Electrical Mystery

[Gregg157]

While camping this past week at a State Park in Upstate NY we lost all 110v power to the camper. I checked the surge protector and connections at the pedestal and everything was good. The surge protector showed all lights were green. I checked all the circuit breakers and fuses and then checked the GFI in the bathroom. Still no power. We left the campgrounds the next morning and came home. Now for the mystery I plugged the camper into the shore power and everything works fine. Can someone please solve this mystery.

 

[craigav]

I would suggest that the most likely reason was\is a fault in the campground's power supply. I would suggest a better EMS may provide a more informative display, which could indicate many other faults that a surge protector may not show you. ~CA

 

[dora-XRD]

I would suggest that the most likely reason was\is a fault in the campground's power supply. I would suggest a better EMS may provide a more informative display, which could indicate many other faults that a surge protector may not show you. ~CA

I totally agree, a loose wire at the power pedastals receptacle could be the culprit so having your trailer plugged into a device that provides fault protection and testing of the pedastals circuitry for this type of thing can save you lots of grief. There's a few quality products on the market, the one I use and like is made by Progressive Industries which has a lifetime warranty like this portable 30 amp EMS model.

 

[Kevin Cooper]

Ok, dumb question. Have you looked at the plug and or receptacles of your shore cord lately? Are they clean and shiny, or are they discolored. If discolored, are there any small pit holes on any of them. You need to look at all of them. You might just have a dirty connection.
Also, are you plugged into 20amp 120 volts, 30 amp 120 volts, or 50 amp 120/240 volts?

 

[Gregg157]

Ok, dumb question. Have you looked at the plug and or receptacles of your shore cord lately? Are they clean and shiny, or are they discolored. If discolored, are there any small pit holes on any of them. You need to look at all of them. You might just have a dirty connection.
Also, are you plugged into 20amp 120 volts, 30 amp 120 volts, or 50 amp 120/240 volts?

At home I am plugged into 30a 120V

 

[Kevin Cooper]

Ok, so at home you are plugging in differently than at the campsite, or exactly the same. Same cord, same equipment? Same amps?

 

[Gregg157]

Ok, so at home you are plugging in differently than at the campsite, or exactly the same. Same cord, same equipment? Same amps?

Everything is exactly the same. Same cord, same surge protector, same 30 amp breaker. Nothing is different.

 

[Kevin Cooper]

I would suggest the you unplug the cord, and check the electrical connections at the electrical panel. Also, at the end of your 30 amp cord where it connects directly, or from the male receptacle to the panel. These are the only possibilities left that I can think of.

 

[stinger608]

I would suspect that the surge protector is bad.

I would check it closely.

 

[Gregg157]

I would suggest the you unplug the cord, and check the electrical connections at the electrical panel. Also, at the end of your 30 amp cord where it connects directly, or from the male receptacle to the panel. These are the only possibilities left that I can think of.

Thank you for the input I will check every connection and clean them all with elect. contact cleaner.

 

[Ricodnte]

I bought the Hughes power management and conditioner. It’s $450 for the 30 amp unit. Some of the smaller simpler so protectors are not adequate. I would agree with everybody else who responded to you that the pedestal at the campground was screwed up, in my last camping down in Florida a guy with a beautiful fifth wheel had his power management system blown up because the 50 amp service had the neutral and the hot reversed!

Power Watchdog Hughes Autoformers RV 2130-SP, Voltage Booster with Surge Protection, 30 Amp​

 

[Sankerd2]

I had this exact same thing happen on our 2025 Jayco Jayflight SLX 321 BDS321 50 amp. Took it for its maiden voyage last week. While towing it out the refrigerator seemed to be working and getting cold. Plugged it in at the camp ground. 50amp service with brand new 50 amp surge protector and it had power but was not cooling. Checked everything had a service tech walk me through everything and then said it could be a fuse behind the refrigerator. Since it is bolted in and a brand new camper I elected to take it to the dealer after camping. They haven’t found the culprit yet.

 

[Jeff Evans]

While camping this past week at a State Park in Upstate NY we lost all 110v power to the camper. I checked the surge protector and connections at the pedestal and everything was good. The surge protector showed all lights were green. I checked all the circuit breakers and fuses and then checked the GFI in the bathroom. Still no power. We left the campgrounds the next morning and came home. Now for the mystery I plugged the camper into the shore power and everything works fine. Can someone please solve this mystery.

There some good suggestions here. A couple of things I would suggest, next time you have this issue bypass the surge protector. If that's the issue it'll have power. Then the other idea would be the change over switch if you have one (if you have a generator permanently installed). Also the suggestion of a faulty plug on the shore power cord should be checked. The plug can overheat and be bad. Look at the plug , if it's bad you can see black or discoloration on the prong(s) that go into the receptacle.

 

[Skyline]

Had a similar problem at home. My wife informed me the electric dryer was running but not getting hot. Why? I pulled the back cover checked thermal fuses switches for continuity, they were good. I checked the heating element with ohm meter and it checked out fine. I tried to check the outlet but my voltage meter wouldn’t reach far enough to contact inside the outlet. I then checked the voltage at the breaker in the panel it was fine. I checked the voltage at the cord connection in the dryer one leg was 122 the other leg was zero. I pulled the plug again. The plug and cord look mint, like brand new. I took off the outlet cover looks perfect. I put the plug in and out a few times felt tight fine and put it back in tried the dryer and when I turned on it heated! I moved the cord around a bit and nothing changed. I’m at a loss as to what happened.

 

[Willey]

Agreed likely the pedestal. Tools I carry are a plug in circuit tester, mine is a 30 amp, like the 120 volt ones it goes in first, to check wiring in the pedestal. Then the management system, and my cable. Pedestal breakers are off before every step. Fortunately never had an issue. Carry a multi meter and a non contact voltage pen and a 120 test light as well. In the middle of my current adventure the transformer in the power center went south. Picked up a 3 amp charger /maintainer, it fit the two wire plug at the battery for my home maintainer, now powered from the 120 at the pedestal. Surprisingly the 110 reefer won’t run without the 12 volt controls. Same for the gas heat and the tankless water heater. Keeps me on the road, and repairs when I get home. Nothing like OJT.

 

[Gregg157]

First I want to thank everyone for the support. We found the issue last weekend when we were at a State Park in Upstate New York. Same issue happened again so I checked the receptacle on the side of the camper and one of the terminals had a burnt spot at the bottom. The black wire was burnt and not even tightened down in the receptacle. I purchased a new unit and installed now all is good. Thanks again.

 

[Kevin Cooper]

So it was comment #8! Winner!

 

[Gregg157]

So it was comment #8! Winner!

That’s the winner

 

[camperinbuffalony]

While camping this past week at a State Park in Upstate NY we lost all 110v power to the camper. I checked the surge protector and connections at the pedestal and everything was good. The surge protector showed all lights were green. I checked all the circuit breakers and fuses and then checked the GFI in the bathroom. Still no power. We left the campgrounds the next morning and came home. Now for the mystery I plugged the camper into the shore power and everything works fine. Can someone please solve this mystery.

We had the same problem in a campground in Akron NY. The surge protector would not let the power go to the camper which keep the battery low.. We had to just plug into the post without the surge protector and everything worked.

 

[Kevin Cooper]

We had the same problem in a campground in Akron NY. The surge protector would not let the power go to the camper which keep the battery low.. We had to just plug into the post without the surge protector and everything worked.

What was the surge protector indicating was wrong? No ground? If so and you plug it in without the SP, you “could if something goes wrong” get what’s called hot skin on your RV. It can go from a tingle to electrocution. But something must cause a hot to be touching some metal somewhere.