sparking at plug in

[jl7796]

I had noticed a sparking when I plugged the power cord in. I also was alerted when at a recall for the Ram the said I had some feed back from the coach to the Ram. I also get a spark when I pull the fuse out to the radio???? I will be leaving for Florida in a few days can someone please help. This has been going on since I picked up the unit

Sprinter 77
phone 712 249 5467

[youroo]

120V Shore power or TV cord? Youroo!!

[Cypressloser]

I'm a little bit confused, if you get a spark when you plug in the 120 Volt electrical cord into the pedestal then flip the breaker to cut the power from the outlet before you plug in, what you should be doing anyway.
I assume that the sparking fuse for the radio is unrelated, it is a 12 Volt fuse and yes occasionally they can spark when installed.

[ejohnson1144]

Anytime you have a load on a circuit and you break the circuit you will get a spark try turning off battery disconnect before plugging in . see if that helps

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[5picker]

What 'power cord' are you plugging in that is giving sparks?

We all seem confused from your comments as to what you are actually referring to.

[jl7796]

Originally Posted by ejohnson1144

Anytime you have a load on a circuit and you break the circuit you will get a spark try turning off battery disconnect before plugging in . see if that helps

Sent from my LG-H910 using Forest River Forums mobile app

That seemed to stop the spark at the plug in. I also get still get a spark at the radio fuse when I check it. The radio is not coming on when I plugged the fuse back in. For several trips I have had to unplug the radio fuse and plug it back in when I had set up camp. Now the radio is not coming on.

I don't know if this is related but if I unplug the 110 overnight I will not have enough power to raise the step

[ejohnson1144]

The radio is always drawing power for clock function

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[Iwannacamp]

delete

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by jl7796

That seemed to stop the spark at the plug in. I also get still get a spark at the radio fuse when I check it. The radio is not coming on when I plugged the fuse back in. For several trips I have had to unplug the radio fuse and plug it back in when I had set up camp. Now the radio is not coming on.

I don't know if this is related but if I unplug the 110 overnight I will not have enough power to raise the step

Since you say your steps won't raise while boondocking, I assume you have a motorhome. If you have 120 volt ac available, leave your RV plugged in so the converter can recharge the battery and supply power for your lights and other 12vdc appliances. If you have a residential refrigerator then you have a inverter that powers the fridge and draws 12vdc from your battery and inverts it to 120vac. Everything in your camper uses 12 volt dc power except your air conditioner. Even your thermostat uses 12vdc to control your A/C and furnace. Your furnace and 2-way(LP gas & electric) refrigerator control board uses 12vdc. If your lights are LED then they will use less than regular incandescence lights.
Everything you use will drain your batteries over night.

If my assumption is correct about you having a motorhome then you should have 2 or 4 house batteries of the same size (amp hour), group (24, 27 or other) and type (deep-cycle or marine). If you only have 2 house batteries then you will need a on-board or stand-a-lone generator
to recharge your batteries while boondocking.

Download and read the following document. http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...do=file&id=101 This is the only one I have at the moment but there are many more in the Library section in the light green bar at the top of page of FRForums.Forest River Forums - Downloads

Here is the section on power and electrical.Forest River Forums - Downloads - Power and Electrical

If you can PM wmtire as he has a great list you should check out.

Welcome to the forums and have fun.
Rich

[Bluepill]

It is possible that the radio fuse has blown. Substitute a known good fuse to check.

The radio in my rig will power up and draw current every time it is connected to power. It has a removable face panel. When I remove the panel this does not happen, so I keep it in storage except when I want to use the radio.

[YoBobH42]

First start up your generator. When it converts the coach to electric, then plug in your power cord, then turn off the generator.

I had a sparking problem to the point where it would kick off my breaker in the house. Once I did this step, I have not had it a problem since.

[WolfWhistle]

Always turn pedestal breaker off while plugging / unplugging you 30 or 50 amp cord. A tiny spark while tinkering with radio fuse should be of no concern. If you need shore power ; thus the converter charger working to power 12 volt things, your battery (or plural) is not charged. Are they bad? Or is there a reason they might not be getting a good charge? I would have to know more to say. I can tell you if you take dead battery to have it tested it will test bad. So it’s important to charge well first. It might take days to get a good charge into a battery with a small amp rated charger. Reading specific gravity (if maintenance type) is the only good way to tell if it’s (they’re) charged well.
WW