Lost Power to Residential Fridge

dcdutton · 09-08-2020, 04:06 PM

Hi everyone,
I had an issue pop up last weekend in our 2018 Eagle 317RLOK with residential fridge. The shore power to the fridge and the electrical outlet next to the stove both stopped working, although everything else in the trailer remained operational, including the A/C. I checked the shore power, circuit breakers, GFCI on the island, and the inverter power - all appear to be working normally. I had to McGuyver a solution in order to keep food from spoiling, by removing the drawer under the stove to access the plug for the fridge and plug it into an extension cord connected to a working outlet. The inverter shows a/c power bypassing the inverter. The only thing I can think of at this point is that there is a fuse or breaker that I can't find or possibly a short in the wiring behind the fridge. Any ideas out there?

dcdutton · 09-08-2020, 04:10 PM

I mis-spoke about the shore power. It remained on, with no problems.

**JFlightRisk** · 09-08-2020, 04:53 PM

Is there another GFCI with test/reset buttons in the bath, or in an area outside? I'm not sure if you might have more than one GFCI circuit in your wiring. Just a random thought.

dcdutton · 09-08-2020, 05:13 PM

Not that I have found. Is it normal to have just one GFCI? I would have thought there would be one in the bathroom also.

Cavie · 09-08-2020, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcdutton

Not that I have found. Is it normal to have just one GFCI? I would have thought there would be one in the bathroom also.

I would not think a pop up would have more than 1 gfi. If an outlet is within 6' of a water supply it IS on the gfi ircuit that being said I believe there is a problem with the GFI dircuit. A wire has become disconected from the circuit.

**JFlightRisk** · 09-08-2020, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cavie

I would not think a pop up would have more than 1 gfi. If an outlet is within 6' of a water supply it IS on the gfi ircuit that being said I believe there is a problem with the GFI dircuit. A wire has become disconected from the circuit.

It's not a pop up. It's a 2018 Eagle 317RLOK.

**JFlightRisk** · 09-08-2020, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcdutton

Not that I have found. Is it normal to have just one GFCI? I would have thought there would be one in the bathroom also.

It is normal as far as I know, but with a large rig such as yours, I was wondering if it may have 2 circuits. If there's only one GFCI outlet inside with the test/reset buttons. than it'll cover the bath also, along with any outside outlets.

Cavie · 09-08-2020, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

It's not a pop up. It's a 2018 Eagle 317RLOK.

My bad. The firsrt sencence said pop up and my brain saw pop up camper. But the info stands as a possibility.

dcdutton · 09-08-2020, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

It is normal as far as I know, but with a large rig such as yours, I was wondering if it may have 2 circuits. If there's only one GFCI outlet inside with the test/reset buttons. than it'll cover the bath also, along with any outside outlets.

I'll have to look again. I assume if I push the reset on the known GFCI, any outlet that is on that circuit will be "dead". If I find a "live" outlet, then that indicates a 2nd GFCI? Looks like I'll have to do some sleuthing and get back.
Thanks!

**JFlightRisk** · 09-08-2020, 08:26 PM

No problem. Be advised that a GFCI without power going to it, won't test/reset. Just a tidbit to keep in the back of your mind. Good luck, and let us know what you find.

Brianls7 · 09-08-2020, 11:36 PM

The problem is likely your inverter. I had the exact same problem in my 2018 Eagle 321 RSTS. My refrigerator and the outlet behind the stove stopped working. Also my tv was no longer getting power because the outlet it plugs into is connected by the same wire that runs to the fridge and stove outlet. Nothing else was effected though and all of my other electronics and AC's were working. Your tv should be working fine because it's in the dining slide and not in the kitchen slide like mine is so isn't connected the same way. The wire that connects the stove outlet and fridge runs to your 1200 watt Xantrex inverter in the basement. When you don't have shore power and are using your batteries the inverter allows you to keep your refrigerator running by sending ac power to it and also the outlet so you can use a regular appliance that needs ac power.

