Where are the GFI’s

[Brianfrench65]

We have a 2019 Forester 3011DS, and we are only able to find the GFI’s.

We found the one in the bathroom, however there must be one more.

Our outside patio outlet and the refrigerator outlets do not have any power?

Other than the bathroom GFI, where can we look?

The kitchen counter outlets have power. The outlet under the bed has power.

Any assistance will be appreciated.

Thank You;

Brian French
2019 3011DS

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by Brianfrench65

We have a 2019 Forester 3011DS, and we are only able to find the GFI’s.

We found the one in the bathroom, however there must be one more.

Our outside patio outlet and the refrigerator outlets do not have any power?

Other than the bathroom GFI, where can we look?

The kitchen counter outlets have power. The outlet under the bed has power.

Any assistance will be appreciated.

Thank You;

Brian French
2019 3011DS

If all of your AC outlets are on the same circuit, which is common, then they are all downstream of the single GFCI outlet - that is the situation on my trailer. So the issue of the two outlets without power may be caused by a wire coming loose, which unfortunately is common. You need to check the connections on the back of both the dead and functioning outlets to see if this is the case. The wires are pushed into the back of the outlet and can work free. There is probably only 1 loose wire - somewhere.

[Duckogram]

You should only have one GFCI outlet and what Sam stated regarding a loose wire is very possible. However, the notion that all of the AC outlets are on one circuit is not how Forester/Sunseekers are wired. Your fridge is on its own 15amp breaker. That does not explain your outside outlet malfunction. So IMO you probably have 2 issues.
I suggest you fully cycle your fridge breaker and recheck that outlet. Another possibility is that your fridge is set to gas only.

For your exterior outlet, that is GFCI. Since it is the only one not working I would suggest you start there then move to the bathroom to check behind the gfci outlet for the issue.

YMMV

[Brianfrench65]

Originally Posted by Duckogram

You should only have one GFCI outlet and what Sam stated regarding a loose wire is very possible. However, the notion that all of the AC outlets are on one circuit is not how Forester/Sunseekers are wired. Your fridge is on its own 15amp breaker. That does not explain your outside outlet malfunction. So IMO you probably have 2 issues.
I suggest you fully cycle your fridge breaker and recheck that outlet. Another possibility is that your fridge is set to gas only.

For your exterior outlet, that is GFCI. Since it is the only one not working I would suggest you start there then move to the bathroom to check behind the gfci outlet for the issue.

YMMV

Thank You Both for the information.

There is a 15 amp circuit breaker under the end of the bed, marked outside television. That breaker was not tripped, however when we turned it off and back on again, the outside outlet and the refrigerator outlet has 115 power again.

Another mystery solved.

We are changing the label from outside television to refrigerator and outside outlet.

Thank You ;

Brian French

[Bama Rambler]

FYI, a lot of times a breaker can be tripped and the handle not indicate it. It's always good to manually flip them off and back on even if they look ok.

[WeLikeCamping]

The outside outlet on my FR is tied to the GFCI in the bathroom. Figured that out the hard way :-)

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by Brianfrench65

Thank You Both for the information.

There is a 15 amp circuit breaker under the end of the bed, marked outside television. That breaker was not tripped, however when we turned it off and back on again, the outside outlet and the refrigerator outlet has 115 power again.

Another mystery solved.

We are changing the label from outside television to refrigerator and outside outlet.

Thank You ;

Brian French

While it’s nice that your outlet power is restored, it does bring up a concern. If the refrigerator and outside outlet are on the same circuit, and there is no GFCI outlet or breaker ahead of them, do you actually have an outdoor outlet that has no ground fault protection? Is the refrigerator outlet or the outdoor outlet a GFCI type?

[PenJoe]

For household and RV, your experience with the breaker is something we should all take note of. More than once I have been stymied on why a circuit doesn't function. The simple solution was to reset the breaker by turning in off and then on. On rare occasions, the circuit has tripped, but the breaker is not showing red.

[Brianfrench65]

Thank You All, I really appreciate the help and guidance.

I, again have learned a little more about our camper.

Thank You;

Brian French

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by BehindBars

While it’s nice that your outlet power is restored, it does bring up a concern. If the refrigerator and outside outlet are on the same circuit, and there is no GFCI outlet or breaker ahead of them, do you actually have an outdoor outlet that has no ground fault protection? Is the refrigerator outlet or the outdoor outlet a GFCI type?

I don't think the OP said whether the breaker he reset was a GFCI breaker or not. Not sure he would recognize the difference.

[Duckogram]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

I don't think the OP said whether the breaker he reset was a GFCI breaker or not...

True but he did say the rest of the outlets had power which tells me that it was probably not the gfci breaker.

I share BBs concern about the possibility of the outside outlet not being ground fault protected.

I would not be satisfied just to have power restored.

YMMV

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Duckogram

True but he did say the rest of the outlets had power which tells me that it was probably not the gfci breaker.

I share BBs concern about the possibility of the outside outlet not being ground fault protected.

I would not be satisfied just to have power restored.

YMMV

My interpretation, possibly incorrect, was that the OP had a GFCI breaker in the panel, not daisy-chained from a GFCI outlet. Resetting this would energize all the outlets it feeds.

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

My interpretation, possibly incorrect, was that the OP had a GFCI breaker in the panel, not daisy-chained from a GFCI outlet. Resetting this would energize all the outlets it feeds.

