surge protector

[pip8688]

Hi all,

I bought an RV 30A surge protector when I bought my AS. I have a 30A outlet at home, so I plugged it in and I soon as I plug the power cable from AS to it, it trips. When I bypass the protector and plug in direct, everything seems to work fine. Everything is turned off before plugging this in by the way. After the cord is plugged in direct, even with A/C running and some lights, i am only reading about 8 to 9 amps on the main breaker. Any ideas?

Tom

[purman]

It's probably a bad surge protector.

[Minnie's Mate]

I have tried to post this three times now and can't get it to work...I'll try one more time and if it doesn't work then good luck with your problem.

The surge protector that I purchased at the end of my trailer's second season of camping is from Camping World and does more than just prevent surges. It checks for reversed polarity (which could be a problem at your 30A outlet) and it will shut down the power to the trailer if it is reversed. It will also shut down the power to the trailer if the voltage falls below the safe level for your A/C and other appliances.

At the end of our Airstream's second season of camping the circuit board shorted out. The technician said that if there wasn't enough voltage the board would short out. There was one week long trip to Central Florida during July of the first season that resulted in the main breaker at the pole tripping several times during one hot day. Since using the surge protector at every campground we've stayed at, there have been two times (both during the heat of the Florida summer) that the surge protector shut down power to the trailer and restarted after the voltage return to safe levels.

Check the polarity and available voltage at your 30A outlet and if that isn't it, have the trailer and the surge protector inspected.

[wmarsha]

Perhaps it did its job, first. Did you have any problems before anywhere? If you were at a park and there was a substantial surge, your protector could have sacrificed itself to protect the trailer.
ol' bill

[pip8688]

I just used it at home. Our cable has blue light on each end of the cable that lights up when powered and when not plugged in to AS the surge protector is fine. I don't know what's tripping it, either GFI or too much current, but the voltage reading is 125.5. I am going to a campsite this weekend, so I'll try it out there and see. Also, the protector does not trip on Generator. Perhaps it's because neutral and ground are not connected on the gens.

[garry]

You could have an open neutral or ground at the house end but that should have popped the GFCI in the AS.

[pip8688]

I've been reading a lot of threads on other electrical issues and have a general question. Should my neutral and ground be connected together on the AS? Mine is. I am reading zero ohms on my meter and reading both 125v on hot to neutral and hot to ground.

[pip8688]

To add to the last comment, would neutral and ground being connected together trip my surge protector?

[garry]

They should not be tied together in the breaker panel.

However; if you have an inverter they are probably tied together at the inverter it should not trip the surge protector.

The surge protector is protecting you from "incoming" voltage you might want to try another outlet at your home.

[pip8688]

I just got word from the dealer. Neutral and ground are not supposed to be bonded together in AS. Now I need to figure out where its shorted. I shouldn't be doing this in my brand new trailer. I should be enjoying it.

[richinny]

switch off all the trailer 120v breakers. plug the trailer in and see if it trips. if it does, the problem might be at the panel.

if it does not trip, turn the breakers on one by one until it trips the surge protector.

i lost track as to if it is a gfci tripping in the surge protector or the surge part or a polarity issue.

[pip8688]

Rick, the surge protector is fine with all the breakers down and even with the main 30a breaker on. It trips when any of the other breakers are up. I need to start removing the neutral wires off the buss bar one at a time to see which one is shorted. I believe its the 110v outlets which will be a time comsuming chore.

[richinny]

it sounds like the problem is in the main panel. pull the cover and post a pic. i think you'll get an educated answer from one of the 'sprarkies' here on the forum. :-)

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by pip8688

...I need to start removing the neutral wires off the buss bar one at a time to see which one is shorted. I believe its the 110v outlets which will be a time comsuming chore.

This sounds like a dealer project on a new trailer under warranty. I have two left hands and they are both all thumbs when it comes to repairs/renovations. That's why I bought a new trailer with a warranty. If you start pulling wires yourself, you might find that the problem goes beyond your available time/or skills and requires an expert (not knowing if you are or not) and if you start with the DIY intrusion to the wiring you may void any warranty that would have covered the repairs at Airstream's expense.

[pip8688]

I found the problem. Of course it was after I pulled out all the outlets(everything looked fine) In the RV the neutral and ground are not to be bonded. However, I also have an inverter that bonds neutral and ground together. Outlet power is routed thru a switch that I can select either inverter power or shore power from the converter. Here, the hot wires are on connected to the switch, but the neutral and ground are connected to each other, thus the neutral and ground become bonded for the entire RV due to the inverter. As soon as I disconnected the inverter neutral, everything was happy. Now I just need to figure out how I can route the neutral thru a switch as well to keep them separated. Is there a switch that I can get that can switch 2 wires at a time(hot and neutral)?

[Minnie's Mate]

Glad you found the problem. I don't know enough about electricity to do any kind of trouble shooting myself.

Thanks for sharing.