Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-04-2022, 01:33 PM   #1
3 Rivet Member
 
1990 29' Excella
baltimore , Maryland
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 183
GFI breaker keeps flipping..

So i have a 1990 Excella 29.
It has the mid bath.
My manual shows schematics as rear bath so maybe they never upgraded the manual.

Anyway, whats on this circuit?
-battery charger
-bath outlet
-exterior outlet
-2 other interior outlets

I unplugged anything on the circuit including the charger.
Breaker still flips off.

Take wire out of breaker?
Breaker happy.

Any ideas?
Thanks for reading!
groundhogy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2022, 02:25 PM   #2
3 Rivet Member
 
Ginophiles's Avatar
 
2017 30' International
Paradise , California
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 146
Quote:
Originally Posted by groundhogy View Post
So i have a 1990 Excella 29.


I unplugged anything on the circuit including the charger.
Breaker still flips off.

Take wire out of breaker?
Breaker happy.

Any ideas?
Thanks for reading!
It's a GFCI breaker correct?

What do you mean "Take wire out of breaker? Breaker happy"? Are you trying to say that you removed the black (hot) or white (neutral) from the breaker and it stopped tripping?

That would make sense as it would no longer be energized and your plugs wont work.

If it's original from the '90s it may just be worn out and needs to be replaced.

Had the same problem in our 2017 while on a trip. It seemed Seamens had a bad batch of GFCI breakers at around that time. Found a new one at Home Depot and it works fine now.
Ginophiles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2022, 02:48 PM   #3
3 Rivet Member
 
1990 29' Excella
baltimore , Maryland
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 183
So in my mind, a couple things swimming around.,

-is there actually a wire problem in the walls? Or in some outlet?

-Or is it just some moisture causing a stray amount of current to trigger the breaker?

-or.. breakers do wear out
groundhogy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2022, 02:50 PM   #4
3 Rivet Member
 
1990 29' Excella
baltimore , Maryland
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 183
Should I order another (if available) GFI style breaker?

Should I forget the GFI and install a regular breaker?
(The manual says they normally install a regular breaker except if RV being shipped to a state that demands GFI)
groundhogy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2022, 04:59 PM   #5
2 Rivet Member
 
1994 21' Sovereign
Currently Looking...
Knoxville , Tennessee
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 24
My gfi breaker went bad on my 1994. I found the exact same breaker on eBay (new old stock) for a quarter of the price.
Khale is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2022, 05:12 PM   #6
diesel maniac
 
ITSNO60's Avatar
 
Airstream - Other
Tucson , AZ
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,531
Switch the breaker to another circuit and see if it works on that one. Be sure to switch the neutrals too. While GFCI breakers do fail, the vast majority of the time they are just doing their job and something is wrong on the circuit. The fact that is doesn't trip when you remove the load wire is the first step in troubleshooting already points to a likely circuit issue.
__________________
Brian
ITSNO60 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2022, 06:53 PM   #7
Rivet Master
 
1988 32' Excella
Robbinsville , New Jersey
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 3,134
Has it rained there in the past couple days?

Or have you washed the trailer inside or outside?

Or even a lot of condensation?
Wazbro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2022, 08:57 PM   #8
Rivet Master
 
gator.bigfoot's Avatar
 
2007 30' Classic
KW , Ontario
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 996
Which wire are you taking out of the breaker. The breaker should only have a couple of wires. One is the load and other is the neutral. If you take the load wire off then nothing is connected. So the easy way to test it is to hook in a wire and a plug. Use an extension cord if you have one or just hook in a few feet wire into a box with a regular plug. Wire in the hot neutral and ground. If the circuit doesn't trip then you've got a ground fault failure in you trailer. If it trips then it has to be the breaker. Most likely if it doesn't trip with no load then it's not the breaker and the problem is a ground fault in the trailer. That will be hard to find, but you could replace it with a regular breaker and you can see if the outlets work. Just make sure you have the trailer grounded in the event that the trailer skin goes live. You don't want to electrocute yourself. But since the trailer is a 1990 model you may want to just replace the outlets anyway. But it would be interesting to know what is causing it. The bottom line in troubleshooting electrical systems you need to isolate everything. Then go through them systematically one by one. Write it down if you have to.

