Breaker

Alicia · 10-19-2023, 05:22 PM

I am hooked up to full power at home, 30 amps, I accidentally turned on coffee maker while heater was on and thought I just tripped the breaker in the camper but when I switched it back, the outlets and refrigerator are still not working. Do I need to replace the 15 amp?. The fuses have been checked. Need an answer asap. I have food in freezer. Tia

Grumpy · 10-19-2023, 05:47 PM

Breaker in the house? And did you push the one in the camper down to reset before turning it back.on?

craigav · 10-19-2023, 06:11 PM

Check the "home" breaker, then all the breakers in the RV as well as the GFCI. ~CA

Alicia · 10-19-2023, 06:27 PM

Am I to understand that something could be tripped in the house breaker and I can still have power in camper? I haven't checked the house breaker yet, not accessible at the moment, hopefully I can check in the morning. I did check other breakers in camper, its only the 15amp that runs GFCI, 2 outlets and refrigerator.

Old and soft · 10-19-2023, 06:31 PM

Define power in the camper. Lites and many systems run off of a 12 volt battery if present. Ac or any 115vac outlets work?

Alicia · 10-19-2023, 06:40 PM

Microwave, stereo, hadn't checked the AC cause I had been running the heater.

craigav · 10-19-2023, 06:41 PM

Yes, as Old&soft stated above, your 12v lights will work as long as you have a battery in your RV that is not dead.

Regarding food in the Freezer, I would suggest to switch the fridge over to propane for now. ~CA

craigav · 10-19-2023, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alicia

Microwave, stereo, hadn't checked the AC cause I had been running the heater.

Your microwave still works? ~CA

Alicia · 10-19-2023, 06:42 PM

I did that but both lights were still blinking.

Alicia · 10-19-2023, 06:43 PM

Yes

craigav · 10-19-2023, 06:48 PM

If the microwave oven still can power on, then the issue would not be with the home's circuit breaker. I would turn off and back on all the breakers in your RV and make sure the GFCI isn't tripped.

BTW, many people use the term fuses and breakers to mean the same thing, but there is a difference and in this case it is the breakers (similar to a light switch) that need to be checked.

~CA

Alicia · 10-19-2023, 08:04 PM

When I switched the breaker back on when it was tripped this morning in the camper, the switch acted like it didn't want to stay on. I just checked house breaker, everything good there. And I checked my fuses next to the breaker box and all good there. Thats why I'm wondering if I burned out that 15 amp breaker, cause I have reset the GFCI in the bathroom and nothing.

craigav · 10-19-2023, 08:14 PM

Breakers do go out, but not often. Did you turn off the breaker completely and then attempt to turn it back on or just try to turn it on? In any case, cycle (turn) it off completely and then turn it back on, be sure the heater and coffee maker are both turned off or unplugged before resetting the breaker. If it doesn't have a solid click when you turn it back on then that means it isn't on. Try a breaker next to it and you will feel what it feels like when it clicks back on. ~CA

Alicia · 10-19-2023, 08:46 PM

Turned breaker off and back on, everything else on that circuit works, just not the 2 plugs I was using that tripped it and not sure about fridge, everything is still frozen in freezer from morning but green and propane lights keep flickering and it's not on gas.

mrmom · 10-20-2023, 04:56 AM

Sounds like you also tripped a GFCI outlet somewhere, as well. I would go around and test all the GFCI outlets in the camper, including any that are outside. Should find one that needs to be reset.

Alicia · 10-20-2023, 10:19 AM

Only one in the bathroom and I tried that, I'm at a loss, fridge is still blinking but working, the 2 outlets I was using when it tripped are not working.

craigav · 10-20-2023, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alicia

Only one in the bathroom and I tried that, I'm at a loss, fridge is still blinking but working, the 2 outlets I was using when it tripped are not working.

I suspect that the fridge is flashing because it didn't ignite on gas, but is still working because it has electricity still. There are several reasons why this could be the case, most often because you are out of propane or a lot of air in the lines. You could try to turn it back off and then back on electric only. However, I don't think the fridge light flashing is the cause of your 2 outlets not working.

What needs to be done for your outlets is to check the voltage going to them with a voltage meter and inspect the wiring to the outlets. This is not something I recommend doing for anyone not already familiar with how to do this as doing so present dangers that could harm someone.

My suggestion is if you don't have a voltage meter and\or not familiar working around electrical components to first check around with friends and neighbors to see if you can find someone who is familiar with doing this. You may find an electrician who moonlights on the side which could save you a lot of $$$. Short of that, you may have to call a professional.

Other than checking each and every outlet (you may have a second GFCI for example) and checking each breaker (which you already did) there isn't anything left to check without using a voltage meter and tracing the power from the breaker panel to each of the outlets that are not working.

BTW, did the breaker you mentioned earlier solidly click back on? If it still doesn't feel like it did, then that could still be the issue. ~CA

Alicia · 10-20-2023, 11:48 AM

Heard. Pretty familiar with minor electrical equipment so that will be my next step for the outlets. Fridge blinking stumps me cause its running electric but might not be getting full load. Thank you so much.

us71na · 10-20-2023, 07:18 PM

If the coffee maker was in the kitchen near the sink, it is likely on a GFCI outlet. You need to find all the ground fault outlets in your camper and press the reset button on each of them. It is also possible that the coffee maker pulled enough amps to cause a loose connection to fail somewhere in that circuit. You would need a wiring diagram to determine how they are wired to find the next outlet upstream from the one that doesn't work. There could be a loose connection at the circuit breaker.

Was the "heater" the installed furnace or a plug in heater? The combined amps would trip the circuit breaker for sure.

TCNashville · 10-20-2023, 07:34 PM

My fridge is plugged into a GFCI outlet located behind the exterior fridge vent. Go outside and remove your fridge vent and see if there's one there.

You may also like: