likely cause for AC problem
 

The AC of the 93 Funlite had stopped working when I returned from work a couple of days ago. There is no power at the 30 Amp outlet in the back of the trailer when checked with a multimeter, and the red reset button will not stay down. The converter box under the bed is still humming and fridge and 110 outlets have power. The 12V lights are fine as well. The 30 Amp green fuse at the converter is not tripped. I haven't yet checked continuity of the cable between converter and outlet. What is likely to be the problem? Thank you for any ideas from the more experienced!

Chris

Chris,

It may be a bad GFCI outlet. I had a similar thing happen to an outlet at home. I replaced the outlet and it has worked OK since.

I was considering the GFCI. But there is no power going into the receptacle. /Chris

First question, are you saying that the AC trips when you turn on power and the reset button will not stay engaged on the outlet, or is there no power even supplied to the outlet that supply's power to the AC power cord?

If there is no power supplied to the outlet then you would need to trace the lost point of connection by doing a continuity check as you were thinking already.

If you have power supplied to the outlet then I would agree with Norton that you have a bad GFCI.

Can't quite remember from off the top of my head but I thought there was a seperate breaker for the AC power outlet and not supplied from the convertor. I thought the convertor is for conversion of the 110V to 12vdc.

There is no power going to the outlet. There is a 30 Amp fuse switch at the converter box which I assume (meaning that I don't know :-) is for the AC.If there is a separate fuse for the AC, I would love to know where...

Best,

Chris

I don't comprehend what you're explaining
 

but my Air Cond. has it's own/ separate circuit breaker in the main panel (which is separate from the converter box). That breaker provides power to the "special" ground fault outlet that the air cond. plugs into.

As I see things ...
Unplug the air cond. power cord from that outlet then a cycle on/off/on the applicable circuit breaker (#2 in my setup) in your main box. Does your unused ground fault still trip? If so it really sounds like its defective. If it trips after you plug in the air cond. then the air cond. is creating the problem.

At least that's my thinking without being there to see things for myself.

I think the AC outlet is a a standard 20 amp receptacle, that is the pin configuration is that of a 20 amp which will take both 15 and 20 amp plugs. Plug something else in there to see how it works.

ok, maybe these two pictures will help. One shows the box under the bed (is this the converter?), the other the plug (right-angled contacts) for the AC in the back of the trailer. I have confirmed with a multimeter that no power goes into this outlet. Other standard 110V outlets have power and the 12V lights are working. This is a 93 FunLite. Thank you all for helping with this problem!

Best,

Chris

terrible first photo
 

but it looks like the circuit breaker box (tipped on its side?) which is NOT a converter. When working properly, and if all the breakers in this box are on AND you otherwise have ac power THEN you should have power to the special outlet.

If not, as you indicate, then either the supplying breaker is bad or the wiring to the outlet is pinched (shorting out). If as you indicate (the ground fault is tripping) then I'd suspect the pinched wire is the culprit AND/OR AGAIN SUSPECT THE GROUND FAULT OUTLET IS BAD. That'd be the cheapest and easiest thing to do. Replace it and then continue trouble-shooting.

I'm assuming nothing is plugged into this outlet during these tests.

The converter takes one of these breaker box power feeds into yet another box and CONVERTS it to a 12 volt power source to supply low voltage needs.

Duh ... safety first.
 

If you don't feel comfortable doing this then don't because it could kill ya. Totally un-power the camper.

Now, if you don't want to spend a few bucks on a new outlet in this experiment then simply remove it. Keeps all wires separate & labeled (for reassembly) and then re-power the camper. Use meter to again test the bare wires for power.

If you now have power there then that confirms outlet is bad. If still no power then look for wiring problem.

Is the ac outlet a gfci? If not it may be in series with a gfci that tripped. Check this and check that other ac outlets have power.

Chris,

I believe the circuit for your AC unit is a stand alone circuit. If the circuit breaker is not thrown, you should have power at the GFCI outlet. At the circuit breaker, be sure and tip the switch back toward the off position as some breakers have to re-trigger to reset and simply moving it to the on position may not allow the breaker to reset.

