GFCI Outlet Tripping - Help!

[Daebado]

Took the camper out this weekend for her maiden voyage of the season and we ran into a problem I've never seen before on this camper. As we got set up on the first day, we realized that none of our ac outlets were working. I checked the GFCI outlet in the bathroom and sure enough, it had tripped. I reset it and checked a fan I had plugged into another outlet and it worked. Less than a minute later, the GFCI outlet tripped again. This time, it would immediately trip every time I reset it.
After waiting about an hour, I reset it again... fan came on and ran for about 45 seconds and it tripped again! This happened all weekend.
All of the outlets in this camper are tied to that one GFCI outlet. Everything else in the camper worked (air conditioner, water heater, microwave, lights).

It had rained on us for pretty much the entire 2 hour drive to the campground so I thought maybe something had gotten wet but it was dry the rest of the 3 days we were there and the problem never went away.

I'm tempted to try replacing the GFCI outlet as I hear it's not unusual for these to go bad but if it was bad, I would expect it to reset at all, even though it never lasted more than about 45 seconds or so.

Any ideas?

[njfishing]

Had same issue and replaced the outlet and all was fine

[5picker]

I'm not saying your GFCI outlet isn't bad but I'd be looking for an outlet (probably outside) that has some moisture in it since you mentioned a 2 hour drive in pouring rain.

It only takes a drop inside a flip open cover or that has seeped past a poorly sealed outlet cover to create enough moisture to trip the GFCI and keep it from resetting.

[Oaklevel]

Yes it could be the outlet but you could also have moisture in any of the outlets in the line, since you said it rained for the two hour drive. Any outlets on the outside of the camper?

[Daebado]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

Yes it could be the outlet but you could also have moisture in any of the outlets in the line, since you said it rained for the two hour drive. Any outlets on the outside of the camper?

Yes, there is one outlet on the outside.
I suspected that as well but we've driven in harder rain than this with no problem. Also, I kinda thought it would have dried out after a day or two. Maybe not! Wonder if a hair dryer would help?

[krusti]

GFCI’s have a line side (Pwr to the outlet) and a load side (downstream outlets). You can disconnect the downstream side and see if the gfci keeps tripping. If it does and with nothing plugged in then the gfci is likely bad. If it doesn’t trip then you likely have a problem with a downstream outlet as someone mentioned. Water in a outlet can make things mess up and you can’t expect it to just dry out. If the gfci doesn’t trip and you know how they are wired you cans start adding receptacles back to the gfci until you find the one that trips it. If one got wet I would start with that one. If you find the problem was an outlet - replace it. It’s not worth the aggravation it can cause in the future. It just take a few milliamperes of misdirected current to trip a gfci. Following my advice exposes live conductors. Please ensure you take necessary precautions. Good luck!

[NJKris]

Nice first post Krusti!

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by krusti

GFCI’s have a line side (Pwr to the outlet) and a load side (downstream outlets). You can disconnect the downstream side and see if the gfci keeps tripping. If it does and with nothing plugged in then the gfci is likely bad. If it doesn’t trip then you likely have a problem with a downstream outlet as someone mentioned. Water in a outlet can make things mess up and you can’t expect it to just dry out. If the gfci doesn’t trip and you know how they are wired you cans start adding receptacles back to the gfci until you find the one that trips it. If one got wet I would start with that one. If you find the problem was an outlet - replace it. It’s not worth the aggravation it can cause in the future. It just take a few milliamperes of misdirected current to trip a gfci. Following my advice exposes live conductors. Please ensure you take necessary precautions. Good luck!

Excellent summary! I would only add that the 5ma current needed to trip a GFCI circuit is at the lower threshold of the range of shocks that can seriously injure you. GFCI tripping can be indicative of a serious problem.

[caper]

I would check the fan for a bad ground.

[Daebado]

Originally Posted by krusti

GFCI’s have a line side (Pwr to the outlet) and a load side (downstream outlets). You can disconnect the downstream side and see if the gfci keeps tripping. If it does and with nothing plugged in then the gfci is likely bad. If it doesn’t trip then you likely have a problem with a downstream outlet as someone mentioned. Water in a outlet can make things mess up and you can’t expect it to just dry out. If the gfci doesn’t trip and you know how they are wired you cans start adding receptacles back to the gfci until you find the one that trips it. If one got wet I would start with that one. If you find the problem was an outlet - replace it. It’s not worth the aggravation it can cause in the future. It just take a few milliamperes of misdirected current to trip a gfci. Following my advice exposes live conductors. Please ensure you take necessary precautions. Good luck!

Great reply, I'll check into that!

Originally Posted by caper

I would check the fan for a bad ground.

The fan was only used as an indicator of when the GFCI tripped so I didn't have to stay in the bathroom the whole time and watch the outlet. The GFCI was tripping before I ever plugged the fan in. Thanks, though.

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by caper

I would check the fan for a bad ground.

Most portable fans do not have grounds. They have polarized plugs that can only be inserted in the outlet the correct way.