Limited power

[jimmarako]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

This is kind of tricky!

A piggyback connection is sort of a code violation. Not sure what is with that. A picture would help. Could burn the trailer down.

.

When the OP says they "piggy backed the 50 to 30" I think they mean they have a 50-30 RV dog bone. I agree a picture of the dog bone/piggy back along with the pedestal and the inside the trailer breaker panel will help us determine stuff.

Jim M.

[CHICKDOE]

So you have power to the microwave but not the receptacles and the light. And you have a 30 amp rv. That says power is coming into the power panel.

I’d go flip each circuit breaker in the panel fully off and then fully back on. That may reset a circuit.

I’d look real hard for any gfci style receptacles. Push the test and reset button on each one. Note whether it will reset. If it will not reset it is not getting power.

You said you are in a rv park. Can you ask a neighbor for help? Or the park maintenance man.

[cboss]

Been reading this all day and yep it's confusing.
I think the OP has a 50 amp RV and her pedestal is 30 amp. So she's using a dogbone to go from 30 amp to 50 amp. As the micro is working I'm betting one of the "legs" is not working, either in the dogbone or the RV power cord.
Just my 2 cents, but hope this helps!

And a multimeter would be worth it's weight in gold for this issue.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by cboss

Been reading this all day and yep it's confusing.
I think the OP has a 50 amp RV and his pedestal is 30 amp. So he's using a dogbone to go from 30 amp to 50 amp. As the micro is working I'm betting one of the "legs" is not working, either in the dogbone or the RV power cord.
Just my 2 cents, but hope this helps!

And a multimeter would be worth it's weight in gold for this issue.

The OP is a she, not a he.

[jimmarako]

Originally Posted by cboss

Been reading this all day and yep it's confusing.
I think the OP has a 50 amp RV and his pedestal is 30 amp. So he's using a dogbone to go from 30 amp to 50 amp. As the micro is working I'm betting one of the "legs" is not working, either in the dogbone or the RV power cord.
Just my 2 cents, but hope this helps!

And a multimeter would be worth it's weight in gold for this issue.

I went back and re-read. Yeah I think the OP has a 50A trailer. So that would point to losing one leg as you suggest. Good catch.

Jim M.

[cboss]

Originally Posted by bikendan

The OP is a she, not a he.

My apologizes, I should have looked at the profile before posting.

Edited post..

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

You should have an electrical box with fuses and circuit breakers in it and it's usually a metal panel located near the floor that pops open when you push it.

Almost all RV power panels are plastic, not metal. I would hate for Scrublife to be looking for the standard metal panel found in houses and miss the plastic power panel in the RV.

[JimM2109S]

OP stated in post #1 she had checked (and replaced two) fuses so we can presume she had found the power distribution panel.

[cboss]

Originally Posted by JimM2109S

OP stated in post #1 she had checked (and replaced two) fuses so we can presume she had found the power distribution panel.

Fuses are usually DC power.
I think the OP has an AC power issue, that would be circuit breakers or related AC power issues.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by jimmarako

I went back and re-read. Yeah I think the OP has a 50A trailer. So that would point to losing one leg as you suggest. Good catch.
Jim M.

That would explain why they told her to buy a new power cord.

This scares me because 110 V ac power can kill you if you don't know what you're doing. She's tried all the easy fixes and probably needs an electrician or mobile mechanic to trace this down.

[BRinSCupstate]

Originally Posted by Scrublife

They were dead I hit reset and nothing . It's like there is absolutely no power except a few lights and microwave.

With the microwave working, and some lights working, it seems you have power in RV. Note; most lights are 12v and run off the battery which is charged by the converter. The converter uses 120v also and the battery would eventually run down if not being charged. If the RV is a 50A system, you could be missing one of the 120v legs. The adapter (dog bone) that allows you to connect a 50A RV to a 30A receptacle could be faulty. You could try to borrow one from a neighbor to test or have them test yours.

