GFCI circuit partially working

[CanuckCamper]

Hi folks, I have lost power to two of five GFCI protected plugs in my Jay Flight 28BHS and can't locate more than one reset. Are there two separate circuits or is it possible for part of the circuit to work and not the other half?
I had a coffee maker and toaster plugged into the outside receptical and it blew. Figured it was a fuse or breaker but all have been checked and are fine. Realized it could be the GFCI was tripped but I can only find one reset location by the bathroom/vanity sink. Hitting reset there cycled the outlets in and around the kitchen but the outside one still won't work. Further, I realized the GFCI protected receptical in the bottom bunk is also dead, but the kitchen plugs work.
So, some of my GFCI protected plugs work but two don't, does anyone have any guesses as to why? Thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[wags999]

Originally Posted by CanuckCamper

Hi folks, I have lost power to two of five GFCI protected plugs in my Jay Flight 28BHS and can't locate more than one reset. Are there two separate circuits or is it possible for part of the circuit to work and not the other half?
I had a coffee maker and toaster plugged into the outside receptical and it blew. Figured it was a fuse or breaker but all have been checked and are fine. Realized it could be the GFCI was tripped but I can only find one reset location by the bathroom/vanity sink. Hitting reset there cycled the outlets in and around the kitchen but the outside one still won't work. Further, I realized the GFCI protected receptical in the bottom bunk is also dead, but the kitchen plugs work.
So, some of my GFCI protected plugs work but two don't, does anyone have any guesses as to why? Thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Most likely two GFCI. Knowing what RV you have would be helpful.

[CanuckCamper]

Originally Posted by wags999

Most likely two GFCI. Knowing what RV you have would be helpful.

Thanks, I have a TT 2010 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHS

[Jagiven]

30 amp tt? If so you only have one gfi.

I suspect, bad timing, and now a bad outlet. Most of your outlets are daisy chained, with the gfi being the first outlet.

I suspect the outlet or wire for the non working outlet is damaged. Start by pulling the outside outlet. Visually check things. Carefully check for supply voltage, with a multimeter . If the wires have power the outlet is bad. If the wire is dead, and visually looking good. Go to the outlet upstream, and pull it and check it for power.

You might have to call Jayco for the wiring diagram.

[joe in calif]

I had the same thing happen to my 2012 29 RLDS. I plugged in the coffee maker to the outside plug and I THINK I had the air on. Went inside and found the refrigerator was ruining on propane, also the GFI plug in the bathroom was tripped. Tried everything to rest it and nothing worked. After a few minutes, maybe 5 - 10 everything worked. I found out that there is a self resetting fuse that will trip but after a few minutes reset it self, it did and everything started working again.

[Doboy Dawg]

Some fairly good advise, "daisy chained" means the circuit is wired in series. I assume trailers are wired to NEA specs.

Normally no more than four receptacles are wired in series in a GFCI circuit. GFCI receptacles are very sensitive to over current by design. Most of the time A ,one, GFCI receptacle is placed first in line in the circuit then the load side is wired in series to the line side of the next normal receptacle. This makes that receptacle now a GFCI because it is feeding from the first GFCI in the circuit.

Sometimes people, at factories and aftermarket will wire multiple GFCI receptacles in series their thinking is the more protection the better. What often happens then is like 4 GFCIs wired in series and the #2 receptacle in the circuit trips. Then receptacles 2-4 are all off. If #3 trips #3-#4 are off. If #4 trips then only it is off. If somebody has wired 6-8 GFCI receptacles in a series circuit and they are spread all throughout a home or RV you could be in for a merry go round ride just trying to find the tripped receptacl, or worse find the bad receptacle. They can and do fail completely sometimes.

NEA used to specify GFCI be used anywhere a receptacle is placed within 4ft. of a damp area. Which in a RV would usually be the bathroom, kitchen sink area, and outdoor receptacles. The trick here is finding which one is closest to the breaker panel it is usually first in the circuit, but sometimes it isn't so don't assume it is.

One problem with home wiring in an RV is the use of solid wire such as is used in residential construction. Solid wire is Not designed for the flex and expansion experienced by an RV. Thousands of miles of bumpy roads puts more strain and flex on electrical connections that a home would never see, with the exception of a mobile home which may be moved 1-4 times in its entire life.

This bouncing up and down repetitively will put too much strain on a solid wired receptacle, especially if it is used in the "backwire" method. This is when the wire is stripped 3/4-1" and pushed into the rear of the receptacle. Often the wire will crack or break right at the back edge of the receptacle. If the wire cracks and does not break sometimes it may work and other times not.

Personally I do not use the backwire method. Mostly because the electrician will cut the wire going into the receptacle with no slack, which means next time you replace that receptacle if it is back wired you will either need to wire an additional length of wire a "jumper" to the end to make the wire long enough or you will need to pull new wire in that portion of the circuit, which is best but sometimes expensive due to location.

Fuses do not reset, they blow. Any resettable over current protection device is a circuit breaker.

[Hohenwald48]

Be careful about electrical advice on internet forums. A lot of information in this thread is inaccurate.


I suspect you have a second GFCI somewhere that you haven't found yet.

[CanuckCamper]

Thanks for your comments folks. I found the problem. There is only one GFCI circuit on my Jay Flight 28BHS. Turns out a wire came loose in the circuit. It was just bad timing that it happened around when my toaster blew the circuit (or didn't ). The black wire in the bunk plug wiggled loose and broke the circuit.
The plugs are different from what I have worked with in the past in that the wires simply slide between two metal edges such that the isulation is cut and therefore "powers" the receptical. I checked the outside plug first and it looked fine. It was also the last receptical on the circuit. The bunk receptical must feed it. When I moved the wire and reset it in the back of the run receptical both came to life. I can't believe there are recepticals that don't have screws to fix the wires into it but rather use friction. Silly on a bouncing trailer.
Thanks again for your advice.

[ALJO]

Those stick in wire connections are poor, special in RV's. Mine are all under the screw which is a tighter connection.

[norty1]

I have been replacing those with standard receptacles if I have room in the hole. (depth). If I have an option, I always go with the screw down one.

If you can't, then staple the wire close so it restricts wire movement.

They do shake going down the road.