mysterious electrical problem

[richie rich]

With the change in the Florida weather lately,so too surfaced an electrical mystery(at least to me).The weather had been of low humidity for weeks and then the rains commenced to flooding situations in some areas of the state.When the rains came ,so did the mystery.One breaker would trip.The other remained functioning just fine.After a short panic,no electrical pun intended,I remembered that waiting and doing nothing ,the problem may FIX itself.It did.The clouds moved on and so too my lack of power in half the trailer, until it rained again! Being a bit more aggressive and cautiously noting it was an electrical problem and one not to be taken lightly ,I acted.I took a breeze! A breath of fresh air that is, for the '63 Safari.Opening the trunk space and giving the 46 year old breaker box some air to dry out is working.Any thoughts,suggestions? They don't have to be water tight.

[silverleeper]

Water is a conductor. If water gets between exposed circuit and ground this will cause a short and the breaker will trip. So, Yes it helps if there water tight. Take a look in the box for any exposed wet wires.

[overlander63]

It may not be a breaker, you may have a wire that the increased moisture is causing a ground. If you have an electrician friend, maybe he can bring over his tone-trace equipment, and track it down for you.

[thecatsandi]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

Water is a conductor. If water gets between exposed circuit and ground this will cause a short and the breaker will trip. So, Yes it helps if there water tight. Take a look in the box for any exposed wet wires.

Correction: Pure water is not a conductor. Most water has impurities. These are the conductors. That said.
A water leak is still a problem.

[richie rich]

mystery solved! It was a dead short from an outside electrical socket.Water made it's way past the weatherproof cover.The inside of the receptacle was wet,corroded,and disintegrating.The outside screws broke off in my hand.What helped was feedback from forum members.Someone mentioned how the circuit was daisy chained like christmas lights.The short being located in that chain.After seeing the circuit breaker box was good,I checked outlets.The exterior ones being most susceptible to water were first and the problem.Thank you for the response.