Electrical Problem, dangerous or safe?

[Sleepy]

Hello:
I have a 2003 24 ft Wildwood travel trailer. I plugged it into a 15 amp outlet for the first time at storage to charge the batteries. Came back next day to find no power in the camper. Nothing was turned on or plugged into an outlet in the camper. I have never tried plugging this camper into a 15 amp outlet before, only 30 amp outlets.
I brought the camper home, and for the first time, I plugged the trailer into an outside outlet (15 amp GFCI) to again charge the batteries. It immediately tripped the GFCI outlet. I turned off every AC breaker in the trailer including the main, and the same problem persisted, immediately tripped the GFCI. Thinking it may be the GFCI outlet, I plugged into a different outlet that has a GFCI breaker in the electrical panel of my home, and have the same result, immediately tripped the breaker.
Im wondering about the convertor and how to properly test it. Can you tell me how to properly test the convertor? Once tested, and if it needs replacing, do you have a suggestion on where to purchase a replacement?
I currently have two AGM batteries, but am thinking of replacing them with lithium in the future. If I have to replace the convertor now, (I may be getting ahead of myself here), is there a convertor that would be good for AGM or flooded lead acid now, but good for future lithium also?
I have had no electrical work (changes) at my residence, and the only work on the camper was a recent install of an Micro Air easystart on the air conditioner, but used it for a week long camping trip after that, and when plugged into 30 amp service, everything worked normally. The 12 volt part of the trailer appears to be working normally, lights and slide out work normally.
I could try plugging into the 30 amp outlet, but it is not GFCI, just a breaker, and am now concerned that it may not be safe. Not to mention, its pouring rain and will be all week, and it concerns me having a possible electrical problem and plugging into outlets in the rain. I have worked on minor electrical issues for many years, so I do not mind working on electrical with great suggestions from this knowledgeable group. Thank you for any suggestions.

[5picker]

Is it tripping the GFCI reset or the actual breaker that feeds the outlet(s)? You said you tried two different ways.

If you turned off every breaker in the power distribution box in your R/V, including the main, the problem would have to exist in your shore power cord (and/or the connections on each end) the adapter you are using (30a to 15a) or the connection on the side of the R/V and the feed wire to the power distribution box.

Start with only plugging in your adapter to the GFCI outlet on your home... see what happens. Then plug the shore power cord into the adapter (but not connected to your R/V)

If your shore power cord is not detachable then you'll need to test all the wiring from the 30a end that plugs into the pedestal to the power distribution box in your R/V.

With all that said... many 15a GFCI outlets do not do well with some R/Vs. But that would only trip the GFCI reset. It could be too that since it has been raining, you've got a bit of moisture in a connection somewhere. It doesn't take much to trip a GFCI.

We need a little clarification

[Flybob]

Try plugging into a non-GFCI protected 15A outlet in your home. GFCIs sometimes do not play well with each other.

[Bill and Gail]

If you're going to try the 30amp outlet at home, make sure it's a 30amp 110/120v RV receptacle, not 220/240volts

[Sleepy]

OK, great thoughts.

I didn't want to get too long winded to start but greatly appreciate the thoughts. I plugged in two different adapters (30 amp to 15 amp plugs) it did the same thing with both. Then I unplugged everything, then one at a time, plugged in the adapter and did not trip. Then I plugged in the extension cord into the adapter, it did not trip. Then I plugged the 30 amp RV cord into the extension cord and it immediately tripped. (This is a 10 ga extension cord - different from the one used at the storage lot). The 30 amp RV cord doesn't disconnect from the TT.

Bill and Gail: The 30 amp outlet I normally use at home is 110 volt, it has never been a problem thus far. Just parked in a different location away from it to load trailer. Great question and thought though.

Flyby: If I have all the breakers off in trailer including main, would the GFCI not playing well with others we have all read about on here (thank you for this terrific knowledge source!) be eliminated? I am somewhat concerned about bypassing a GFCI if there is a electrical problem, especially in this rain. I have an enormous about of respect for electricity, especially in wet conditions. Over the years, I recall a couple of campers that would sometimes trip a GFCI, and once reset, would work for a few days, and maybe require resetting once or twice over a week, but never one that would trip with everything unplugged and all breakers off. Thank you for any thoughts.

