light? Sounds like it is working. What are you testing it with? Plug in a lamp or something like that.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[8Muddypaws]

Check the breakers on your charger/inverter if it has them.

If you have a 50 Amp feed check that you're getting power on each of the legs. It's possible that one of them is dead.

Do you have a surge protector between your trailer and the post?

Unplug from the post and turn off the inverter if you have one. Take the front off the breaker panel (I.e. not the 12 fuse panel) and make sure all of the common (white) wires are tight on the buss bar. That's a common failure point. Vibration loosens them over time. Pay special to any connectors with more than one wire.

Less common is loose wires on a breaker. Check them all anyway.

While you're in there check that all the ground wires are solidly attached as well, just for ducks.

 

[DonTom]

Wally world, any hardware store, any auto parts store, harbor freight, northern tools. A $10 one checks the box, a $20 one is overkill. Buy two, they're handy for lots of uses. Without one you're just guessing.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

I cannot imagine leaving for anywhere in an RV without a VOM or two and a bunch of tools & other such stuff.

I do most of my RV repairs during trips.

-Don- BorderTown, NV

 

[Excalibur1]

They are cheap enough to buy at HFT, Home Depo, Lowes or Amazon.

I prefer analog VOMs for just about everything, but digital ones are cheap also.

-Don- Reno, NV

My 40 year old analog clamp-on VOAM died last week. Can't figure it out, fuse is good battery is good. Much prefer analog if I am working 120 or 240. Have three digitals but guess I am going to have to get a new analog if you can even find them anymore.

 

[gwinger]

This is the tester I use. Shows correct wiring, voltage and GFCI test.

 

[invstbiker]

Without a multimeter there is no way to be sure that those statements are correct. Since the fuses are for the 12V side of things, they would play no part in a lack of power to the outlets. The circuit breakers do play a vital part as does the outlet that you plugged the RV cord into. Does the microwave work? It is powered only by shore power so is an easy way to check that. If you would get a cheap multimeter, that would enable you to see if there is any 120V power to connect the RV to. Nearly all such meters come with instructions on how to use them. Be sure that you set the meter to AC volts and that the range is more than 120V. You could also then use the ohm scale to verify that any suspected fuse is good by removing it and measuring through it, but that would be for another problem on another day.

Microwave is working.

 

[invstbiker]

RV is 30 AMP.

I cannot imagine leaving for anywhere in an RV without a VOM or two and a bunch of tools & other such stuff.

I do most of my RV repairs during trips.

-Don- BorderTown, NV

I can imagine!. I'm not an electrician.

 

[bigbAZ]

I cannot imagine leaving for anywhere in an RV without a VOM or two and a bunch of tools & other such stuff.

I do most of my RV repairs during trips.

-Don- BorderTown, NV

I accidentally left my dedicated RV multimeter home on my last trip. Sure enough I discovered my 3 way fridge was not working on 12V when driving so I picked up a cheap meter at Tractor Supply in Bernalillo. When I got to my destination in the flyover country of Eastern NM I went to do my troubleshooting only to discover when I opened the step that I had accidentally left the fridge wire off the battery.

 

[invstbiker]

Check the breakers on your charger/inverter if it has them.

If you have a 50 Amp feed check that you're getting power on each of the legs. It's possible that one of them is dead.

Do you have a surge protector between your trailer and the post?

Unplug from the post and turn off the inverter if you have one. Take the front off the breaker panel (I.e. not the 12 fuse panel) and make sure all of the common (white) wires are tight on the buss bar. That's a common failure point. Vibration loosens them over time. Pay special to any connectors with more than one wire.

Less common is loose wires on a breaker. Check them all anyway.

While you're in there check that all the ground wires are solidly attached as well, just for ducks.

Thanks, I will try this.

 

[bigbAZ]

RV is 30 AMP.

I can imagine!. I'm not an electrician.

My money is on the GFCI you replaced being incorrectly wired. If the green light is on we know there is power there and all GFCIs made in the last 15 years or so will not deliver power when wired incorrectly.

The other possibility is an open neutral, but to find that you need a tester.