Outlets not working

Newbies in an FR3 · 07-20-2018, 02:11 AM

Finally got out for the first time this summer and outlets aren't working. Lights are working, Fantastic Fan works, stereo system works, but not outlets (including GFCI, fridge, microwave).
Our EMS says the 30Volt is E 0 (no issues) and the circuit breakers and fuses under the bed all seem fine.

Any tips or ideas?

Thanks!!

2015 FR3 25DS

DutchRv · 07-20-2018, 04:53 AM

Are you running the gen or are you on shorepower? Your EMS is a Progressive Industries? Why does it say 30V, outlets, microwave, fridge all need 120V.

Did you check the gfci in the bathroom?

**Mr. Dan** · 07-20-2018, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DutchRv

Are you running the gen or are you on shorepower? Your EMS is a Progressive Industries? Why does it say 30V, outlets, microwave, fridge all need 120V.

Did you check the gfci in the bathroom?

I suspect the OP means 30 amp.

My guess is that the GFCI master needs to be reset as you say.

CHICKDOE · 07-20-2018, 08:32 AM

i suspect he means the 30 amp shore power cord is showing E-0. what is it showing as the incoming voltage? are you getting power from the pedestal? does the air conditioner turn on? if so you are getting power inside. try resetting ALL circuit breakers and gfci's (there may be multiple).

Newbies in an FR3 · 07-20-2018, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

I suspect the OP means 30 amp.

My guess is that the GFCI master needs to be reset as you say.

Oops, yes- 30 Amp shorepower. Frustration at midnight leads to using the wrong words!

And GFCI won’t reset- buttons won’t “pop”. I’m assuming it has no power, like the other outlets.

**Mr. Dan** · 07-20-2018, 08:54 AM

OK, trying something else ==> You wrote "circuit breakers and fuses under the bed all seem fine." Do you see a breaker marked "GFCI"?

If not, keep looking!

If so, flip that breaker OFF soundly and then back ON. Now try to reset your GFCI master outlet.

You also wrote 'And GFCI won’t reset- buttons won’t “pop”.' You used 'buttonS' plural. Do you have two GFCI master outlets or are you talking about the two buttons on ONE GFCI master?

However, I think there's something else amiss. Normally, the fridge and microwave are not on a GFCI circuit. Is your EMS portable or hardwired?

Is your power cord detachable? If so, did you insert it into your trailer and twist to the right until it seated?

ScottBrownstein · 07-20-2018, 09:11 AM

It sounds like you are not getting 120 volts at all to the panel. Sounds like nothing works that needs 120 volts. If your energy monitor is happy, that means the pedestal is good. I would try resetting the main breaker (30 amp) in the panel.

CHICKDOE · 07-20-2018, 09:20 AM

my error. if the ems is showing E-0, power is getting at least that far. what is unknown is if any power i getting inside. as mentioned reset ALL circuit breakers and see if that helps. try the a/c to see if it has power. it will not be protected by a gfci. if these simple tests don't resolve the issue then you'll need to start tracking cables to see where the issue is.

**Flybob** · 07-20-2018, 09:28 AM

If you are showing 30A at the EMS then something in your unit is drawing power. I would

1. shut off pedestal breaker
2. disconnect RV from EMS,
3. turn on pedestal breaker

4. Allow EMS safety timer ( if equipped) to time out 3 mins
5. Check reading on EMS Voltage, Current, error code
6. Shut off breaker in pedestal
7 connect RV power cord to EMS

8 Turn on pedestal
9 wait for time out and record the voltage, current and error codes and report back.

Newbies in an FR3 · 07-26-2018, 10:21 PM

Sorry I'm just getting back here; spotty internet service! But we switched spots and everything worked fine the next day- but now we're very familiar with our electrical system, so that's good!

CHICKDOE · 07-27-2018, 07:55 AM

i'm glad things are working again. but what was done to correct it other than moving to a new site? from the original problem description it looks like power at the pedestal was on (E-0) at the previous site. many posts suspected that power was not getting in to the distribution panel. did you reset any circuit breakers in that panel?

what follows is just comments from an experience i had. is you ems a portable or hardwired unit? the readings it displays are taken from the input side of the ems. when our hardwired unit was installed the technician pushed one of the power cables in a bit too far and broke off a plastic protection finger. this finger lodged in the contactors and prevented them from closing. thus even though it showed E-0 on the input side, the contactor could not close and pass power to the output side. i have no idea if anything like this is applicable in your case.

Kaadk · 07-27-2018, 08:22 AM

I think the first question, is this a portable or a hardwired EMS?

If hardwired, I suspect you have a problem with the way it's wired. You're getting power to the EMS, just not power out of the EMS. The fact that it started working after moving sites seems to indicate it's an intermittent short, that wasn't making contact at the old site, and is now making contact at the new site. That kind of short is dangerous, because it would be a high resistance contact point, resulting in a lot of heat generated, possible to start a fire.

If it's portable, then it's possibly still a short. When I bought my first Progressive, it wouldn't power up either. Just run the countdown, but then never switch over. I tried different nearby sites, all with the same issue. I just returned it to the store and swapped out for a new one. In my case, it was definitely an issue with the unit, but in your case, since it worked at the second site, it could be like the short in the hardwired possibility, where it's making intermittent contact depend on how the unit's moved. Again, it's a dangerous case if that's what's going on, since it can overheat and cause a fire. At least in this case, the fire would be outside the rig though instead of inside it.

Newbies in an FR3 · 07-27-2018, 01:44 PM

Our EMS is portable. And I'm honestly not sure what actually fixed it; we were scheduled to move sites the next morning anyway and so we shut everything off and flipped all the circuits again when we restarted and everything worked fine. Sorry I didn't investigate further once it was working, but we had more fun things to do!

Newbies in an FR3 · 07-27-2018, 01:47 PM

I'll keep a close eye on our EMS in the future- thanks for alerting me to this possibility.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaadk

I think the first question, is this a portable or a hardwired EMS?

If hardwired, I suspect you have a problem with the way it's wired. You're getting power to the EMS, just not power out of the EMS. The fact that it started working after moving sites seems to indicate it's an intermittent short, that wasn't making contact at the old site, and is now making contact at the new site. That kind of short is dangerous, because it would be a high resistance contact point, resulting in a lot of heat generated, possible to start a fire.

If it's portable, then it's possibly still a short. When I bought my first Progressive, it wouldn't power up either. Just run the countdown, but then never switch over. I tried different nearby sites, all with the same issue. I just returned it to the store and swapped out for a new one. In my case, it was definitely an issue with the unit, but in your case, since it worked at the second site, it could be like the short in the hardwired possibility, where it's making intermittent contact depend on how the unit's moved. Again, it's a dangerous case if that's what's going on, since it can overheat and cause a fire. At least in this case, the fire would be outside the rig though instead of inside it.

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