I tried it two ways: 1) plugged into a GFCI outlet and it trips the outlet reset, not the breaker.
2) I then plugged it into a GFCI protected outlet with a GFCI breaker in the breaker box in the house and it tripped the GFCI breaker immediately too. (Sorry, I tried to convey this without confusing you, but now, I can see how it can be confusing)

I appreciate the great thought on the moisture, I have the connections under the trailer laying across the plumbing out of the rain, but moisture can still be a problem I guess. I have never had this problem using 30 amp in any campground when raining but perhaps they may not be GFCI?

I hope this answers the questions, but if not, please let me know.

Just to know we are on the same page, 5picker, if I test the cord that is attached to the RV, I would thing you would be referring to testing the leads on the cord to ohm it to ground to see if there is a short to ground on the power lead, and not just the ground lead or neutral? If there is a circuit to ground, that would indicate a direct short to ground. Am I missing anything else? How about the convertor itself, how would one test that if the cord is testing ok?

Thank you so much for your assistance!

[Sleepy]

I just checked the cord. I have continuity between neutral and ground, no continuity between hot leg and neutral or ground. Good continuity between ground and trailer frame.
I will attempt to upload a pix of cord end. Like most cords on campers I have owned over the years, the “hot” leg appears to have been a little hot at some time, and notice a very slight movement if attempting to move it. The ground and neutral have no movement, and this one is extremely slight.

[Reverse_snowbird]

You could always buy a replacement cord and test if that is the problem. Keep the receipt because it's probably not the problem.

[Toddupton]

That cord is cooked!

[Grumpy7159]

You should not have continuity between the neutral and ground. GFI works on what goes out must come back. If part of your current is tapped off to ground the GFI trips. I have found 6ma and 20ma GFI receptacles and breakers. It does not take much to trip the GFI. As Toddupton said "That cord is cooked"

[Sleepy]

Is there a way to test the convertor?

Sorry if the photo was not oriented correctly, I assume that is what you are referring to. It is not oriented the same as the pix on my phone. My first time posting a pix on here, if there is a trick, please let me know that also.

If not, please let me know.

Thank you for your thoughts.

[Toddupton]

Originally Posted by Sleepy

Is there a way to test the convertor?

Sorry if the photo was not oriented correctly, I assume that is what you are referring to. It is not oriented the same as the pix on my phone. My first time posting a pix on here, if there is a trick, please let me know that also.

If not, please let me know.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Don’t bother, you can look at the melted cord and by the reading you gave the cord is bad. Have you been running your air conditioning while being plugged in with the adapter?

[bikendan]

I wonder what the other end of the cord looks like

[FollowTheSun]

Most home AC electrical devices/appliances are powered by two wires, a hot (power, usually black) wire and a return (neutral, usually white) wire. A third ground wire is added for safety, and under normal working conditions shouldn't be conducting any current. Your microwave oven, for example, only needs the power wire and neutral wire to function. Measured current (amps) on the black wire will equal the measured current (amps) on the white when the microwave is working. There is something seriously wrong if the two currents are not equal. Unequal or unbalanced current means that an additional current or current path has been introduced to your device, usually through a malfunction. Because such malfunction could cause electrocution (death) a ground wire is introduced providing a low-resistance path to ground. In a home (the one with a concrete foundation) all those white (neutral) wires and green (ground) wires are tied together inside the breaker box.
The GFCI is a device that looks at the current in both the power & neutral lines, and switches the circuit off if the two currents are not equal, the ground wire is actually ignored. Technically, the term GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) is a little inaccurate because the ground wire is ignored. However, its safety feature is very accurate because it detects the current imbalance that is a particular safety concern. But here also might be an issue associated with RV power systems. For example, if the RV breaker box were to tie the neutral wires and ground wires to each other then the balance between power and neutral current will be disrupted because the return path current, as measured on the RV shore-power cord, now has two paths (neutral & ground). If the shore-power is plugged into a GFCI outlet, the GFCI will trip because half the current flows through the white wire and the other half flows through ground (simplified illustration) creating an imbalance between the black & white wires.
Folks might notice that RV shore-power boxes do not have GFCI on the 50-amp or 30-amp service, only on the 20-amp (or less) service.

[Sleepy]

I purchased the camper used 1.5 yrs ago, but it has worked with no problems on the 30 amp cord.
I have never ran the AC using the adapter, also, I have never even plugged it up using a 15 amp to 30 amp adapter before now.
There is always the chance that a previous owner may have used an adapter and ran the Air Conditioner. Thats a good thought.

