No electric to refrigerator outlet

[Silver Dollar]

I have an 8329s travel trailer. The refrigerator would work on propane only. Upon investigation I discovered there is no electric power to the outlet the refrigerator is plugged into. I checked the breaker and it's not tripped. Is there another fuse/breaker in between? I'm stumped.

[Mr. Dan]

I'm not familiar with an 8329s. Which FR line makes it? Wildwood, Coachmen, Flagstaff, etc.
Has the refrigerator worked on electricity before and this just now happened?

Sometimes breakers don't look tripped but are. You might try turning the breaker completely then back on.

We have seen stories here about loose 110v wires in the outlet box.

Just grasping at straws.

[Silver Dollar]

It's a FR Rockwood. The problem is definitely not in the refrigerator itself since I plugged the fridge into an extension cord running to the outside GFCI outlet and it works fine. I checked and there is 125v at the breaker but zero at the outlet, so there has to be something wrong in between. Of course the wire isn't exposed so it's hard to trace.

[Mr. Dan]

Bummer!
Can you take the outlet apart and see if a wire came loose?

[Flybob]

Do All the other outlets work? Could be a GFCI issue. If not GFCI, check back of outlet. FR uses the punch down feature of the outlets and if not done properly it may not work.

[Skyliner]

Pull the wire out of the outlet and check it for voltage-make sure breaker or power is off before you disconnect the wiring.

If you have power, I'd replace the outlet or rewire it so you are not using the "push-in" wire feature and instead connecting it with screw terminals. Vibration from towing has caused the push in wire's to get loose on my camper.

If that doesn't fix it, check for output at the circuit breaker. If there is none, replace the circuit breaker. If there is power there, look for other outlets that may be wired inline with the fridge outlet to see if there is a wiring issue at the outlets where the extended lines are run to.

Good luck. If all else fails, run new romex straight to your fridge under the camper. Its not hard to do and while you are under the camper, reinforce all of your water tanks, add extra insulation, beef up electrical brake wiring ;-)

[Whiteknight]

I would check the wire connections at the outlet. The outlets in my TT are made where the wires are connected by the wire being pressed between two pieices of metal that cut into the wire insulation. It's a pretty poor way of connecting wires and I wouldn't be surprised that could be your problem.

[Silver Dollar]

I opened the outlet box and tested the wires themselves and there was no current, so unfortunately the outlet connection isn't the problem.

[Comanchecreek]

Start at the power converter. Check that you have power at the breaker. Breakers can be a problem. If in doubt at all replace the breaker. They are not expensive. Also check the neutral connection on the bus bar. Often those connections will become loose with vibration or just shoddy installation. Next get a long jumper wire that will reach from the outlet to the converter panel. Be sure all power is off and run a continuity test on power, neutral, and ground from the converter to the outlet. If no continuity on any of those, you probably have a broken wire in which case you will need to either find the break, or run a new wire from the converter to the plug.

[D W]

Originally Posted by Comanchecreek

Start at the power converter. Check that you have power at the breaker. Breakers can be a problem. If in doubt at all replace the breaker. They are not expensive. Also check the neutral connection on the bus bar. Often those connections will become loose with vibration or just shoddy installation. Next get a long jumper wire that will reach from the outlet to the converter panel. Be sure all power is off and run a continuity test on power, neutral, and ground from the converter to the outlet. If no continuity on any of those, you probably have a broken wire in which case you will need to either find the break, or run a new wire from the converter to the plug.

X2. First of all, verify that no other GFCI in the RV is tripped. If you have one in the kitchen area and/or bathroom TEST and RESET them under power. Because you don't have power at the outlet wires doesn't mean there's no potential, i.e. you could have an open neutral, but the load wire is intact. Make sure ALL POWER IS OFF. Do a continuity test from the breaker panel to the outlet using a polarized extension cord. Plug the extension cord into the outlet. On the female end of the cord small slot is the hot lead and the big slot is your neutral. With breaker off probe from the panel circuit breaker hot lead to the extension cord hot slot, and from the neutral bus to the cord neutral slot. This will give you an initial indication of where to go. One question: Is this the only outlet with a problem?

[bpdlk33]

Sometimes manufactures put plastic electric Junction boxes in walls behind breaker box for feeding more than one circuit off a single breaker. These are push wire boxes where no wire nuts are used. In the box one wire or more can have a bad/loose conection. It is a dangerous system and can start a fire. I would check any junction box or take it to a dealer and have them do it.

