Help - 96 degrees and a/c keeps tripping the breaker in our panel

[BBogey]

We are currently three states from home in 96° weather, and our AC keeps tripping the breaker inside our coach. We have never had this happen before and we’ve had our 2401 for about two years. We started turning every other thing off that we could any Eventually turned off everything except the air conditioner and it still trips. It ran for the first hour when we hooked up at our new camp spot but then it started tripping.

I asked the campground folks if we could try a different spot in case their source was bad and that’s what we’ve done right now we picked up everything and move to a different spot. We have turned it back on and are waiting to see what happens. If it does trip again does anyone have any ideas on what could be wrong or what we can do to fix it???

Thank you!!!!!!

[JLeising]

Defective (weak) breaker?

[BBogey]

I don’t know, and don’t laugh but I’m pretty damn mechanically STUPID so how would I test it?

So far at the “new spot” it’s been running for about 30 minutes.

Thanks!

[Wannabretired]

Is it a 30 amp?

[asquared]

What amp site are you on? Is your rig a 30 or 50 amp? What else is running? How full is the park? Do you have a surge protector? if you have a surge protector, does it protect from low voltage as well as high voltage?

[cavie]

This is why you need to go to Harbor Freight and buy a cheap multimeter and learn how to use it. You need to measure the voltage at the pedestal. Don't just assume it is 120 volts. anything below 110 volts is unacceptable. An even better idea is to buy and EMS to plug into. It will check the voltage as well as correct wiring and protect from low voltage. Also, have a hard Start capacitor installed on your AC compressor.

[rockfordroo]

If it's the 50 amp or 30 amp "input breaker" that's tripping, then turning other stuff off may help. But if it's the individual (probably 20 amp) AC breaker, turning off other stuff isn't going to help you because only the AC is on the AC circuit breaker.

I'm with Cavie; I'm betting you have low shore power voltage, which causes current to increase. Everybody running their AC's is sucking down the voltage.

The new spot may, or may not, solve your problem.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by asquared

What amp site are you on? Is your rig a 30 or 50 amp? What else is running? How full is the park? Do you have a surge protector? if you have a surge protector, does it protect from low voltage as well as high voltage?

A surge protector will not protect from low voltage. It is an instrument designed to block high-voltage temporary spikes in voltage and that is all. . An EMS is designed to measure and protect from high and low voltage. It will turn off and on within certain parameters. It also checks for correct wiring. 2 entirely different things.

[Cypressloser]

A: What is your incoming voltage? It should be between at least 105 Volt and 125 Volt, low voltage causes high amperage draw which causes more heat, heat causes resistance, resistance causes the voltage to drop further, causes higher amperage draw - vicious cycle. There are campgrounds that have dangerously low voltage to start with and nobody cares or the (campground's) electrical is overloaded from to much power draw.


B: As has been mentioned, a weak breaker is a common issue. Is it the main breaker that trips or is it the 20 Amp breaker for the AC?

C: Your compressor could be on the way out, if it makes unusually loud or weird noise or has a hard time starting. Also, make sure the compressor rests for a few minutes before you attempt to restart it to prevent pressure lock. Unfortunately, if it is the compressor then it may be time to replace the whole AC, many of them are not serviceable or to expensive to service.


D) An electrical problem somewhere in the unit, could be minor could be substantial.

[rjc1024]

Had a similar problem last weekend. We got to the site and I turned on the AC and water heater, had the fridge on auto so it was using electric and had the outside fridge on. About 30 minutes and the 30 amp breaker on the pedestal tripped. Turned it back on and my EMS was showing I was drawing 34 amps. Turned the water heater and inside fridge to gas and turned off the outside fridge. Dropped to 16-18 amps and had no more issues.

[BBogey]

Originally Posted by Wannabretired

Is it a 30 amp?

Yes 30 amp

[BBogey]

Originally Posted by asquared

What amp site are you on? Is your rig a 30 or 50 amp? What else is running? How full is the park? Do you have a surge protector? if you have a surge protector, does it protect from low voltage as well as high voltage?