On GFCI receptacles, I have had several in my shop fail due to thunderstorms and they would not reset. As someone mentioned, a lot of times a GFCI will supply other receptacles in the RV. If you have a GFCI receptacle that will not reset because it is bad, every receptacle it feeds will be dead.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Scrublife

I have a 2008 coachman 35ft. I bought it used. First all the outlets stopped working and I was advised to change the piggy back at the electrical box, I did even bought a new shore power cord. Checked all the fuses, made sure no breakers , or fuses were bad ( replaced 2) . Even reflipped the switch at the meter box. I still have no outlets at all in Rv. The lights work except the main one in the kitchen. I am new to this. It seemed a great cheaper way to live until nursing school was finished but not sure. What else can I check? What am I missing or doing wrong?

The OP stated in post #1 that she changed the adapter (piggyback-her words) and replaced the shore power cord. We can assume both of those are ok and didn't change the condition of her issue.

She also indicated in a later post the GFCI would not reset and had no power indicator light. (which was why it didn't reset)

They were dead I hit reset and nothing . It's like there is absolutely no power except a few lights and microwave.

She could have been using a high amperage device (heater) on the outlet and it melted the connection or any number of things. We can only guess.

I also agree that 5 minutes with a multimeter would tell what is going on and suggest she find a qualified person to do some checking.

[BRinSCupstate]

I wanted to make a point on the GFCI. They can have power to them but no led and not be able to reset. I have had numerous trip and fell to reset after a lightning storm.

The dog bone is probably not it if it was replaced.

I agree, it should be a quick find with multimeter.

[Flybob]

Originally Posted by jimmarako

I went back and re-read. Yeah I think the OP has a 50A trailer. So that would point to losing one leg as you suggest. Good catch.

Jim M.

It is very confusing as she said she bought a new 30A power cord.

[CHICKDOE]

i am wrong in my previous post where i said it was a 30 amp rv. apparently it is a 50 amp rv. but a 30 amp cord is mentioned. so the possibility of power being missing in one leg is real.

a multimeter would remove a lot of confusion. you're in a rv park. ask the maintenance guy to check the output of your piggy back.

do you have two air conditioners? if so try to turn one on and then the other. do they both work or does one not work. this will tell us if you are getting power into the rv on both 50 amp power legs? knowing this will eliminate a few error conditions.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Flybob

It is very confusing as she said she bought a new 30A power cord.

It is confusing and why I haven't speculated.

She says in post #3 it is a 50a R/V converted to a 30a when replying to Phreak480's question in post #2.

Then in post #5 she says its a 50a converted to a 30a cord when replying to CHICKDOE's question in post #4.

And then to further confuse she says in post #6 she has a meter box with a 30a switch (breaker?) and plug (outlet?) on it.

And finally she says the microwave works so there is 'some' power getting to the R/V almost suggesting the R/V is 50a and one leg is working.

When the issue started initially, at the suggestion of someone, she changed the "piggyback" (dogbone?) at the electrical box, which suggests the R/V may be a 50a service but then later says she changed out the 30a cord so we cannot be sure from that statement.

I originally thought she might have a 30a service (post #6) and a 30a cord (post #5) going to the 50a R/V (post #3) and the dogbone was at the R/V sidewall receptacle but saying the "piggyback" was at the electrical box (post #6) seems to preclude that.

None of this adds up. We are going to have to stop guessing and get some factual information or no one will be able to follow along nor help.

[Aussieguy]

go back to whoever advised you that you need a different connection, site manager or camp host?
"advised to change the piggy back at the electrical box"


ask that person if they can show you what you need to buy ... ( see it on another trailer if possible)




OR see if you can take some photos and post them up here

[dmctlc]

I agree though you're willing to learn is important but it would be best to find someone that is familiar with RV'S and their electrical system. Perhaps a neighbor or even the campground maintenance person might be helpful. There's a lot of great help on this forum but I agree with tomkatb and others this could be overwhelming.

[dmy2019]

Check your surge outlet in the bathroom that is usually it

[gw1800]

Originally Posted by dmctlc

I agree though you're willing to learn is important but it would be best to find someone that is familiar with RV'S and their electrical system. Perhaps a neighbor or even the campground maintenance person might be helpful. There's a lot of great help on this forum but I agree with tomkatb and others this could be overwhelming.

I agree that someone with RV electrical experience should be looking at it.

Or at the least, an electrician with the proper equipment to test everything.

Not being familiar with electricity can be dangerous.