open ground fault

[kevin211]

Ok so here is my long winded update, come back to park notify park, they come by say it’s fine, plug my Ems unit it nothing, doesn’t work, go back to direct plug in to box, call brother-in-law to have him bring his surge protector (progressive industries SSP-50X) plug into box, no faults, so looks like my (progressive industries EMS-PT50X) is either faulty or just to finicky.
What’s your thoughts give mine another try or is bad?

[kevin211]

Here it is

[cavie]

Originally Posted by kevin211

Ok so here is my long winded update, come back to park notify park, they come by say it’s fine, plug my Ems unit it nothing, doesn’t work, go back to direct plug in to box, call brother-in-law to have him bring his surge protector (progressive industries SSP-50X) plug into box, no faults, so looks like my (progressive industries EMS-PT50X) is either faulty or just to finicky.
What’s your thoughts give mine another try or is bad?

Sounds bad. Send it back. Lifetime guaranty

[babock]

Not sure what happened to the other comment but I would test it with a known good outlet or do some measurements on this outlet.

[cavie]

Yours is an EMS. Your brothers is a Surge Protector only. Yours may be working just fine! His cannot block power. Only indicate a bad connection. Take yours to a different 50 amp source.

[houstonstroker]

Originally Posted by cavie

Yours is an EMS. Your brothers is a Surge Protector only. Yours may be working just fine! His cannot block power. Only indicate a bad connection. Take yours to a different 50 amp source.

Look up the stats for his brother in law's surge protector it does a lot more. I have an EMS hard wired version that comes with a bypass switch. The switch is to be used when one of these units fail.

[kevin211]

Thank you to everyone that commented, Before i call Progressive to start the warranty claim. I will double check another power supply, I do have a 30 amp outlet i could use (if it doesn't fault using my EMS) As stated Park didn't seem concerned. We are there next weekend and won't be going back.

So I assume everyone "plugs" in first to test electric, and request to be moved if not correct?
Just hard for me to imagine that this EMS unit is going to be this problematic or is this not common?
Thanks again....till next weekend...lol

[cavie]

Originally Posted by houstonstroker

Look up the stats for his brother in law's surge protector it does a lot more. I have an EMS hard wired version that comes with a bypass switch. The switch is to be used when one of these units fail.

I did before I posted. it is not an EMS.

[Flybob]

Please consider Community rules before posting.

Do not take every opportunity to express your disagreement, incite argument, insult each other, or fan flames. Voice your opinion respectfully and then let it go.

[myredracer]

It could possibly be an intermittent open ground. That's happened to us twice.

In both cases it was a bad receptacle with probably a worn ground "blade" inside that didn't make a good contact. The CG came over right after I called them. On one of them, they replaced the guts of the pedestal and all was good. On the other, they didn't have a replacement interior on hand so we ran on the 20 amp receptacle without issue and they fixed the pedestal the following day. On both pedestals, the plug was quite loose when pushed in.

It can sometimes be a bad shore power cord. If a detachable cord, the end at the RV could have a bad connection or the cord's plug could be in need of replacement. It's always good practice to keep the blades on a shore power cord plug clean with emery cloth.

If it were me, I'd check the EMS on another pedestal (or whatever the source is). It's not impossible that the borrowed surge protector worked only because it happened to make a better connection with the ground in the pedestal receptacle.

An EMS has been a great investment for us and wouldn't camp without one. Have had open ground, open neutral, reverse polarity and the all too common low voltage.

[kevin211]

Originally Posted by myredracer

It could possibly be an intermittent open ground. That's happened to us twice.

In both cases it was a bad receptacle with probably a worn ground "blade" inside that didn't make a good contact. The CG came over right after I called them. On one of them, they replaced the guts of the pedestal and all was good. On the other, they didn't have a replacement interior on hand so we ran on the 20 amp receptacle without issue and they fixed the pedestal the following day. On both pedestals, the plug was quite loose when pushed in.

It can sometimes be a bad shore power cord. If a detachable cord, the end at the RV could have a bad connection or the cord's plug could be in need of replacement. It's always good practice to keep the blades on a shore power cord plug clean with emery cloth.

If it were me, I'd check the EMS on another pedestal (or whatever the source is). It's not impossible that the borrowed surge protector worked only because it happened to make a better connection with the ground in the pedestal receptacle.

