gfi popped wont reset

SK

ski man

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Joined
Dec 2, 2017
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7
Location
Nashville, Tennessee
new to this rving need advice  gfi popped this weekend and would not reset.  Air conditioning was off too.  I checked the breakers and fuses and they were all good.  Came home and thought maybe the gfi was bad.  I hooked the trailer up to my house current and checked,  All is good.  The gfi reset and everything works.  disconnected the extension cord and we are back to no outlets, no gfi and no air.  I have zero electrical experience (don't know how it works ) so I hope there is a simple solution out there.  thanks in advance
 
Sounds like everything is working as it should. The items you describe as not working when unplugged from house current require the 120V to work. So, once you disconnect from house current you won't have any outlets or air. Or anything else that requires 120V such as a microwave.
 
I agree.  Based on the description everything seems as it should.

The only thing that should run without shore power are 12v items, such as lights, heat, fridge, exhaust fans, radio, and the like.

 
Thanks.. I just plugged it in again and everything is working as it should.  The thing that puzzled me was that the first time I disconnected from home circuit the gfi popped again.  This time everything works ok.  The dealer/parts guy yday  said when it happened this weekend I should have disconnected to the 30 amp and reconnected.  We have a surge protector hooked up so I thought that would have stopped an unwanted surge.  As you can see there is a bunch of stuff I need to learn.  Thanks again for your quick response. 
 
ski man said:
new to this rving need advice  gfi popped this weekend and would not reset.  Air conditioning was off too.  I checked the breakers and fuses and they were all good.  Came home and thought maybe the gfi was bad.  I hooked the trailer up to my house current and checked,  All is good.  The gfi reset and everything works.  disconnected the extension cord and we are back to no outlets, no gfi and no air.  I have zero electrical experience (don't know how it works ) so I hope there is a simple solution out there.  thanks in advance
Click to expand...
When you checked the breaker, did you also check the one on the post? If everything checked out in the RV and it all worked at home, it sounds to me like the breaker on the post kicked.

 
Was the breaker off when you plugged/unplugged?

Always plug/unplug to de-energized receptacle to prevent a power surge.
 
yes we always turn the power off until we plug in and then turn the power off when we unplug.  We didn' t think to check the breaker at the post.  Had that happen once in the middle of the night and that was the problem .. Cut our trip short by only 2 hours but a little hot getting the trailer ready to tow home. I appreciate all the responses. 
 
First if a GFCI will not reset one of 3 conditions exists.

1: (IN this case it will reset but instantly trip) A ground fault still exists.
2: NO POWER TO THE GFCI. IE: not connected to 120 vac
3: Bad GFCI

THe fact it worked when you got it home eliminates option 3 and likely option 1

Sounds like you lost 120vac.. (Shore power) at the park.

IT is normal for AIr Concitionres. GFCI and in fact all outlets to NOT WORK along with Microwave TV's. Some (Home type) radios and in fact all 120 vac stuff to not work unless connected to shore power. or a Generator  UNLESS you have an inverter (optional) I had to replace mine, got the new one installed yesterday at a cost of .. I woke up 7 pounds lighter this morning (Dehydration). 
 
Wow - not to hijack this thread, but all of this stuff that can potentially go wrong - most of which I know absolutely nothing about - really makes us hesitant to buy an RV.  Don?t know what on earth we would do if/when something went wrong.  Goodness, I don?t even know what y?all are talking about with most of this lingo  :-[.
 
Well Home.. In this thread. all the "Stuff" that can go wrong can also go wrong in a sticks and bricks house. IN fact most of what "Goes wrong" in an RV is not much different from a Sticks and Bricks house.  There are two major differences.

1: Something bouncing down the highway screws come loose. Yup. RVers really do have a few screws loose from time to time. Usually a #2 Square bit works best to tighten them.

And 2: The Few differences..  Well operator error creeps in

IN the case of electrical systems... IF power goes into a SLIDEOUT. there is the cable that carries it. often a pair of junction boxes. that is different from what you have in a Fixed house. but.. though it is different. it is basically the same.. I've heard for example. of water getting somehow into one of those junction boxes... BUt the diagnosis is the same no matter if it's a fixed house or a rolling palace.

