Microwave and breaker problems

Lyrics · 09-22-2015, 10:17 AM

Hi, first post.

We have a 2014 Reserve 32FR (which I believe is actually a 2013, since CR didn't make the 32FR in '14) and I have a couple of issues.

We purchased it in June, started living in it in August. From the first day, we have had a problem with a breaker that controls the bunkhouse outlets/TV, the outside outlet, and a GFI outlet above the kitchen sink. The breaker trips and then will not reset for hours. (I believe it is overheated?) I know NOTHING in regards to electricity. What are junction boxes and where might I find them? I saw another thread about GFI issues that talked about that and I thought perhaps I would check for the water mentioned. I *thought* this was happening because we were using too much power, but I have redirected most of the power pulls with an extension cord through the window and it's still happening. It does only seem to happen when the AC is running, but we are not sure of that as we find it randomly tripped.

Our other issue is the microwave, High Pointe. It worked fine until we started towing cross country and issues have plagued it since. The first night, it showed a rectangle on the display instead of nummbers. The second night, again the rectangle, fiddling with buttons I got it to go away for a little bit to use the micro, and then it reappeared. The third night, rectangle again and I didn't bother with it. 4th night we reached our destination (2000 miles total) and I pulled out the book. Apparently the rectangle indicates child lock. I followed the directions to disengage (hold OFF for 3 seconds), disengaged it, set the clock, and less than a minute later it was back again. We have since occasionally been able to disengage it to use the microwave but sometimes it will not disengage. Any ideas? And if not, how hard is it for an idiot to replace the microwave? How would I measure to order a replacement, and does it plug in with a cord or do I have to play with electrical wires?

Our floorplan is double slides in the bunkhouse and a dinette/couch slide in the living area.

**mark5w** · 09-22-2015, 12:56 PM

Not sure about the electrical problems, but others have had issues with a junction box under the slide filling up with water and shorting out.

As far as the microwave, remove it from the encloser, there should be a plug and outlet behind it, or maybe in a cabinet next to it; remove the plug for a few minutes and plug it back in. That often resets the microwave.

Best of luck.

matherne · 09-22-2015, 01:43 PM

I'm new to RV's but if you have eliminated the "over loaded" option my next guess would be a faulty breaker. If you had a short it would not reset at all. Overloaded breakers will reset after they have cooled off. I doubt the A/C has anything to do with it as it should be on a seperate breaker of it's own.

Hoov7 · 09-22-2015, 04:16 PM

I would think if you had the water in a connection box somewhere it would trip the GFI first, the breaker tripping would most likely be from too much current draw causing it too trip before a GFI. What is the breaker marked as? Is it just outlets? I agree with Matherne that the A/C is usually on its own 20 Amp breaker and should not have any effect on the breaker you have tripping.

Stan · 09-22-2015, 07:57 PM

Sometimes they will install a "double breaker". The are thinner and prone to overheat. If this is the case, you will need an electrician to swap it out and install two breakers vice the one double. It's easy to do yourself but you stated you are not familiar with electric issues. It's possible the micro and your other circuit your having issues with are on on the same double breaker and both issues might be fixed by replacing it.

4kids2dogs&RV · 09-22-2015, 08:08 PM

Lyrics, welcome to the forum. I have a '14 HIll Country 32FR, similar to the Sunset Trail, but with a Texas decor.
As Mark said earlier, the plug for the microwave is in the right half of the cabinet to the left of the microwave.
I haven't experienced any of the problems you have mentioned (knock on wood), but if you follow the advice of the forum members, they'll eventually figure it out with you.
Happy camping!

Lyrics · 09-22-2015, 08:30 PM

Hopefully this works. Having to use cell for the pic.

Lyrics · 09-22-2015, 08:58 PM

It looks to me like the breaker that keeps tripping is a single breaker, but it is next to the micro breaker. The one that trips is the 3rd from the bottom, it's a 15.

The first time it tripped, *I think* it may have been overloaded. At the time, the TV in that room, the fridge in that room, a game system (PS4 or Xbox 360), and possibly something else was plugged in. Then my husband plugged an electric skillet into the GFI under the kitchen cabinet and the GFI popped, along with the breaker.