An EMS has been a great investment for us and wouldn't camp without one. Have had open ground, open neutral, reverse polarity and the all too common low voltage.

what did you do to fix it?, because all of them shut down power to your rig or didn't happen while hooked up, or was this shown before you started to unhook and set up.

[myredracer]

Originally Posted by kevin211

what did you do to fix it?, because all of them shut down power to your rig or didn't happen while hooked up, or was this shown before you started to unhook and set up.

I've always found EMS issues upon arrival at the CG and backing into the site. Plugging in hasn't turned anything 120 volts on inside. The first thought is oh cr@p, did I not turn the pedestal on, something wrong with the shore power cord or what? And then I walk inside and check the EMS remote display and find it's an error code. Of course, the error codes are buried away somewhere and I gotta go dig them out to see exactly what the issue is. It does help to be able to tell the CG what the problem is. Sometimes they don't believe you though, especially if nobody else has complained before you.

Any time we've had the EMS shut us down (after arriving and plugging in) the CG has sent someone over to check it out fairly quickly. Have never had the EMS shut us down for the duration of a stay at a CG and after any initial pedestal issues were fixed upon arrival.

We were at one CG and after backing in and plugging in, had simultaneous open ground and low voltage that shut us down. The voltage was at 106 volts and just the current draw from the converter/charger caused the voltage to drop below 104 volts and shut us down. The EMS kept cycling on and off which was odd. Their "electrician" and general purpose handyman came over and insisted the pedestal was perfectly fine because he had just replaced the receptacle. (An interesting discussion followed, lol.) Moved to another pedestal and exact same thing. Then moved to a section with all new 30/50 amp sites and no problems. If an EMS says something isn't right, it's probably right!

I installed a hardwired LED voltmeter on the wall near the entry door and checking the voltage is usually the first thing I do when I walk inside after arriving. If it's too low, the autoformer gets dragged out and plugged in and has been another worthwhile investment.

I spent a career in building construction as an EE and it wasn't until we started RV-ing that I discovered how many electrical problems there can be with CG wiring and RV wiring. I just have to shake my head sometimes. Just doesn't happen in building construction.

Sorry for the wordy reply...

[kevin211]

Originally Posted by myredracer

I've always found EMS issues upon arrival at the CG and backing into the site. Plugging in hasn't turned anything 120 volts on inside. The first thought is oh cr@p, did I not turn the pedestal on, something wrong with the shore power cord or what? And then I walk inside and check the EMS remote display and find it's an error code. Of course, the error codes are buried away somewhere and I gotta go dig them out to see exactly what the issue is. It does help to be able to tell the CG what the problem is. Sometimes they don't believe you though, especially if nobody else has complained before you.

Any time we've had the EMS shut us down (after arriving and plugging in) the CG has sent someone over to check it out fairly quickly. Have never had the EMS shut us down for the duration of a stay at a CG and after any initial pedestal issues were fixed upon arrival.

We were at one CG and after backing in and plugging in, had simultaneous open ground and low voltage that shut us down. The voltage was at 106 volts and just the current draw from the converter/charger caused the voltage to drop below 104 volts and shut us down. The EMS kept cycling on and off which was odd. Their "electrician" and general purpose handyman came over and insisted the pedestal was perfectly fine because he had just replaced the receptacle. (An interesting discussion followed, lol.) Moved to another pedestal and exact same thing. Then moved to a section with all new 30/50 amp sites and no problems. If an EMS says something isn't right, it's probably right!

I installed a hardwired LED voltmeter on the wall near the entry door and checking the voltage is usually the first thing I do when I walk inside after arriving. If it's too low, the autoformer gets dragged out and plugged in and has been another worthwhile investment.

I spent a career in building construction as an EE and it wasn't until we started RV-ing that I discovered how many electrical problems there can be with CG wiring and RV wiring. I just have to shake my head sometimes. Just doesn't happen in building construction.

Sorry for the wordy reply...

Thank you for the help,
I will check my Ems unit right away when i plug in, the first trip out i didn't want any real problems....but welcome to my world..lol.
We did have a very nice RV'er next us who gladly help me get a few bugs worked out...Turns out he full times up and down the coast, he gave me a volt meter for the camper, and he talked about the autoformer as you mentioned.

