Good day everyone. I just joined this forum and it’s my first post. I’ve been on IRV2 for probably 10 years but recently moved from a Newmar DP to a 2020 Riverstone 37MRE and think this forum will be better for my knowledge and Q&A for a Riverstone. As expected with any RV I have had some issues and learning curves but everything is sorted out except for a neutral to ground bonding issue with the Go Power 1500 inverter/transfer switch (I think 😊
. Before I start a deeper dive and possibly swapping parts I thought maybe others have experienced the same issue. If not, I will document the fix and share with others once solved.
Issue: During my final wash last fall before storage I experienced “hot skin” on the trailer. Alarmed, I unplugged the extension cord (was plugged into non-GFCI 20 AMP inside garage outlet) and finished washing. I realized the cord I used was one with the ground pin missing (Christmas lights workaround…yes I know better). Still, I figured something else might be wrong so I did some investigating.
1) Plugged back in with proper extension cord – no hot skin
2) Plugged into outside GFCI outlet and it tripped immediately – as I suspected
3) Backed the trailer into garage storage and plugged into 50 AMP std connection – no hot skin
4) Ran extension cord back to 20 AMP GFCI with all trailer circuit breakers off – GFCI didn’t trip
a. One by one I energized the breakers until the GFCI tripped – only trips on inverter/converter
5) Since I have now isolated it to one circuit I read up on the Go Power manual and called their tech support to ask more questions.
a. When inverting the ground and neutral are bonded (I knew this already)
b. When on shore power the transfer switch will bypass the bonding leaving them isolated.
c. I asked if it’s possible something is wrong with the device. Can it switch power but not un-bond? He wasn’t the deepest tech guy but stated it’s not possible unless it’s not transferring between 120 and 12v. I verified it’s transferring by turning off the 12 v power switch and seeing the fridge was still on.
d. There is a set screw for having it bonding or un-bonding for an end of line Hi-pot test. He stated if it was installed incorrectly it would be an open bond while inverting. This wouldn’t cause hot skin! It’s mounted under the inverter so I haven’t checked yet.
e. There is a delay in the transfer switching that often causes GFCI’s to trip when it’s changing to shore power. However, this is only seconds and wouldn’t result in continued hot skin.
6) I tested the outlets accessible with the std tester I’ve had forever except the fridge but my understanding it will NOT detect a ground to neutral bond. I didn’t remove the plugs yet to visually verify if the ground and neutral are touching.
I store the trailer 2 hours away from home and will be pulling it out for spring soon and want to get this solved. As long as I’m not on a GFCI I can still power the circuit (fridge, TV…etc.) but I have trips coming up this summer and if a campground has only GFCI I’m in trouble. I took it out for a couple weeks last fall and had no issues at all campground but all were not using GFCI (yet I know it’s coming with changed to the electrical code).
Anyone have a direction to steer me in? Have others had this same issue and if so a solution?
Linear Mode