Since then, I know it has tripped with nothing actively going besides the AC, fridge in that room, and the main fridge and water heater. Had a RV tech come by for a minute, he told me I was pulling too much power, to put my fridge and water heater on propane. I switched both over and it still happened. (Hold that thought, I think I know what you're thinking)

So, I explained the 30amps to hubby and the kids, we unplugged all unnecessaries on that breaker, which meant most of the time, the only things plugged in to those outlets were the fridge and TV, both of which came in the camper to begin with. It would pop midday, when temps were in the 90s outside (AC struggling to keep it in the low 80s inside). I assumed it was due to the AC working too hard. But, it was an issue because of being full-time right now, we really need that 2nd fridge and were storing food and veggies in the freezer. (We have never plugged anything into that GFI again)

Travel cross country began, it would pop every night, kids were beyond frustrated, whole reason we bought THIS camper was that awesome double slide bedroom for them. Even with the TV unplugged and just the fridge plugged in, we could not plug in their cell phones on those outlets.

We got to our final stop, I did some more reading, decided somehow we were pulling too much power on that circuit. Bought an orange extension and a 6 outlet surge protector, and ran the dang thing out the window. Now the only things plugged in on that circuit are the TV and their game system. I have the fridge and their phone chargers on the surge protector that's plugged into a separate outlet on the pedestal.

It still trips daily and takes hours to be able to reset (cooling down, I assume). TODAY, it did not trip....today is also the first day we have NOT run the AC. They played their game system most of the day (first free day we've had in over 2 months, don't judge me too harshly for letting them play all day), which also means the TV ran all day.

(Back to my comment....the RV tech said I needed to switch the fridge and water heater to propane cuz we were drawing too much power and that was causing that breaker to trip. OK, about that. Granted we haven't RV'd in 5 years (someone was living in our old RV for almost 4 years of that, so all we did is towed it around the country with us and crashed in it briefly at night for stops, didn't even bother to use the fridge those nights)....but...in our old Forest River Wildwood, also 30amp, we had no problems with breakers ever, and with the exception of the 2nd fridge, we traveled with most of the same stuff. Used two 32" Samsung LCDs, use coffeepots, computers, cell phones, etc. If I have this worked out in my head correctly, using too much power overall (ie, having the main fridge and water heater on electric, running the AC nonstop, using the microwave, both TVs...wouldn't I pop the main breaker on the power pedestal? I have no idea how, or if it is even possible, to test how many amps I'm using on that circuit to see if I'm somehow overloading it all the time. If it helps any to figure it out, we used 708 kwh in 30 days.)

Lyrics · 09-22-2015, 09:10 PM

Mark and 4kids, thank you, I did indeed find the microwave plugged into the ceiling in that cabinet. Unplugged for 5 minutes, I was able to get past the child lock symbol for now, but I still don't have use of about half the buttons. (That is however better than I've had before, usually only the Start/+30sec button would work.)

Now I can use the number buttons, but none of the control buttons besides the set clock. (So I can't set the timed cook to say 7 minutes, I have only the express 1-5 minutes and the add 30 seconds)

**mark5w** · 09-22-2015, 09:14 PM

Do you use a surge protector on your rv? Sounds like the microwave may have taken a spike hit.

Stan · 09-22-2015, 09:39 PM

It does look like your breakers are all singles. It could be just a bad/sensitive breaker. You might have a friend that is more familiar with electrics and have him temporarily swap the black wires on the breakers marked FRONT and BACK to see if the issue either goes away or you start losing the front outlets which would indicate a bad breaker. (Make sure the 120v power to the rig is UNPLUGGED!)

sleepyT · 09-23-2015, 05:18 AM

Lyrics
By looking at your breaker picture I take it that your camper is 30 amp...If that is true then your A/C is NOT on a separate circuit...You mentioned you had run an extension cord outside from inside the camper...Try this, plug that extension cord into the 20 amp plug in the campground pedestal for your electrical needs outside...I found that when I owned a 30 amp camper, when the A/C was running and the grand kids were in the bathroom fixing their hair (all girls) (hair dryer) it would trip the breaker...If that does not help, start looking under your camper slides for 4 inch electrical boxes with a cover plate on them...

