Open Neutral at Power Pedestal?

[Teamfour]

I have a Surge Guard 30 amp portable surge protector. We have used it at dozens of campgrounds. The majority of times the indicator lights show an "open neutral" at the power pedestal. This is before I connect the power to the TT. Is this common? We have suffered no ill effects from this when using the TT.

[TURBS]

This is bad and should be reported to the campground to be fixed!

http://noshockzone.org/


2008 2500hd Duramax
2015 Columbus 320RS
2016 nights camped "0"
2015 nights camped "34"

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by TURBS

This is bad and should be reported to the campground to be fixed!

I would agree with you except that this has now happened at the last four different campgrounds we have visited. Maybe my surge guard is bad? BTW, we monitor voltage all the time and voltage at a wall socket is always in the 120-122v range.

[Bama Rambler]

Which model do you have?

I would be very hesitant to connect to a pedestal that shows an open neutral. However, you say that it's happened multiple times with no adverse effects, so the unit may be giving a false reading. It may be worth contacting Surge Guard and seeing what they say about it.

[ScottBrownstein]

I do not see how you could be getting a good voltage reading off of your 120 volt outlets with an open neutral. Presumably the unit is saying that there is no 120 volt between the hot lead and the neutral and that should also be true of all of your outlets and they should not work either. There is no ground tie in the TT or RV between the neutral and the ground....so cannot see how "all is well anyway."

[schrederman]

So, to help us understand... You plug the surge protector into the power before plugging the TT power cord into the surge protector. During this time, without the TT plugged in, it shows an open neutral. After you plug the TT in to the surge protector, the open neutral indication goes away... and you have power. Is this correct? If so, it is probably an indication that the surge protector has taken a surge and is now only partially effective. I use a good voltmeter before plugging in to check for correct wiring at the pedestal. They generally don't lie... The surge protector may need to be replaced if you want the protection they are supposed to provide... which yours may have indeed provided once. They're designed to bear the brunt of surges, but sometimes if the surge is strong, they'll only do it once.

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by schrederman

So, to help us understand... You plug the surge protector into the power before plugging the TT power cord into the surge protector. During this time, without the TT plugged in, it shows an open neutral. After you plug the TT in to the surge protector, the open neutral indication goes away... and you have power. Is this correct?

Almost correct. I plug the surge protector into the pedestal with the TT power cord plugged into the protector, but NOT plugged into the TT. The display on the protector shows an open neutral. After I plug the TT power cord into the TT, the protector still shows an open neutral but everything in the TT works fine.

Maybe my TT cord is bad? I will get the protector out of storage and try plugging it in just by itself. I assume I can perform this test at home by using a 20 amp adapter to plug it into a wall socket.

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

Which model do you have?

30A Entry Level Portable Surge Protector - Model 44260

I did just get off the phone with the mfr and the tech said it is not uncommon to have an LED burn out in the surge protector.

[Capt. Mike]

And if an LED is burnt out, you really can't tell what the surge protector is telling you, correct? What's the fix...replace the LED or junk the surge protector and start fresh with a new one? What did the tech recommend?

[youroo]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

30A Entry Level Portable Surge Protector - Model 44260

I did just get off the phone with the mfr and the tech said it is not uncommon to have an LED burn out in the surge protector.

Are they "SG" going to replace it? Youroo!!

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by Capt. Mike

And if an LED is burnt out, you really can't tell what the surge protector is telling you, correct? What's the fix...replace the LED or junk the surge protector and start fresh with a new one? What did the tech recommend?

Originally Posted by youroo

Are they "SG" going to replace it? Youroo!!

Unfortunately the unit is 2 years old and out of warranty. The tech didn't offer any resolution once he knew the warranty was up.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

Unfortunately the unit is 2 years old and out of warranty. The tech didn't offer any resolution once he knew the warranty was up.

Next time buy a progressive industries with a lifetime warranty. [emoji6]

[Ddubya]

My Progressive unit will completely shut down the power on an open neutral
I had it happen twice in the same park on different sites
in Seattle


Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[D. J. Schuler]

RV parks power posts should have (30 amp) hot, neutral and ground. Your TT should show open between neutral and ground also. Only in home wiring has Neutral and Ground connected. TT separate Ground (TT frame) and Neutral so that a hot (miss wired) neutral/ground at the RV park post is not connected to the frame/outside walls. Have seen several older TT owners jump after plugging in and touching the outside aluminum siding.

[westom]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

The display on the protector shows an open neutral. After I plug the TT power cord into the TT, the protector still shows an open neutral but everything in the TT works fine.

Normal is for a defect to exist and everything still works fine. When that destructive anomaly occurs much later, then things no longer work just fine.

If 120 volt incandescent bulbs (connected directly to AC mains) change intensity, then a protector has warned of a problem. Other bulbs (ie 12 volt) would not report that defect.

[D. J. Schuler]

Reply to Open Neutral at post. Yes the post can have an Open Neutral, as mentioned normal HOUSE has Neutral and Ground tied together in the Fuse/Breaker box. If an electrician not familiar with RVs did repairs on either an RV or RV post could possibly connect Neutral and Ground together in the RV and not worry about the post. This would make the RV hot if it doesn't have a separate wire connected to the post ground (most RVs have rubber tires isolating the RV from ground, even steel jacks would make a poor ground unless parked in a swamp).

[Teamfour]

Just wanted to circle back with the results of further testing for this issue.

I bought an adapter so I could plug the surge guard into a receptacle at my house. First I tested the socket with my Sperry circuit tester. All was normal. I then plugged in the surge guard and still got an open neutral indication.

So that means the surge protector is bad. Not sure if it is the circuitry or just a bad lamp. The component level repair part of me wants to open the unit to test the bulb, and replace if needed. But can I trust the unit as a whole?

Just how much protection does the surge guard provide at just 2100 joules? I may just use the Sperry circuit tester and forgo the surge guard.

[westom]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

I may just use the Sperry circuit tester and forgo the surge guard.

How did you test a 30 amp or 50 amp circuit with a 20 amp (three prong) wall receptacle tester?

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by westom

How did you test a 30 amp or 50 amp circuit with a 20 amp (three prong) wall receptacle tester?

Nothing to it really, using 15/20 amp adapters.

Go to this link and click on the outlet testing tab on the left. Near the bottom, there are links that show how to make plug-n-play testers using the receptacle testers.

RV Electric

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by westom

How did you test a 30 amp or 50 amp circuit with a 20 amp (three prong) wall receptacle tester?

30 amp to 15 amp adapter