Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Andy Perreault
TDR MEMBER
My folks just arrived today in their 2000 Bounder. Last March, I had an electrician fix the wiring problems in my garage. I also had him install an RV-style 30amp outlet on the outside of the garage so my folks could plug into it. Well, today, we plugged it in, and found that a couple of circuit breakers in the motorhome blew. So, we fiddled around and did a little investigating, and wound up scratching our heads. The outlet worked, it's wired right, but some of the breakers kept popping, but not the main breaker.
After some more thinking, we figured out the source of the problem: The electrician wired up the outlet as 240v, not 120v!!
We inquired with an RV parts/sales place, and as the man was listening to us explain the problem (before hearing the whole story), he said, "You better hope that the electrician didn't wire up that outlet with 240 volts, or you're in deep sh**!" We told him that's exactly what happened. He said, "Your power converter is probably fried. " He went on to tell us that we can test to see if the converter is working or not by plugging in the motorhome to a regular 120v 15 amp outlet and putting a voltmeter on the batteries to see if they are getting a charge. We went on home to try it.
Back at my house, we plugged in, using an adapter, to a regular 15 amp 120v outlet. Nothing worked!! But then... SMOKE!! I immediately unplugged the motorhome from the house, and we found that the power converter was smoking.
Okay, so we know that the converter is gone, but here's where we're stumped... The converter plugs into an outlet in one of the basement storage boxes. I unplugged it, so that the converter was isolated or should I say "eliminated" from the A/C circuitry. We then plugged in the motorhome again to a 15 amp 120v outlet. Again, we found that still nothing works. I suggested unplugging the microwave oven from its outlet in the cupboard (a voltaged tester showed power at that outlet) and plugging it directly into the extension cord. We found that the light comes on when opening the door, but the digital display is blank, and the microwave won't come on. So, it looks like the microwave might be shot, too.
SO... my question is... what else might be damaged besides the power converter and the microwave? None of the wall outlets work, even though the circuit breakers are on. What would cause that? There was no smoke, buzzing, burning smell, or anything indicating melting wires, etc. , inside the motorhome. The only smoke we saw was from the converter. The refrigerator, which is now plugged into an extension cord, is working okay.
Sorry for the long posting, but I'd appreciate any input from anyone experienced with RV electrical nightmares. We're wondering if the entire electrical system is damaged. We're also wondering if there is some sort of surge protectors that we are not aware of.
Thanks in advance for any comments/advice.
Andy
After some more thinking, we figured out the source of the problem: The electrician wired up the outlet as 240v, not 120v!!
We inquired with an RV parts/sales place, and as the man was listening to us explain the problem (before hearing the whole story), he said, "You better hope that the electrician didn't wire up that outlet with 240 volts, or you're in deep sh**!" We told him that's exactly what happened. He said, "Your power converter is probably fried. " He went on to tell us that we can test to see if the converter is working or not by plugging in the motorhome to a regular 120v 15 amp outlet and putting a voltmeter on the batteries to see if they are getting a charge. We went on home to try it.
Back at my house, we plugged in, using an adapter, to a regular 15 amp 120v outlet. Nothing worked!! But then... SMOKE!! I immediately unplugged the motorhome from the house, and we found that the power converter was smoking.
Okay, so we know that the converter is gone, but here's where we're stumped... The converter plugs into an outlet in one of the basement storage boxes. I unplugged it, so that the converter was isolated or should I say "eliminated" from the A/C circuitry. We then plugged in the motorhome again to a 15 amp 120v outlet. Again, we found that still nothing works. I suggested unplugging the microwave oven from its outlet in the cupboard (a voltaged tester showed power at that outlet) and plugging it directly into the extension cord. We found that the light comes on when opening the door, but the digital display is blank, and the microwave won't come on. So, it looks like the microwave might be shot, too.
SO... my question is... what else might be damaged besides the power converter and the microwave? None of the wall outlets work, even though the circuit breakers are on. What would cause that? There was no smoke, buzzing, burning smell, or anything indicating melting wires, etc. , inside the motorhome. The only smoke we saw was from the converter. The refrigerator, which is now plugged into an extension cord, is working okay.
Sorry for the long posting, but I'd appreciate any input from anyone experienced with RV electrical nightmares. We're wondering if the entire electrical system is damaged. We're also wondering if there is some sort of surge protectors that we are not aware of.
Thanks in advance for any comments/advice.
Andy
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. Quite frankly, I'm very surprised that your electrician didn't validate the amperage, voltage and polarity before hooking up to your external systems. 
PS look for a auto reset braker near the converter and also at the battry area . They look like a two post little box one post brass one steel they may have to be replaced can easy check with amp meter .