Good luck.
gator.bigfoot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 09:24 AM   #9
Rivet Master
 
urnmor's Avatar
 
2012 25' Flying Cloud
Berlin , Maryland
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,786
IMO I would start with the basics. Check each outlet to see if they are bad. especially the two that are subject to water. I would replace with GFCI outlets.
urnmor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 09:33 AM   #10
3 Rivet Member
 
1990 29' Excella
baltimore , Maryland
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 183
Wow, all very good ideas.

Wazbro: yes on the condensation and also..
When i arrived in Pa in Jan, my poo hose and dump pipe immediately froze up. I have had a red heat lamp plugged into the outside outlet full time.

Gator: I pulled the black wire from the breaker.
groundhogy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 10:26 AM   #11
Half a Rivet Short
 
2017 30' Classic
2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle , Pennsylvania
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 15,684
Hi

Pull the cover off of each outlet and look for "critters". A spider that decided to make a home in the outlet will create issues. While you have things apart, grab a can of silicone spray and give the outlet a good wash down. You are using it both as a cleaner and as a protective coating. Don't be bashful.

Best bet, that will solve the problem. My next step would be to replace the breaker. A lower cost / higher effort approach would be to start disconnecting the "daisy chain" that runs to the outlets. As you disconnect each leg of the daisy chain, you check again to see if the problem went away. ( Obviously if replacing the breaker doesn't fix it, the disconnect process is next).

As you disconnect you could find a bad outlet (possible) or a bad wire. Replacing an outlet isn't that big a deal other than the issue with sourcing any part for anything these days.

If you find that it's "in a wire" that's a very unusual situation. Sorry for your bad luck .... You now get to run a new wire. Given the odds, you are more likely to win the lottery than have this be the case.

Fun

Bob
uncle_bob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 10:46 AM   #12
3 Rivet Member
 
1959 24' Tradewind
Twin Falls , Idaho
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 246
These are things that makes a breaker (break), a short, to much current or it's bad. Is your shore power is wired wrong(Hot & Neutrals switched) or it's not the right amperage

I don't think it's a GFCI issue as that would create an open. I would lean towards
1. Bad breaker
2. Short in the wiring.

Like someone else said, put it on a different circuit and see if the same happens, then put the breaker you swapped on the circuit that was tripping.
__________________
Regards,
Tony
Trons4u is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 11:02 AM   #13
3 Rivet Member
 
1990 29' Excella
baltimore , Maryland
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 183
Well, the GFI breaker has a rail connection, a wht wire, and a black wire.

The other regular breaker in the panel has only rail and black wire.

I switched the black wires on the GFI breaker, and it still trips.

With no blk wire on the GFI breaker, it sets.
groundhogy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 11:03 AM   #14
3 Rivet Member
 
1990 29' Excella
baltimore , Maryland
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 183
I pulled the exterior outlet out a bit. Did not disconnect.
But appears to be completely dry in there
groundhogy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 11:43 AM   #15
Rivet Master
 
davidz71's Avatar
 
1986 25' Sovereign
Southern Middle , Tennessee
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 3,319
Images: 23
This happened to my '86 mid bath 25' Sovereign at a shop building that was under construction. They only had one 20 amp circuit in the panel at the time. It had been working for a couple weekends then started flipping the breaker in the building as soon as I plugged in or within a minute. I thought this was strange so I checked all outlets, by passed my Hughes Autoformer, replaced the GFIC receptacle in the building and even replaced the GFIC breaker in the panel in the trailer. Nothing seemed to work. I measured voltage at the panel and inside the trailer where a few outlets were working. It showed 114 volts. A friend used some equipment and found what he said was bleed off from an unused breaker in the building panel to the 20 amp breaker I was using. I took the trailer home, plugged it into a 15 amp circuit in the my garage and everything worked great. Voltage was 121 v. I contacted the person who owned the new building and told him what I found. He said he would look into it. When I came back a couple weekends later everything worked great and voltage was up to 117 v. I have no idea what he found since I have been unable to talk with him. I am guessing he had a problem in the breaker box or possibly in the transformer on the pole 50 ft. away. The only thing that changed that I could measure was the voltage increase. I was using 50 ft. of heavy extension cord to a 15-30 amp adapter, same as I have at the house.
davidz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 11:48 AM   #16
diesel maniac
 
ITSNO60's Avatar
 
Airstream - Other
Tucson , AZ
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,531
Quote:
Originally Posted by groundhogy View Post
Well, the GFI breaker has a rail connection, a wht wire, and a black wire.

