Breaker, Breaker!!

[foleywalker]

I just bought an Argosy 30 1978. When I plugged in to the shore line I noticed the 20am GFI kept tripping. I tried several times to reset...not happening. I might add I am hooked up temporarily to a 110 3 prong outlet. I have the adapter in place with a 15ft medium duty extension cord. Could this cause the tripping problem. A/C works outside outlet works. I am new to all of this. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by foleywalker

I just bought an Argosy 30 1978. When I plugged in to the shore line I noticed the 20am GFI kept tripping. I tried several times to reset...not happening. I might add I am hooked up temporarily to a 110 3 prong outlet. I have the adapter in place with a 15ft medium duty extension cord. Could this cause the tripping problem. A/C works outside outlet works. I am new to all of this. Any suggestions? Thanks.

You asked the same question over on the "How to solve tripping GFCI" thread, so this answer is also a repeat…

Since you have a GFCI circuit already in the trailer, plugging into a GFCI shore power source means you've got two GFCI's in series. Because of the internal wiring that allows a GFCI to detect a current leak, the upstream GFCI mistakenly sees the downstream GFCI as a ground fault. Turn off the breaker for your trailer's internal GFCI, and the shore power GFCI should quit tripping.

[foleywalker]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

You asked the same question over on the "How to solve tripping GFCI" thread, so this answer is also a repeat…

Since you have a GFCI circuit already in the trailer, plugging into a GFCI shore power source means you've got two GFCI's in series. Because of the internal wiring that allows a GFCI to detect a current leak, the upstream GFCI mistakenly sees the downstream GFCI as a ground fault. Turn off the breaker for your trailer's internal GFCI, and the shore power GFCI should quit tripping.

Thanks Protagonist for getting back to me. Sorry for the double post I'm new at this and wasn't sure where to post.
Anyway, the shore line is not a GFCI it is a regular 3 prong plug. I was going to replace the 20 amp GFCI breaker in the trailer today but thought I would ask for advise first. Any other thoughts?
Again thanks so much.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by foleywalker

Thanks Protagonist for getting back to me. Sorry for the double post I'm new at this and wasn't sure where to post.
Anyway, the shore line is not a GFCI it is a regular 3 prong plug. I was going to replace the 20 amp GFCI breaker in the trailer today but thought I would ask for advise first. Any other thoughts?
Again thanks so much.

Sorry; I misread it, when you said the "20amp GFCI" I thought you meant your home power.

Two other thoughts:
1 - A GFCI breaker is still a breaker. It can trip if you overload it even if there's no ground fault, just like any other breaker. If so, try unplugging everything, then plug in items back in one at a time until you find which one trips it. Then do it again, in a different order, to see if the same appliance trips it when you plug it in first, or if a different appliance trips it next time. If it's the same appliance every time, there's your problem. If it's a different appliance every time, you're either plugging in too many things and overloading the circuit, or you have an internal wiring fault.

2 - Even though the breaker is a GFCI, there may be an outlet somewhere on the circuit that has a test/reset button. You may have to reset that button before you reset the breaker. My Airstream is like that.

[foleywalker]

I will check for GFCI plugs in the trailer. Off hand I don't remember seeing any. If that doesn't work then I will try your first suggestion. The wonders of electricity! Thanks again.

[foleywalker]

I just replaced the 20amp GFCI breaker and all is working!!! Thanks for your help.