[formerFR]

we've traveled over 92,000 miles in less than 4 1/2 years all over the U.S., including Alaska, and most all of Canada and have seen almost EVERY electrical 'situation' you can imagine, including what certainly seems as 'sub-standard' wiring schemes, from the owner's 'brother-in-law electrician', etc...

we've never had any electrical issue, and do NOT employ any Surge or Electrical 'ems' system - I think that it's simply a worry that is not really the 'danger' that so many are led to believe, or worry about.

yes, there is a possibility of electrical issues anywhere you go, your own home included, but the PROBABILITY of having issues at a campground or rv park are very, very rare.
Sometimes the 'issues' that ems units cause is more problematic than any actual 'problem', even if there is really one in the first place.


That's just my two cents, from a LOT of camping and rv park experience...
with our 50amp coach, we've plugged into many differing electrical scenarios, including a simple 15amp household outlet, many, many 30amp campground outlets, of various conditions, including ones that do not even have their own breaker at the outlet post, and many adaptations, including combining 15amp and 30amp outlets, or even two 30amp outlets, like where we are parked at a state campground today.

Don't overthink your electrical - plug in and enjoy. Sometimes too much 'information' is just a worry point.

[TheWolfPaq82]

Originally Posted by formerFR

we've traveled over 92,000 miles in less than 4 1/2 years all over the U.S., including Alaska, and most all of Canada and have seen almost EVERY electrical 'situation' you can imagine, including what certainly seems as 'sub-standard' wiring schemes, from the owner's 'brother-in-law electrician', etc...

we've never had any electrical issue, and do NOT employ any Surge or Electrical 'ems' system - I think that it's simply a worry that is not really the 'danger' that so many are led to believe, or worry about.

yes, there is a possibility of electrical issues anywhere you go, your own home included, but the PROBABILITY of having issues at a campground or rv park are very, very rare.
Sometimes the 'issues' that ems units cause is more problematic than any actual 'problem', even if there is really one in the first place.


That's just my two cents, from a LOT of camping and rv park experience...
with our 50amp coach, we've plugged into many differing electrical scenarios, including a simple 15amp household outlet, many, many 30amp campground outlets, of various conditions, including ones that do not even have their own breaker at the outlet post, and many adaptations, including combining 15amp and 30amp outlets, or even two 30amp outlets, like where we are parked at a state campground today.

Don't overthink your electrical - plug in and enjoy. Sometimes too much 'information' is just a worry point.

Boy you got that right.

[NJKris]

Well let’s just say we won’t be back, water is brown,

Kevin, I would like to know which park has gross brown water so I can avoid it if for that reason alone!

[kevin211]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Kevin, I would like to know which park has gross brown water so I can avoid it if for that reason alone!

I will reply after this weekend when we write our review to the campground on their website, this is a Good Sam park also, good thing is it's 20 min from the house to showering wasn't a problem...

[5picker]

Originally Posted by formerFR

we've traveled over 92,000 miles in less than 4 1/2 years all over the U.S., including Alaska, and most all of Canada and have seen almost EVERY electrical 'situation' you can imagine, including what certainly seems as 'sub-standard' wiring schemes, from the owner's 'brother-in-law electrician', etc...

we've never had any electrical issue, and do NOT employ any Surge or Electrical 'ems' system - I think that it's simply a worry that is not really the 'danger' that so many are led to believe, or worry about.

yes, there is a possibility of electrical issues anywhere you go, your own home included, but the PROBABILITY of having issues at a campground or rv park are very, very rare.
Sometimes the 'issues' that ems units cause is more problematic than any actual 'problem', even if there is really one in the first place.


That's just my two cents, from a LOT of camping and rv park experience...
with our 50amp coach, we've plugged into many differing electrical scenarios, including a simple 15amp household outlet, many, many 30amp campground outlets, of various conditions, including ones that do not even have their own breaker at the outlet post, and many adaptations, including combining 15amp and 30amp outlets, or even two 30amp outlets, like where we are parked at a state campground today.

Don't overthink your electrical - plug in and enjoy. Sometimes too much 'information' is just a worry point.

Well said... much ado over nothing but everyone has their way.
My 40+ years of camping has never included an EMS.

[houstonstroker]

Originally Posted by cavie

I did before I posted. it is not an EMS.

My bad. I looked up the instructions. On the surge protector units you would plug those in before you plug in your RV. Look at the indicator lights to make sure everything is good before you plug your RV in. I got it now.

[NJKris]

One nice thing about the EMS, I was able to confirm my install of a 30 amp outlet on my shed at home was up to snuff without breaking out a multimeter. All systems go at home! AND I know the EMS is working properly before travelling.