-
Weird Electrical Issue
I do not know what the problem is but it sure is weird.
I have been on this particular pad quite a few times. This time it feels like growing roots because I have been here for a while. The power pedestal has always been doing its job and it continues to do so because the 50A breaker is not tripping.
However, the coach’s 50A breaker on Leg 1 has been tripping repeatedly during the past couple of months. When it trips, it shuts down whatever is on that leg, which includes the washer/dryer as well as 2 rooftop AC.
It takes a little bit of time to notice because the electrical system switches to inverter power.
When I reset the breaker in the coach, all comes back on. A couple of times, it tripped again within a minute, So repeat resetting breaker. The problem seems to go away.
There are no signs of trouble because everything seems to be working just fine. Checking the readouts on the Outback Display after resetting the 50A breaker has shown Charger draw of as much as 40-45A. I am assuming this is caused by the fact the inverter power got drawn down for some time with the other 2 AC still running off of the inverters and the system is recharging at a high rate.
All the other Outback information is showing as normal.
What is weird, though, is the Silverleaf. It has been showing very high amps usage after resetting the breaker. To make it weirder, what I see on the Silverleaf is not repeated on the Outback display.
Ben Cummings has not been able to come up with an explanation. He just keeps scratching his head.
Here below are several photos showing the event.
The breaker tripped and this is displayed on the Silverleaf. They cannot explain the -656 Code error!
Electrical system switches to inverter power..
Outback display this.
After resetting the breaker, I got to see this on the Silverleaf.
Electrical system back on full AC power.
System values dropping and going back to normal.
Displaying data on the Outback display with AC back on.
As I have stated above, everything seems to be working normally. Except, losing 2 AC when the Leg 1 breaker trips, all else continues to function.
The only thing that I can add is, that on one occasion, when I reset the 50A breaker inside the coach, it sparked.
Ben Cummings suggested to replace that breaker but he still cannot explain the other weird stuff.
Can you shed some light on this? It would be very much appreciated.
Thank you!
Cheers,
Ronald
-
3 Replies
-
That really is strange.
Can you change you inverters charger to draw less current. 40 amps seems ot be too much. Set them to about 10 amps of draw on the charger.
If the a charger is drawing 40 amps you only have 5 or so amps left on that leg to use. Most breakers are rated for less for continuous use.
There seems to be too much variance between legs, 126 on one leg and 116 on the other is unusual on shore power. On generator I see this some times if I am pulling more on one leg than the other.
A breaker tripping all the time could be a sign of a weak breaker or too much draw. Does the breaker feal hot or pretty warm when it trips ?
Next thing I would do is see if your shore cord is warm at the pedistal and then ck the wires in your plug if it is not a molded on plug.
Does this happen when on generator.
A lose neautral or hot wire or ground can cause all kind of strange things.
Lot to think about here.
Good Luck
-
I suspect a high resistance connection at the
50-amp circuit breaker or a defective breaker.
You can verify this with a temperature sensor, (IR gun), and clamp-on AC
ammeter. -
I agree with MIke. Breakers get tired. Despite their ratings they are only expected to be able to handle 80% of their rated load reliably. A 50 amp breaker is fine at 40 amps all day long but as you exceed that value the breaker could trip at any time.
I would replace the breaker. Very little cost of dollars and time would be associated with that and if the theory is correct your problem is solved. If not it is back to Ben for more ideas.
Log in to reply.