The other regular breaker in the panel has only rail and black wire.

I switched the black wires on the GFI breaker, and it still trips.

With no blk wire on the GFI breaker, it sets.
You can't just switch the black wire, it will of course trip because the GFCI needs to be connected to the same neutral as the hot is from so you need to remove the white wire from the neutral bus that corresponds to the black wire and put those two on the GFCI breaker. Black and white from the same circuit. This isn't real complicated but if you don't understand how it works it may be best to get some hands on help, trial & error is not always a good idea when it comes to electrical and you could possibly end up getting hurt or doing damage.
__________________
Brian
ITSNO60 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 11:49 AM   #17
diesel maniac
 
ITSNO60's Avatar
 
Airstream - Other
Tucson , AZ
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,531
Quote:
Originally Posted by urnmor View Post
IMO I would start with the basics. Check each outlet to see if they are bad. especially the two that are subject to water. I would replace with GFCI outlets.
Why would you put GFCI outlets on a circuit that is GFCI protected at the breaker?
__________________
Brian
ITSNO60 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 12:01 PM   #18
Rivet Master

 
2015 27' Flying Cloud
Portland , Oregon
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 684
Send a message via AIM to hhendrix Send a message via Yahoo to hhendrix
I didn't see how you are connected to shore power. If you are pulling power from a 15 or 20 amp source, check to see if the source is GFI protected. Often a GFI outlet supplied by a GFI protected source do not work together.
__________________
The ability to follow instructions is highly underrated.
Always be wary of stupid people in large numbers.
hhendrix is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 12:16 PM   #19
Rivet Master
 
davidz71's Avatar
 
1986 25' Sovereign
Southern Middle , Tennessee
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 3,319
Images: 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by hhendrix View Post
I didn't see how you are connected to shore power. If you are pulling power from a 15 or 20 amp source, check to see if the source is GFI protected. Often a GFI outlet supplied by a GFI protected source do not work together.
I was wondering that myself. My trailer is plugged into a 15 amp receptacle inside the garage and is on a 20 amp GFCI protected breaker. It has always worked great unless the garden pond pump starts going bad or my wife sprays water into the outside receptacle boxes which she has a tendency to do. I had to replace several outside boxes with covers on them and seal around the edges with clear silicone sealer. That solved that problem
davidz71 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2022, 02:36 PM   #20
3 Rivet Member
 
1990 29' Excella
baltimore , Maryland
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 183
ITSN060
You didn’t give me proper instructions so of course i screwed it up! Lol

So... it appears all of the normal white wires are all on a bar to the left side. These appear connected to the rail.

It makes sense to me now. The GFI white has to go to the GFI breaker so it can compare currents.

Is that correct?
groundhogy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Fuse that keeps flipping joelschneide Electrical - Systems, Generators, Batteries & Solar 6 10-17-2021 09:13 PM
electric griddle - flipping breaker funkill Stella's Kitchen 5 07-03-2010 05:11 AM
2007 Dometic AC is flipping the breaker oceanair Furnaces, Heaters, Fireplaces & Air Conditioning 8 06-20-2009 05:03 AM
Air conditioner breaker flipping cowpokemon1 Furnaces, Heaters, Fireplaces & Air Conditioning 8 05-27-2008 01:45 PM
GFI breaker keeps tripping. Van Electrical - Systems, Generators, Batteries & Solar 10 08-06-2005 11:33 PM


Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Airstream, Inc. or any of its affiliates. Airstream is a registered trademark of Airstream Inc. All rights reserved. Airstream trademark used under license to Social Knowledge LLC.



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:52 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.