[D W]

Two items every RV'er should have in the tool box:

[bob213]

My 1st trailer had wire run from the converter and coiled up behind the refrigerator. Nothing in the box. You could have just the opposite. Hooked to the outlet but not the converter. Good luck. I hate tearing stuff apart to fix someone else's mistake.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Skyliner

Pull the wire out of the outlet and check it for voltage-make sure breaker or power is off before you disconnect the wiring.

If you have power, I'd replace the outlet or rewire it so you are not using the "push-in" wire feature and instead connecting it with screw terminals. Vibration from towing has caused the push in wire's to get loose on my camper.

If that doesn't fix it, check for output at the circuit breaker. If there is none, replace the circuit breaker. If there is power there, look for other outlets that may be wired inline with the fridge outlet to see if there is a wiring issue at the outlets where the extended lines are run to.

Good luck. If all else fails, run new romex straight to your fridge under the camper. Its not hard to do and while you are under the camper, reinforce all of your water tanks, add extra insulation, beef up electrical brake wiring ;-)

X2, this post just about completely covers the troubleshooting for all 120 Volt outlets on ur camper!
GOOD LUCK! and PLEASE post back and let us know what you found

[Comanchecreek]

Originally Posted by D W

X2. First of all, verify that no other GFCI in the RV is tripped. If you have one in the kitchen area and/or bathroom TEST and RESET them under power. Because you don't have power at the outlet wires doesn't mean there's no potential, i.e. you could have an open neutral, but the load wire is intact. Make sure ALL POWER IS OFF. Do a continuity test from the breaker panel to the outlet using a polarized extension cord. Plug the extension cord into the outlet. On the female end of the cord small slot is the hot lead and the big slot is your neutral. With breaker off probe from the panel circuit breaker hot lead to the extension cord hot slot, and from the neutral bus to the cord neutral slot. This will give you an initial indication of where to go. One question: Is this the only outlet with a problem?

Didn't think of the extension cord DW. Good idea.

[Thurman]

My first thought was as D W stated, check ALL GFCI outlets. I have my TT on shore power at home all the time, never know when I may want to take a nap in it. Recently when I went in the TV did not work, the microwave had no numbers on the clock, and some lights did not work. I checked all the normal things to check such as main power, breakers, etc. I finally checked the GFCI in the bath and had to reset it. Everything worked fine then. I've done my share of industrial wiring, and residential wiring but the wiring on these RV's beat anything else I've seen.

[Silver Dollar]

Thanks for the responses. The breaker marked "Refer" runs to a GFCI outlet in the kitchen counter, then on to all the other routlets in the kitchen/living room. Another breaker marked "GFI" runs to a GFCI in the bathroom, then on to the bedroom and an outside outlet. Both of these breakers are set to ON, I have tripped and reset the GFCI's and all the outlets have power. It seems the only outlet in the trailer that doesn't have power is the one that the refrigerator is plugged into. I remain puzzled???

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Silver Dollar

Thanks for the responses. The breaker marked "Refer" runs to a GFCI outlet in the kitchen counter, then on to all the other routlets in the kitchen/living room. Another breaker marked "GFI" runs to a GFCI in the bathroom, then on to the bedroom and an outside outlet. Both of these breakers are set to ON, I have tripped and reset the GFCI's and all the outlets have power. It seems the only outlet in the trailer that doesn't have power is the one that the refrigerator is plugged into. I remain puzzled???

You are going to have to find where the wire that feeds the refer outlet, splices into the circuit the GFCI in the kitchen protects. (providing the breaker is correctly marked at the breaker box as you've indicated) It doesn't necessarily have to be at the kitchen GFCI, it could feed from any of the other outlets protected by that GFCI.

If that connection is OK, your wire between that point and the refer outlet is damaged.

[abjb]

Originally Posted by Whiteknight

I would check the wire connections at the outlet. The outlets in my TT are made where the wires are connected by the wire being pressed between two pieices of metal that cut into the wire insulation. It's a pretty poor way of connecting wires and I wouldn't be surprised that could be your problem.

Our refrigerator is at the end of the outlet daisy chain.
I had to work backwards toward the breaker box, the trouble was in the first outlet (not the second or last) from the breaker.

You may find that the outlet causing the problem works, the wire going from that outlet to the refrigerator outlet will be loose.

This is the type outlet you'll find. As I tested looking for our trouble I DID NOT use/reuse this type outlet!

[bob dirt]

Did you check ALL of the breakers in the panel with a meter? It could just be labeled wrong.