matherne · 09-23-2015, 09:25 AM

Lyrics,

I'm not an electrician but have done a fair amount of electrical work. Changing the breaker is easy and should be fairly cheap. Never changed one in an rv but I assume they are similiar to those in a house. They pull right out by pulling the outter end out and then you remove the wire by loosing the lug with a screwdriver. Put new breaker in in reverse order. Of course turn electrical off before you start since your not an electrician. If this doesn't fix it you wont be out much. It still sounds like a failing breaker to me. I assume eventualty it will not reset at all. I agree with the electrician you did have it overloaded. If you kept on resetting it and overloading it you may have worn it out. A Hot water heater draws a lot of amps. It was probably tripping as soon as the hot water heater cycled on.

matherne · 09-23-2015, 09:55 AM

Lyrics,

Forgot to mention in my last post. You will have to remove the panel cover to expose the brakers before trying to remove it. Also make sure all wire connections are tight. A loose connection can cause overheating.

harley · 09-23-2015, 03:54 PM

Just as a side note ..the guys that install the electrical probably are not electricians either...and may have hooked the water heaternto that circuit. Remember there is no inspection at the factories. It could happen .

matherne · 09-23-2015, 04:41 PM

When I mentioned the hot water heater I guess I assumed it was on that breaker also since the electrician told you to run them on gas. But looking at the picture it looks like your hot water heater is own its own circuit and should not affect the breaker you are having trouble with. Unless what harley mentioned is the case. Does the hot water heater still function on electrical when your breaker is tripped. it sounds like you are wasting gas on your main frig and hot water heater if they are not on that breaker. I assume you have a second frig plugged into the breaker you are having problems with.

Lyrics · 09-24-2015, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark5w

Do you use a surge protector on your rv? Sounds like the microwave may have taken a spike hit.

Yikes, no I don't have a protector on it. The micro is right back to its old tricks, LOL. My husband got the timer button to work last night while I was baking cookies, and in the middle of it we heard the familiar beeeeep, and it was back to child lock. When we got it disengaged, it had canceled the timer.

Lyrics · 09-24-2015, 08:30 AM

Yes the camper is 30amp and I have the extension I ran plugged into the 20amp on the pedestal.

OK, so using the AC could cause the breaker to pop? It did pop again last night but I'm not sure if it was while the AC was on or not. Hubby did turn the AC on while we were cooking dinner. (He's not here for me to ask if the AC was on when it went out)

I have watched a video on changing a breaker, it said RV breakers can be hard to find? I don't have any RV stores near me, closest CW is over 100 miles away. There may be local stores I haven't discovered yet, but should I be able to find the breaker at a hardware store?

I assume I would disconnect both the power from the pedestal and disconnect the battery as well before playing in the grey box under the slide and doing the breaker.

There is a grey box under the main slide, the other two slides don't seem to have anything visible under them.

Lyrics · 09-24-2015, 09:13 AM

Oh another question. If I pull this breaker, can I turn the camper power back on while the breaker is out? We have a lot of critters in the camper and most days need to run the AC while we are out to keep it at a tolerable temp for them.

matherne · 09-24-2015, 10:22 AM

A/C should not affect that breaker. 12v battery should not be tied into the 110v breakers but you can disconnect it to be safe. Yes you can remove the breaker and run everything else just tuck away the wire so it doesn't come in contact with anythign when you turn the electricity back on. What I would do if the breaker is not readily available is remove the hot water heater breaker and the suspected faulty breaker. Take the wires connected to each and swap them. Remember to tighten them good! Now put the breakers back in where they were. Keep in mind they will be mislabled until you put them back in the right place or relabel them. If you prefer you can swap the original positions of the breakers so it will be labled right but I would try it the other way first to make sure there isn't anything wrong with your breaker box connections. See what happens. If the problem is now with your hot water heater and not the back area you have a bad breaker. Order online and have it shipped ups to whereever you are.

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