While the Forester could have a GFCI circuit breaker, in keeping with the inexpesive electrical systems typically used, it seems unlikely FR would go to the expense of a GFCI breaker when a GFCI outlet would likely be cheaper.

For fun and out of concerns based on what we may be seeing in this thread, I went out to my 2020 Sunseeker (built in 2019 to 2019 “specs” and features) and I verified that the 2-way refrigerator AC is on it’s own circuit and breaker. The outside AC outlet is on the general outlets circuit and is ground fault protected by the GFCI outlet in the bathroom.

[Duckogram]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

My interpretation, possibly incorrect, was that the OP had a GFCI breaker in the panel, not daisy-chained from a GFCI outlet. Resetting this would energize all the outlets it feeds.

Ahhh, I see where you are coming from. This may help; In the power distribution box there is a standard 15amp breaker that is usually labeled “Bath” or “GFI” since that is what it feeds. If someone had the GFCI label they would call it the GFCI breaker as opposed to a GFCI breaker.

I will be near mine shortly so I will see what mine reads.

Edit: Photos added

[Brianfrench65]

Well……I have a GFI testing plug in with a test button. In fact, the refrigerator outlet as well as the outside outlet are not GFI protected, however both outlets have a paper label stating “GFI protection “. These are the only 2 outlets on the outside television circuit breaker.

And definitely the only outlets that are not protected. Every other outlet does trip the bathroom GFI

Thank You All;

Brian French

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by Duckogram

Ahhh, I see where you are coming from. This may help; In the power distribution box there is a standard 15amp breaker that is usually labeled “Bath” or “GFI” since that is what it feeds. If someone had the GFCI label they would call it the GFCI breaker as opposed to a GFCI breaker.

I will be near mine shortly so I will see what mine reads.

Edit: Photos added

Labeling the standard type circuit breaker as GFI is misleading. Also, those appear to be tandem breakers. It would not seem at all reasonable for half of the tandem breaker to have GFCI capabilities and not the other half.

My panel looks like yours with the same six breakers protecting the same circuits and with the same label. I am going to relabel the outlets breaker from "GFI", to be more appropriately labeled "Outlets".

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by Brianfrench65

Well……I have a GFI testing plug in with a test button. In fact, the refrigerator outlet as well as the outside outlet are not GFI protected, however both outlets have a paper label stating “GFI protection “. These are the only 2 outlets on the outside television circuit breaker.

And definitely the only outlets that are not protected. Every other outlet does trip the bathroom GFI

Thank You All;

Brian French

Well you might now think so too, but I think Forest River screwed up when they wired your RV's outside outlet. They further messed up when they labeled the unprotected outlets as GFCI protected.

I'm glad this topic came up as it made me go out and test my outlets.

I think your simplest solution would be to replace the outside outlet with a GFCI type. The refrigerator outlet should be fine as it is under the panel and users have no need to access it except during servicing.

[Duckogram]

Originally Posted by BehindBars

…
I think your simplest solution would be to replace the outside outlet with a GFCI type. The refrigerator outlet should be fine as it is under the panel and users have no need to access it except during servicing.

X2 For your own safety.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by BehindBars

I think your simplest solution would be to replace the outside outlet with a GFCI type. The refrigerator outlet should be fine as it is under the panel and users have no need to access it except during servicing.

No, that probably can't be done. The regular RV outlets (the clamp-on kind that don't use a junction box) are very shallow to accommodate the 1-1/2" thick walls. When a GFI outlet is installed indoors, a box and Wiremold box extension are used to provide the needed extra depth. That's why that outlet in the lavatory sticks out into the room if it's mounted on an the inside of an exterior wall. You can't do this outdoors. Rain will get into i he box and trip the breaker all the time. You won't be able to dry it off inside the box to reset it.

A slightly more expensive but quicker and easier solution is to replace the circuit breaker with a GFCI breaker. This one which only costs $37, looks like it will fit the commonly used RV panels. It will protect every outlet it feeds.

[BehindBars]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

No, that probably can't be done. The regular RV outlets (the clamp-on kind that don't use a junction box) are very shallow to accommodate the 1-1/2" thick walls. When a GFI outlet is installed indoors, a box and Wiremold box extension are used to provide the needed extra depth. That's why that outlet in the lavatory sticks out into the room if it's mounted on an the inside of an exterior wall. You can't do this outdoors. Rain will get into i he box and trip the breaker all the time. You won't be able to dry it off inside the box to reset it.

A slightly more expensive but quicker and easier solution is to replace the circuit breaker with a GFCI breaker. This one which only costs $37, looks like it will fit the commonly used RV panels. It will protect every outlet it feeds.

It may be possible. I guess you don’t know it, but first, a 2019 Forester has 2 inch thick exterior walls (see the brochure). Secondly, there may be hollow kitchen cabinetry on the other side of the exterior outlet. On our Sunseeker, the outside outlet box penetrates all the way through the exterior wall and extends into empty cabinet space. I could put an extra deep electrical box in there if I wanted, which could accomodate a GFCI outlet.

Sure, the GFCI breaker is a possibility. You would also need to replace the adjacent breaker because the way FR configured the distribution panel, they are using tandem breakers. See photo earlier in the thread.

Another possibility is to make the refrigerator outlet a GFCI outlet, assuming it is in line ahead of the exterior outlet. That, however, could cause problems for a future owner or service tech who is trying to solve a no power situation at the exterior outlet, and is unaware that the outlet is (wrongfully) tied into the refrigerator circuit, and they would need to look under the refrigerator side vent panel for the GFCI reset.