no power at all

[DaninCan]

2009 Surveyor, wintered outside in Alberta weather, hooked up to 15 amp power outlet from the house. I just discovered there is no power in the trailer. I have changed the GFCIs for the house receptacle and one of 3 of the trailer's interior. Trailer Breakers seem ok and were not thrown, tried resetting numberous times. This sounds like a big $$$ problem to me, any thoughts?

[NMWildcat]

Time to get a multimeter out and find where the power stops. Start at the initial 15amp house receptacle and work through the power cord to the power center, then beyond.
So no 12v power either?

[DaninCan]

...very minimal 12v power to the radio...no doubt battery wasn't charging.
Thanks

[formerFR]

you're not receiving the 'shore power' you thought you were plugged into - that could be many things...

- you're house's breaker for the circuit you are plugged into has tripped
- the GFCI house circuit has tripped, at the outlet
- there is a loose wire within the outlet
- the 'adapter' you are using is suspect
- you have a loose wire within your shore cord/end connections
- you have a loose wire within your ATS(auto transfer switch), if you have one
- you have a loose wire at your RV's main breaker
- you have your Use/Store switch on 'STORE', where no power will be charging the battery(s)

[cavie]

Makes me nuts when people start throwing parts at a problem without using a voltmeter to find out what the problem is.

1st problem is some GFI's in series don't play nice. Plug into a non GFI outlet and see if the problem goes away. OR turn off the # gfi circuits in the RV. and see if the problem goes away. If you own and RV then you need to buy a voltmeter and learn to use it.

[DaninCan]

Originally Posted by formerFR

you're not receiving the 'shore power' you thought you were plugged into - that could be many things...

- you're house's breaker for the circuit you are plugged into has tripped
- the GFCI house circuit has tripped, at the outlet
- there is a loose wire within the outlet
- the 'adapter' you are using is suspect
- you have a loose wire within your shore cord/end connections
- you have a loose wire within your ATS(auto transfer switch), if you have one
- you have a loose wire at your RV's main breaker
- you have your Use/Store switch on 'STORE', where no power will be charging the battery(s)

FORMERFR - thanks very much ...Pretty much took your suggestions and eliminated the first 5...I plugged into a house recept. that is not GF protected, and it works. I am thinking there is water/ice/dampness in the trailer walls somewhere though i don't see any sign of it.

[rsdata]

I am thinking there is water/ice/dampness in the trailer walls somewhere though i don't see any sign of it.

Not necessarily the cause of your problem... could be a weak or faulty GFI plug as the ones used in trailers are not of good quality... try replacing what you have with a quality unit... UNPLUG from the house current FIRST

[Herk7769]

A 15 amp breaker will trip if any high draw items were left on.

Check your water heater on electric, fridge on electric, or your AC left on.

[CHICKDOE]

are you sure you have no power to any of the circuits in the rv? if there is none on any circuit then it is not the gfci's.

i'll throw out one other possibility. do you have a hardwired ems in the shore power cord. if so what is it saying? is it passing power?

are you using an adapter to plug the shore power cord into the receptacle. is it good?

i'm with cavie. use a meter to trace voltage at each and every connection along the power path. start at the receptacle and prove that it is correct. there have been posts where miswired receptacles were discovered.

finding the problem should not be a big $$ issue. and if it turns out to be a loose wire the repair should be free. all it takes is some time and a methodical process.

[cavie]

Why is it when someone plugs into a 30 or 50 amp into a non GfI'ed everything is working fine and everyone is in love. But add a dog bone and plug into a GFI outlet and it trips and it's the end of the world. It is a known problem within the RV world. I've been reading about it over and over again for the last 5 years. It is a phenomenon that nobody has a explanation for. If there is one I would love to here it.

I had my 2 trailers sitting side by side. One an '02 5er. One an '11 trailer. neither trailer would work when plugged into the GFI outlet in the ped. When I tripped the GFI circuit in the trailers and plugged into the ped GFI did not trip and all was protected by the GFI outlet on the ped. No short, no loose connections, absolutely no problems.

It just a roll of the dice weather it will work or not. If the two don't work together either turn off the RV GFI circuit or plug into a non-GFI outlet on shore. It's just that simple. If you have problems at home just install a single outlet with a locking cover for only RV use and move on with your life. You will be protected in the RV in all the places it was designed to do.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by DaninCan

FORMERFR - thanks very much ...Pretty much took your suggestions and eliminated the first 5...I plugged into a house recept. that is not GF protected, and it works. I am thinking there is water/ice/dampness in the trailer walls somewhere though i don't see any sign of it.

Nothing wrong with anything in the walls. GFI would not trip even if there was. The wiring is protected by insulation. the only thing that would effect the GFI is if there was water in the outlet.

[Swampy]

Originally Posted by DaninCan

2009 Surveyor, wintered outside in Alberta weather, hooked up to 15 amp power outlet from the house. I just discovered there is no power in the trailer. I have changed the GFCIs for the house receptacle and one of 3 of the trailer's interior. Trailer Breakers seem ok and were not thrown, tried resetting numberous times. This sounds like a big $$$ problem to me, any thoughts?

DaninCan, Over the years, I have traced several GFCI problems in residential homes that turned out to be dust, moisture, and or spider webs inside the outlet box. Ended up just cleaning them out with compressed air and weather sealing the plate on the outlet box. I helped a buddy track down one on his TT...turned out to be mostly dust and moisture in the outside outlet of the RV. Easy fix with no parts needed. Check them out before you start buying parts and replacing things. Remember to keep the plugs clean as well, a dirty / damp RV plug can do the same thing as a dirty outlet and cause a trip on the GFCI. Be safe, trip the source breaker before you open any outlets to inspect
Good luck with the repair .... Swampy

[PenJoe]

Originally Posted by formerFR

you're not receiving the 'shore power' you thought you were plugged into - that could be many things...

- you're house's breaker for the circuit you are plugged into has tripped
- the GFCI house circuit has tripped, at the outlet
- there is a loose wire within the outlet
- the 'adapter' you are using is suspect
- you have a loose wire within your shore cord/end connections
- you have a loose wire within your ATS(auto transfer switch), if you have one
- you have a loose wire at your RV's main breaker
- you have your Use/Store switch on 'STORE', where no power will be charging the battery(s)

Good list, but have one more. -Reset the breaker at the main service panel. At times, it will not fully make contact even though it appears to be in position.
Also, on an outside chance a non-electrician wired the house, there may be a second GFCI in the line that has tripped. The OP has not indicated why multiple GFCI outlets were replaced. GFCI outlets can be wired to operate as an interrupter on its own or with other non-GFCI outlets down stream.

[DaninCan]

Thanks to all who have responded...all are great ideas.
to PenJoe, I replaced the trailer GFCI as it was not resetting which may have been because it was not getting power. My ignorance. The Next GFCI I replaced was the one at the house, because I fried it!

[rsdata]

a lesson for all of us...

thx for sharing the rest of the story