30 amp. Turned everything else off. Yes surge protector- unsure if it protects against low voltage

[BBogey]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

If it's the 50 amp or 30 amp "input breaker" that's tripping, then turning other stuff off may help. But if it's the individual (probably 20 amp) AC breaker, turning off other stuff isn't going to help you because only the AC is on the AC circuit breaker.

I'm with Cavie; I'm betting you have low shore power voltage, which causes current to increase. Everybody running their AC's is sucking down the voltage.

The new spot may, or may not, solve your problem.

Yes it was main 30 amp breaker.

Ok, it has run at the new spot for about 3+ hours while we slowly added some things back. So far so good - be nice to finish this trip and get it looked at when we get back if possible!

our 12 year old dog could not survive this oven w/o a/c

Thanks for all your replies and help

[BBogey]

Originally Posted by BBogey

Yes it was main 30 amp breaker.

Ok, it has run at the new spot for about 3+ hours while we slowly added some things back. So far so good - be nice to finish this trip and get it looked at when we get back if possible!

our 12 year old dog could not survive this oven w/o a/c

Thanks for all your replies and help

We are planning to be at local RV shop when they open in the morning- will ask about replacing breaker just in case. As for a/c, it has shown zero problems. Also, not quite two years old and I realize new stuff breaks too!

Thanks!!

[JLeising]

Many campgrounds have both 50 amp and 30 amp service on the power pole. If you have a 50 amp to 30amp adapter, you can easily switch - the 50amp service will use a different breaker on the campground’s service pole. If their 30 amp breaker is weak, the 50 amp service with an adapter might solve the issue. Adapters are quite inexpensive. Also useful if the 30amp pole connection is worn or burnt looking.

[asquared]

Originally Posted by cavie

A surge protector will not protect from low voltage. It is an instrument designed to block high-voltage temporary spikes in voltage and that is all. . An EMS is designed to measure and protect from high and low voltage. It will turn off and on within certain parameters. It also checks for correct wiring. 2 entirely different things.

I am aware of the difference but was simplifying for this purpose as many who use one do not know them as an EMS, just a surge protector.

[asquared]

Originally Posted by BBogey

30 amp. Turned everything else off. Yes surge protector- unsure if it protects against low voltage

It sounds like a low power issue especially since you are not having issues at your new site.

[CHICKDOE]

quick comments:

it sounds like you have a surge protector, not a full EMS. the surge protector will not monitor for voltage levels. get a cheap ($5) multimeter and learn how to measure voltage at the pedestal. if you have this problem again measure the pedestal voltage to see if it is low.

get a 50 amp to 30 amp adapter. you can use it to plug into the 50 amp outlet. many people report that they can have proper power when the 30 amp receptacle loops are overloaded and have low voltage. note that you are concerned about voltage levels, not the difference between 30 mp and 50 amp.

to put this in perspective, remember you have not had this issue before. you may not find anything wrong. most likely it was a hot day, lots of a/c's running, and you experienced a voltage drop.

[madsledet]

Originally Posted by BBogey

We are currently three states from home in 96° weather, and our AC keeps tripping the breaker inside our coach. We have never had this happen before and we’ve had our 2401 for about two years. We started turning every other thing off that we could any Eventually turned off everything except the air conditioner and it still trips. It ran for the first hour when we hooked up at our new camp spot but then it started tripping.

I asked the campground folks if we could try a different spot in case their source was bad and that’s what we’ve done right now we picked up everything and move to a different spot. We have turned it back on and are waiting to see what happens. If it does trip again does anyone have any ideas on what could be wrong or what we can do to fix it???

Thank you!!!!!!

We had the same problem. They had to add a "hard start" module, which is just a capacitor to give an extra boost when starting. Solved the problem. Your a/c cycles and when it restart i think there is a higher fluid charge and it takes extra power.

[larrytbm]

Replace the breaker with a new one. Keep the breaker panel door open and use a small fan to help keep the breaker cool. If the A/C breaker is in a slot right next to the main breaker, then each is making the other one hotter at higher loads since the current is going thru both. So, move the A/C breaker to a different slot and move something else next to the main breaker.