"half-tripping" circuit breakers

[JoePickleball]

Hey all, what may cause my circuit breakers to periodically "half-trip"? I have a 2024 Jayco Swift 20T campervan.

 

[Travln2]

Circuit breakers I'm familiar with always "half-trip". I need to flip them fully off, then fully on to get them going again.

 

[JoePickleball]

Hey all, what may cause my circuit breakers to periodically "half-trip"? I have a 2024 Jayco Swift 20T campervan.

Thanks for replying. There is no warning. No indicators when they are half-tripped. No appliances nor any functions seem affected in the half-trip mode. So why do they do this? What's the purpose? What's the cause? Do the half-tripped circuits affect charging and recharging my house batteries? I'm perplexed.

 

[craigav]

Are you stating that sometimes they "half-trip" and other times they trip all of the way?

When a common residential circuit breaker (not all of them) trips then it is common for the handle to be found in the middle (between off and on) which I suspect is what you are seeing.

In any case, the answer is that the cause is still the same, too much current flowing through the circuit than the breaker is rated for. ~CA

 

[craigav]

Thanks for replying. There is no warning. No indicators when they are half-tripped. No appliances nor any functions seem affected in the half-trip mode. So why do they do this? What's the purpose? What's the cause? Do the half-tripped circuits affect charging and recharging my house batteries? I'm perplexed.

I suppose I should ask for more details regarding your definition of "half-tripped". Are you saying you don't lose power when the breaker "half-trips"? ~CA

 

[JoePickleball]

Thanks for your reply. I had the vehicle nearly 2 years before noticing these breakers "in the middle" so I am unsure whether they came this way at delivery or since. Does my habit of turning off the Main Switch while non-used contribute to this?

 

[norty1]

I would be more concerned as to why you don't lose any ac power when one is "Half Tripped?" I would be checking out the tripped breaker to assure that the breaker is doing it's job and removing power to the area fed by it.

 

[craigav]

Turning off the Main Breaker doesn't cause any issues with the other breakers, although if you had many high load electrical items switched on and then turned on or off the main breaker, that could be a concern as it is best to have every electrical appliance you can turned off prior to switching the Main breaker on\off or connecting\disconnecting from shore power.

BTW, a circuit breaker is similar in operation to a light switch in regards to providing the ability to turn on and off the electricity however, it is not designed to be switched off and on repeatedly like a light switch is designed for, and with time and enough on and off cycles the breaker will become weak or inoperative and will require replacement. (breakers can hold up for a large number of on\off cycles but still only a fraction of the on\off cycles that a light switch can provide). I doubt that you are turning off and on the Main breaker enough though for it to be a concern, so just FYI. ~CA

 

[Kevin Cooper]

Just a SWAG! There were some breakers installed and have nothing connected to them. Since the original comment said that he found them once. No indication that it is a continuing issue.
New untouched breaker come in the tripped condition. Any breaker that trips, must be moved from center to off then back on.
Joe, if you want to know for sure, unplug the RV, and no generator. Remove the electrical panel cover and see if there are any wires connected to the ones that were tripped. If they are connected, look at the panel cover label for those locations.

 

[JoePickleball]

Sorry for the late reply. I'm just getting caught up today. Thanks for the replies, as they give me insight and just plain knowledge in troubleshooting. Since replacing the delivery batteries (Harris) with a new pair of Weize brand AGM (not lithium this time), I am not seeing any more power issues and frankly am not fooling with the circuit breaker panel. The system will show faults to alert me, I think.

On another thing, is it advised to still use the water pressure regulator to back wash? I feel it's not necessary and defeats some of the back washing capability. But I don't want to damage any pvc piping either. Your thoughts? Joe

 

[Kevin Cooper]

Unless the pressure is extremely high, it should be no issue to use the black tank wash. Personally, I do not use mine. I use a flush king and am very happy with how it works.

 

[JoePickleball]

Unless the pressure is extremely high, it should be no issue to use the black tank wash. Personally, I do not use mine. I use a flush king and am very happy with how it works.

I got one two days ago and used it immediately. WOW. Finally, after two years of questioning the black tank sensors, I finally got a "true" reading from it. I see 0% meaning it's completely empty. Thanks much for the indirect suggestion of getting this product. Joe