Another thing to check is your ground fault outlet. I do not know how yours is positioned but if it is like the 2406T I had, it was in a bad location and difficult to access. When plugging the AC cord into the outlet, I would inadvertently trip the ground fault test button and I had to use a mirror to look into to hit the proper reset button. I suspect this may be your problem; if not, then turn the circuit breaker off and pull the outlet, insure that the GFCI is reset properly, then reset the breaker and carefully check for the presence of voltage after you reset the circuit breaker. Use a voltage meter or a circuit/polarity tester to see if current is present. If not, I would say you have a defective GFCI. Please use caution when trying this; 110 volts kills more people than high voltage lines.

Jerry Curtis
Fredericksburg, TX

Yeah it sounds like you are losing power from the separate circuit breaker that supplies power to your AC GFCI. That box under your bed is the main power supply breaker panel for your trailer. If I remember correctly that feeds a line to the fuse panel, and I believe that you need to verify the power out of the separate circuit breakers that gets power supplied from that main power supply breaker panel. In my trailer there is a circuit breaker panel that is also located on the front side of the sofa bed, it is hidden behind a pull down panel with cushioning on it (it would not be easily found if you didn't know it was there). There are individual circuit breakers located in there that supply power to other items within the trailer. I believe that one of them is the circuit breaker to the AC GFCI. Once again, I am recalling this from my memory which as we all know may not be as good as it used to be the older you get, and from what my wife tells me also :D My trailer is in storage or I would go look also.

Like Jerry said also, sometimes a breaker needs to be pushed down to the off position to reset it, before being pushed back up to turn it to the on position. And like Wrascal said you should consider safety when messing with power. Hope this helps out a little more.

I would definitely start the way Wrascal is suggesting. If you have power going to the receptacle, the fix is easy, replace it. Before you do this, do what somebody else suggested, turn the circuit breakers (CB) off and back on.

If none of this works, you need to do a bit more trouble shooting. In addition to GFCIs going bad, I've had circuit breakers go belly up. To check the breaker, disconnect the trailer from the house, open up the circuit breaker box so you can access the back. First see if the connections at the CB are secure and do a tug test on any wires in wire nuts. Reconnect the trailer and carefully use a voltmeter to check the wire or buss bar going to the breaker, as well as the one coming out. You can also do this with the trailer power disconnected by using an ammeter or continuity checker across both CB poles. Cycle the CB on and off and see what happens.

If this checks OK it's time to check the wire itself. Disconnect the trailer. Disconnect the wire from the CB, buss bar and the outlet. At either end, check each one of the three wires (hot, neutral, ground) for continuity to ground. Only the ground wire should have continuity if you left it connected. If the hot or neutral have continuity, you have a short to ground somewhere (make sure that the neutral is disconnected at the CB box). Next, check the continuity between each wire: neutral/hot, ground/hot, neutral/ground. If you get any, then you have a short between the two wires. Finally, temporarily connect two wires at a time at one end. Check the continuity between these wires at the other end. Do this with the three combinations. If you find that there is no continuity, you have a broken wire or a wire disconnected at an intermediate junction box.

Many thanks for the useful pointers! If there is indeed a separate fuse panel that is attached to the main power supply breaker panel, I should definitely locate and check that first.

Would it be OK to use this plug adapter, see

Power Plug Adapter - NEMA 5-15 Plug to 5-15/20 | ShowMeCables.com

and run the AC from another 110V outlet?

Chris

No, not really. The reason the A/C has a 20 amp plug is so you will only plug into a 20 amp receptacle. It is okay to plug 15 into 20 but not the other way.

Long story short, I just had to push the breaker all the way back to off a couple of times before setting it to the on position and now cool air is blowing again. Thank you Jerry for putting the finger on the problem! This is yet another example were the kindness of the members on this forum saved the day!

Chris

Chris,

I am so glad it worked for you. So many times when a circuit breaker has been activated, folks will simply flip the breaker switch to the on position and not get the result expected'; most, if not all, require a reseating of the blown circuit breaker [simply returning it to toward the 'off' position and then flipping it to the 'on' position before it can be reset. I am glad I lucked on to the solution for your problem.

Happy Trails

Jerry Curtis
Fredericksburg, TX.

Good to hear it was something simple. If you don't have a dedicated 30 amp supply from your land source then chances are the breakers will continue to trip as the AC unit pulls a lot of amperage.