At first I looked to make sure there wasn't a loose connection and checked the GFCI but that wasn't the problem. Finally I took the panel off of my inverter and found that there was a loose wire. Not only did a wire come loose it was arcing and cause things to melt around it and could have even cause a fire. The connections inside of the inverter are supposed to hold the wire by just pushing the wire in and catching it instead of have it screwed down which has led to some coming loose or simply being wired improperly at the factory. Fortunately my RV was still under warranty and my dealer mailed me a new inverter and sent out a mobile tech for free to get it fixed.

The repairman that replaced the inverter saw that besides the wire being loose in general it was wired improperly and just badly done overall. I would check the inverter immediately because it could be a safety issue and you don't want it causing any problems if that is indeed your issue. I've attached some photos of what mine looked like before it was replaced.

When this happened I was on shore power and again nothing else was effected because the wiring that brings AC IN from the inverter wasn't loose or damaged. The reason I couldn't get power to the refrigerator was because I had loose and damaged wires that are for AC OUT that supply power to it and the stove outlet when you aren't using shore power. You probably have the same problem and that branch of wiring is loose or damaged while everything else still has a good connection. Check for loose wires. You may be able to just reattach it as long as there isn't any damage to it. I would just tug on each wire to make sure it isn't loose and if it is push it back in firmly and make sure it's secure.

dcdutton · 09-09-2020, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianls7

The problem is likely your inverter. I had the exact same problem in my 2018 Eagle 321 RSTS. My refrigerator and the outlet behind the stove stopped working. Also my tv was no longer getting power because the outlet it plugs into is connected by the same wire that runs to the fridge and stove outlet. Nothing else was effected though and all of my other electronics and AC's were working. Your tv should be working fine because it's in the dining slide and not in the kitchen slide like mine is so isn't connected the same way. The wire that connects the stove outlet and fridge runs to your 1200 watt Xantrex inverter in the basement. When you don't have shore power and are using your batteries the inverter allows you to keep your refrigerator running by sending ac power to it and also the outlet so you can use a regular appliance that needs ac power.

At first I looked to make sure there wasn't a loose connection and checked the GFCI but that wasn't the problem. Finally I took the panel off of my inverter and found that there was a loose wire. Not only did a wire come loose it was arcing and cause things to melt around it and could have even cause a fire. The connections inside of the inverter are supposed to hold the wire by just pushing the wire in and catching it instead of have it screwed down which has led to some coming loose or simply being wired improperly at the factory. Fortunately my RV was still under warranty and my dealer mailed me a new inverter and sent out a mobile tech for free to get it fixed.

The repairman that replaced the inverter saw that besides the wire being loose in general it was wired improperly and just badly done overall. I would check the inverter immediately because it could be a safety issue and you don't want it causing any problems if that is indeed your issue. I've attached some photos of what mine looked like before it was replaced.

When this happened I was on shore power and again nothing else was effected because the wiring that brings AC IN from the inverter wasn't loose or damaged. The reason I couldn't get power to the refrigerator was because I had loose and damaged wires that are for AC OUT that supply power to it and the stove outlet when you aren't using shore power. You probably have the same problem and that branch of wiring is loose or damaged while everything else still has a good connection. Check for loose wires. You may be able to just reattach it as long as there isn't any damage to it. I would just tug on each wire to make sure it isn't loose and if it is push it back in firmly and make sure it's secure.

Wow. I first suspected the inverter, but all the readouts seemed to indicate it was bypassing properly. A loose wire could absolutely be the culprit. I'll pull the cover off today and take a look.

Thanks!

dcdutton · 11-04-2020, 09:30 AM

Update: Brianls7, you were right. It was a loose connection in the inverter wires going out to the fridge/kitchen outlet. Xantrex uses those inferior "push-in" connectors that cannot be tightened and the wires have a tendency to work loose. It has since happened one more time. At least I know what to look for now.
Thanks again!

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