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10-21-2017, 11:30 AM
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#1
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Rivet Master
1981 31' Excella II
New Market
, Alabama
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 6,145
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Dead battery bad GFI
Went out to the trailer yesterday and nothing would work. Plugs were working but no DC power. Turns out the cause was a GFI that kept blowing. Looks like there is a dedicated 15A circuit for the power converter. I checked the lines after removing the breaker and power and there are no shorts in the system. I replaced the breaker with a standard non-GFI for the short run but why is it there in the first place? Maybe the old Univolt could short and put AC on the 12V line? The converter has been replaced with a modern unit. I don't think that is the problem. I just hope the battery is not toast. It seems to have charged ok and we don't boondock so a little loss of capacity is not a problem. My attitude toward GFI is that they are big PITA. Is it going to add any extra safety?
Perry
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10-21-2017, 01:23 PM
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#2
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Half a Rivet Short
2017 30' Classic
2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle
, Pennsylvania
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 15,735
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Hi
Are you the only owner of the AS? I'm wondering if somebody put it in years ago, thinking it was a different circuit. That said, the GFCI could have tripped because it was defective. If there really *is* leakage on the circuit it's worth tracking down. In some cases stuff like the Univolt have filters on them that are not GFCI compatible. If it's been wired this way for years, I doubt that's the issue .....
Bob
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10-21-2017, 01:39 PM
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#3
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Site Team
2017 30' International
Broomfield
, Colorado
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,555
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GFCI is required by code in certain applications. My guess is that the converter shares the same line as an outlet near a water source. Just a guess.
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10-21-2017, 04:35 PM
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#4
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Rivet Master
1994 34' Excella
Warren
, Manitoba
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,253
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Had a very similar problem when working on a friends trailer, an '84 Excella 31 foot. Installed a new Progressive Dynamics converter which ran for 2 months with no problem, then the breaker started tripping. PD said to return the unit as defective if it trips the breaker more than twice. They replaced the PD9245 with no question. The new unit ran for 2 weeks without a problem and then the breaker started to trip again. I called Progressive Dynamics, and they said that there was no indication of any problem with the original converter. By plugging converter into another non GFCI outlet with an extension cord, everything is fine. Tried various other things to try to get GFCI to trip on that outlet with no luck. Next step is to replace the GFCI breaker!!!
__________________
ACI #7394
2012 GMC 2500 HD Duramax Denali
1994 Excella 34'
1987 Limited 34', 1976 31', 1976 Argosy 22' Gone to new homes
Hensley Hitch
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10-21-2017, 04:53 PM
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#5
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Rivet Master
1981 31' Excella II
New Market
, Alabama
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 6,145
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I think the breaker was bad. I had the converter turned off and it still blew. I will check to see of the outside outlets are on that cicuit. If they are, that explains why the GFCI. A buddy of mine said the newer power supplies tend to have more high frequency noise which may mess up the GFCI. I would replace it and see if it happens again.
Perry
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10-22-2017, 06:06 AM
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#6
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Figment of My Imagination
2012 Interstate Coach
From All Over
, More Than Anywhere Else
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,868
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If your trailer's shore power is plugged into a GFCI outlet, that might explain why you're having so much trouble. Having one GFCI circuit plugged into another GFCI circuit generally causes one of them to trip, because the circuitry inside a GFCI that allows it to detect ground faults also causes another GFCI to detect it as a ground fault.
So if you absolutely need to use your interior GFCI circuit, it's best to not plug your shore power into a home GFCI-protected outlet.
__________________
I thought getting old would take longer!
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10-22-2017, 06:36 AM
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#7
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Rivet Master
1981 31' Excella II
New Market
, Alabama
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 6,145
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The circuit feeding the trailer is not GFCI. They also don't like inductive loads being in the circuit. I expect it is just a 35yr old GFCI breaker fail. I already replaced the 20A for the AC unit that was tripping.
Perry
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10-22-2017, 09:12 AM
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#8
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Half a Rivet Short
2017 30' Classic
2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle
, Pennsylvania
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 15,735
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Hi
Unless you do have sockets on the circuits, there is no big reason to have GFCI breakers on those circuits. Normally something like an AC unit runs on a dedicated circuit / breaker.
Bob
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10-22-2017, 10:10 AM
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#9
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4 Rivet Member
1976 31' Excella 500
Chappell Hill
, Texas
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 485
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Change the simple cheaper things first (breaker). Trust me on that one. I learned the hard (expensive, time consuming) way.
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10-22-2017, 12:10 PM
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#10
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Rivet Master
1977 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre
1973 21' Globetrotter
1975 26' Argosy 26
Vista
, California
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 589
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GFIs can just go bad with age. You don't need it for he converter. Could it also power an outside plug, or a kitchen counter plug? In that case GFIs are recommend
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10-23-2017, 08:16 AM
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#11
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2 Rivet Member
2006 28' International CCD
Saint Paul
, Minnesota
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 51
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Peter
GFI's hate moisture of any kind. We solved the problem of an overactive GFI by sealing/waterproofing our outside outlets. They can be used in an emergency with a bit of work but no more problems. Hard rain would be a problem but two months on the coast of Maine, right on the water did it, constant humidity.
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10-23-2017, 02:06 PM
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#12
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2 Rivet Member
2006 28' International CCD
Saint Paul
, Minnesota
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 51
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peter
Regarding GFI--Should have have said, driving rain used to be a problem but now no more.
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10-24-2017, 09:09 PM
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#13
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Rivet Master
1988 32' Excella
Robbinsville
, New Jersey
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 3,161
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From what I have seen most 80's Airstreams have the outside outlet, the refrigerator outlet and the converter outlet all on the GFI circuit.
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10-25-2017, 10:44 AM
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#14
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Half a Rivet Short
2017 30' Classic
2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle
, Pennsylvania
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 15,735
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Hi
Outside outlets are a GCFI problem from a combination of dust and moisture. One "fix" is to clean them off with some sort of solvent spray. Then spray them down with a silicone spray lube. The lube will displace moisture and at least for a while cure the problem. The gotcha is that the lube also captures dust. At some point you have to go through the clean and coat process again. Since silicone lube is tough to get off, it's usually a wipe down and flood with new lube process after the first time.
Bob
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