Replacement cord ordered, thank you for your excellent assistance. Hoping Amazon prime delivery works, trying to make a camping reservation.

I decided due to the wait for the replacement cord, I would try the cord in a standard 15 amp (Non GFIC) outlet. Worked fine and did not trip the 15 amp breaker in the house circuit. Tried the surge suppressor in the GFIC and it showed no faults in wiring so I plugged the cord in again to the GFCI and it immediately tripped the GFIC.

So out of desperation, I moved the camper and plugged into the 30 amp RV outlet. It is not a GFIC. It worked normally and just line the non GFCI 15 amp outlet, it did not trip the breaker.

Like bikendan, I wondered what the other end of the cord looked like. I did not remove the cord since the replacement will be a few days arriving. The terminals were tight, and no appearance of heat or discoloration on the trailer end of the cord terminals.

Thank you all and Toddupton, I agreed with your excellent thoughts, its bad!
I will be glad to report back in a few days with the results if ok.

Grumpy7159: Thank you for confirming my suspicions. I love learning from those of you with much more experience.

It sure helps to be able to come here and share thoughts and ideas, thank you for your excellent help!

Reverse_snowbird: Good thoughts, Amazon is very good about to deal with.

Thanks all.

[pmurph991]

Originally Posted by Sleepy

I just checked the cord. I have continuity between neutral and ground, no continuity between hot leg and neutral or ground. Good continuity between ground and trailer frame.
I will attempt to upload a pix of cord end. Like most cords on campers I have owned over the years, the “hot” leg appears to have been a little hot at some time, and notice a very slight movement if attempting to move it. The ground and neutral have no movement, and this one is extremely slight.

There is one other troubleshooting test you can do. You could disconnect the green wire where it is attached at you converter. Then check again to see if you have continuity at the opposite (Plug) end of the cord. If you still have continuity from ground to neutral, You will have confirmed that the cord IS THE PROBLEM. If no continuity then it is probably in your converter. I hope this helps! BTW when you disconnect the ground wire, I would suggest taping the bare end so it does not short out to anything.

[Sleepy]

Thank you pmurph991, that is a good idea. I will try that first thing tomorrow morning.

[Half Ton Heavy]

I would bet better than even money you need to replace your water heater element. Good news: They’re cheap. Unplug the water heater back by the heater, flipping the breaker for it is not good enough. See if that changes your situation.

[Sleepy]

Hey Half Ton Heavy:

Before my last trip out, I replaced the thermostat on the hot water heater. Apparently, the previous owner had turned the AC hot water heater on without water in it. I Filled the hot water heater, and tested it on electricity and it worked great. I then turned The Hot water off of electricity and it hasn't been used since. I also replaced the element, but like I said, I tested it, and turned it off and haven't turned on the AC or propane on the hot water heater since. I left the switch on the water heater off, and left the breaker in the switch box off for the water heater. I used the bath house and didn't even have to turn it on for my trip.

I would be glad to follow any suggestion you may have.
If I am missing something please let me know. I appreciate the great suggestion.
Please share with me what you are referring to when you say unplug the water heater. Thanks again.

[Half Ton Heavy]

Originally Posted by Sleepy

Hey Half Ton Heavy:

Before my last trip out, I replaced the thermostat on the hot water heater. Apparently, the previous owner had turned the AC hot water heater on without water in it. I Filled the hot water heater, and tested it on electricity and it worked great. I then turned The Hot water off of electricity and it hasn't been used since. I also replaced the element, but like I said, I tested it, and turned it off and haven't turned on the AC or propane on the hot water heater since. I left the switch on the water heater off, and left the breaker in the switch box off for the water heater. I used the bath house and didn't even have to turn it on for my trip.

I would be glad to follow any suggestion you may have.
If I am missing something please let me know. I appreciate the great suggestion.
Please share with me what you are referring to when you say unplug the water heater. Thanks again.

The hot water heater will have a 110v plug that plugs into the camper. Unplug it and see if it mitigates the problem. Or, you can (while camper is unplugged!!) disconnect the heater terminals and tape them off.

[Sleepy]

Good morning :
I removed the incoming green ground wire from the cord at the ground bus bar, and now I have no continuity between the ground and neutral lugs or terminals on the plug. See pix hopefully attached. I’m not sure exactly what this tells me. I taped off the end of the ground wire prior to testing. Thank you.