Ground Fault Problem

[Seaton Hall]

We have a 1999 Tiffin Allegro.  If the electrical receptacle we are plugging into is ground fault protected, which most are, our unit immediately kicks off the ground fault interrupter.  Help!  Any simple remedy?

Thanks in advance.

 

[John From Detroit]

Some older rigs do do this by design I'm afraid, if this is the case there is no simple solution

Diagnosis procedure,,, Turn off and/or unplug EVERYTHING, including all circuit breakers.

If it still trips the breaker,,,, You have an older rig not wired to modern code

If the GFCI holds, then:

Now, plug in a 120 volt lamp, where you can see it as you sit/stand/lie near the breaker panel.

Turn on just the breaker for the lamp, hopefull the lamp goes on (alternative, use some kind of adapter so you can plug the lamp in to the outlet on the pole)

Turn on breakers one at a time and watch the light,,, when things get kind of dark (Which will happen suddenly) find out what that breaker controls, label it, turn it off, reset the GFCI and continue to turn on the remaining breakers one at a time until you fingure out what circuits have faults.

Often it will be either the hot-water heater or the converter.  Sometimes fixing is easy, other times, not

 

[Seaton Hall]

Thank you, John.  I think I have a problem with the converter also, so maybe my 2 problems will become 1.

 

[Jim Dick]

We have a 1999 Tiffin Allegro.  If the electrical receptacle we are plugging into is ground fault protected, which most are, our unit immediately kicks off the ground fault interrupter.  Help!  Any simple remedy?

Thanks in advance.

Seaton,

Are you talking about a 15 amp outlet? Whenever I try to use a GFI outlet to power one side of a converter box which allows two 30amp circuits to feed my 50amp coach, the GFI trips. Not an uncommon occurance from what I can find out.

 

[Seaton Hall]

Jim,

Actually I have tried both a 20 amp and a 30 amp and they both kick the GFCI.  At one location an electrician told me that something in the coach was tripping it.  Of course he was there for another reason, so I couldn't ask him to do any further diagnosis.

 

[Ned]

It's not uncommon for something in the RV to have the ground and neutral tied together, causing the GFI to trip.  In some it's the inverter.  The only way to test it is to lift the hot wire for each circuit at the breakers (with power removed of course) one at a time until the culprit is found.

 

[Seaton Hall]

Another great tip.  Thanks, Ned.  This forum is a tremendous source for knowledge.

 

[Ned]

Another way to test is to remove all AC power and lift the neutral wire at each breaker and check with an ohmmeter to ground.  If it reads less than an open circuit, that will trip a GFI.