Progressive Power Control Center

[DekeRiv]

Has anyone ever bought and replaced the power control center - that’s the little panel near the floor with all the fuses/circuit breakers. Was having problems with the microwave and traced it down to the circuit breaker. Contacts to the main buss were pitted and charred. Panel will need to be replaced.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by DekeRiv

Has anyone ever bought and replaced the power control center - that’s the little panel near the floor with all the fuses/circuit breakers. Was having problems with the microwave and traced it down to the circuit breaker. Contacts to the main buss were pitted and charred. Panel will need to be replaced.

Haven't replaced an RV Power Center in it's entirety but I did replace the Breaker Panel in my house once.

It's not overwhelming if you have some basic electrical skills as it's just a matter of removing and replacing wires in the same place they started.

First, Disconnect both Shore power (put cord away so nobody accidently plugs it back in). Disconnect batteries by removing the ground wire (this assures everything is dead). Take several pictures at every possible angle you can both of the open panel but the back as well. Now you'll have a reference to go back to if needed.

Next, label each wire as you remove it with it's position. Circuit breakers are easy as they are marked at next to them. The Neutral wires merely need to go to the neutral bus and all should be white. Same for Grounds which will either be white or green.

Over on the 12 volt side same thing.

White tape and a sharpie works great to make wire tags. Write on the tape first then pull from roll, cut, then tape to wire.

When finished make sure all connectors are tightened per instructions. Look for odd wires that may have been overlooked.


A caution. If electricity scares you or you've had ZERO experience with it, don't tackle this yourself. Either hire it done or consult a more experienced friend who's willing to help. If you are within 50 miles of me I'd help and it would only cost you lunch.

Oops, just saw your location. You're about a 6 day drive for me.

[Bama Rambler]

I've replaced a couple of them in the years we've been RV'ing. I just upgraded our RV from 30 amp to 50 amp service so I replaced the power center as well as the incoming cable and added/split a few receptacle circuits.

Here's what I'd suggest. Since it appears that just the bus is affected, I'd suggest just replacing the bus. You can probably call Progressive or maybe Randy at Best Converter and get them to sell you the bus you need. The bus is held in by a couple of screws, so it's not difficult to replace.

If you do need to replace the entire power center then I suggest you get a label maker like the Dymo LetraTag or the Label Manager and label all the wires with that. Just makes a neater job than a sharpie. I'd also suggest that you get a power center with a ground bar for the 12 volt circuits, as it's an add on an not standard equipment

P.S. If you've never pulled the power center out before; brace yourself for the rats-nest you're likely to find.