When I pulled in Tuesday I had no power using my 30 amp cord/adapter so I switched to the 50 amp cord (I will explain why I have both later) and a dogbone. Still no joy so I broke out the test gear and

Park good power
Dogbone no power... Cleaned the plug on the dogbone adapter. Now I had power at the outlet on the bone.

Still nothing at the other end of the 50 amp cord. Turns out the outlet on the bone was bad.

New dog bone... Full power. 
(FIrst store did nto have it. thought they would but no joy. Went to lumber yard on other side of intersection (It's also a hardware) not only did they have it but the exact BRAND I wanted).

Why two cords (30 and 50)  The 30 amp cord is a super flex and much lighter than the 50 so it is easier to wrangle when I hook up on a 30 amp site.
 
As John says, much of what can go wrong also fails in a fixed site home or apartment, but it may go wrong more often in a house that bounces and vibrates down the highway, gets raised on jacks regularly, etc.  You probably know how hard it is to get a plumber or electrician to come to a house for a small repair, and getting an RV fixed is at least as challenging.  It surely helps to be a home handyman type, and even more so if your home is an RV.

I have to say, though, if the thought of this kind of repair stuff scares you, or if you really abhor any sort of "adventure" in your life, RVing may not be for you.  Stick to your car and Holiday Inns for your travel.
 
Homeskillet said:
Wow - not to hijack this thread, but all of this stuff that can potentially go wrong - most of which I know absolutely nothing about - really makes us hesitant to buy an RV.  Don?t know what on earth we would do if/when something went wrong.  Goodness, I don?t even know what y?all are talking about with most of this lingo  :-[.
Click to expand...
'
You would either learn or pay but either way you will get an education.
If you have limited  knowledge then find a good mobile repair person and have him show you everything. This will also give you a chance to figure out if you trust him to do your service work. If he does work then unlike a service department you are usually free to watch, learn and ask  qiuestions
 
Thanks for the responses.  We do love the idea of independence full-timing with an RV and I guess I would have no other option than to learn the ropes.  I would surmise that this forum would come in handy with this endeavor.

We have indeed thought about traveling and staying in hotels, AirBNB, VRBO, etc., but we have a small dog that we are not willing to part with which makes staying in hotels, etc. much more difficult.

Though perhaps another thread, are there any viable warranty?s to buy that are *REALLY* worth it which would help with some of the potential things that can (and will) go wrong.  We will likely be purchasing from Camping World & buying a new FW.
 
Indeed, Homeskillet, please do start a new topic of your own with your questions.  You are going to receive a lot of comments  and advice, especially on the subjects of RV warranties and Camping World.
 
ski man: A GFCI cannot be reset if it has no power.  If the reset button doesn't clicking solidly when pushed, it is 99% probably that there is no 120v power on that circuit.  While it is popular on the Internet to advise "replace the GFCI" when one trips, that is only rarely necessary. Modern electronics have made GFCI outlets highly reliable, so they seldom produce false ground fault tripping.
 
I will say two things.
1: Most RV campgrounds have one or more Mobile RV techs they can hand you business cards for.

2: I grew up on a farm. Dairy farm. (The Dairy part applies to listening to politicians.. You see. I shoveled that stuff......)  But when you are working the back 40 and the tractor fails. in the days before cell phones. It' sa long walk to the nearest phone (The house).  So you learn to fix it.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Indeed, Homeskillet, please do start a new topic of your own with your questions.  You are going to receive a lot of comments  and advice, especially on the subjects of RV warranties and Camping World.
Click to expand...

Will do (sorry).
 
No apologies needed. Just want to avoid mixing replies to your questions with those intended for ski man. It quickly gets confusing otherwise.
 
Thanks Gary rv wizard and all of you responders.  I think the power was off at the post and I just failed to think about that.  We have done well so far this year with our first year of trailering and have met a lot of very nice people and visited some very nice campgrounds here in Tenn. A couple of years to go till Sherri retires and then the decision whether to upgrade to class A or not.  We will enjoy our little camper till then  Again, thanks so much for all the advice,
 
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