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Old 02-20-2015, 04:21 PM   #1
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Exclamation Shore Power causing GFI fuse to blow

Please Help! Looking for some trouble shooting advice...

We have a Sunset Trails 32 Bunk House (ST32BH) and have had the this issue a couple of times. When we plug into shore power in a GFI outlet it pops the fuse within 5-6 seconds. It is a 30amp GFI outlet and the only thing on in the camper is the fridge. I have ensured the AC is off and none of the fuses are blown within the camper. I have switched to a different AC outlet (on a different GFI switch) and it still blows. I have changed extension cords and it still blows. We have had the camper for about a year and had this issue several months ago after the dealership pulled one of the slide outs to work on the seals for a leaking issue. I took the camper back and explained the situation and they said they could not duplicate it. After pulling camper home it worked fine on shore power for several months, but now the issue is back!
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Old 02-20-2015, 04:28 PM   #2
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Change the GFI. Look for a junction box under the slide, p[ull the cover and make certain no water is in there. Seal with a good sealer.
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Old 02-20-2015, 04:36 PM   #3
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Couple things to clarify....When you plug into the campground (or other) power, the GFI on the pedestal trips...Correct? Your not talking about a GFI inside the rig right?
This has happened on several DIFFERENT pedestals right?

It sounds like you have a short or miswired circuit. Turn off ALL Circuit Breakers (CB's) in the rig. Plug into the pedestal (or source). Now turn on one CB at time and wait to see if the GFI trips. If not, turn on another CB and wait. Do this until all CB's are on and hopefully you will discover which circuit has an issue. Once you figure out the circuit, let us know and we will help you continue troubleshooting. It could be a faulty GFI within the rig, water in a junction box, bad wiring at an outlet, etc. The first thing is to isolate the issue down to a circuit.
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Old 02-20-2015, 04:43 PM   #4
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fhenn,

you're a rockstar! That just worked and the junction box was smack full of water. Do you think the water leaked in from the top or the bottom? I can seal the bottom, but don't know how I would get to the top of the junction box to seal it.
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Old 02-20-2015, 04:54 PM   #5
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More than likely came in where they mated just seal that area well
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Old 02-20-2015, 05:04 PM   #6
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fhenn,

will do and thanks again!
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Old 02-20-2015, 05:16 PM   #7
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Somebody educate me, please. When I put a 30 amp RV outlet in my back yard, I found that 30 amp GFIs were rare and expensive. I put in a regular outlet. Stan mentioned multiple pedestals. I have never seen a GFI 30 (or 50) in a campground; only the 20 amp outlets are GFI protected. Did the "norm" somehow change since last season? BTW, great call on water in the box! The GFI did exactly what it was designed to do! If 30 amp GFIs become more common, we might all remember this thread!
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Old 02-20-2015, 05:45 PM   #8
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The GFI is inside your camper. Mine has two GFI's One is located in the bathroom and the other one is in the kitchen. Generally they are not out doors or on a pedestal
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Old 02-20-2015, 06:20 PM   #9
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The GFI I was referring to was at my house. It never happened in the campground and only happened when I used shore power at my house. We normally pull the camper to the house the day prior to leaving in order to cool the fridge down. And when I used plugged in (at my house) to a 30amp non-GFI outlet it worked. Weird... But, as fhenn recommended I drained the water out of the junction box and shore power is working fine in the GFI outlet. What is amazing is, I took the camper to my stealership and they couldn't diagnose the problem. Thank goodness for forums!
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Old 02-20-2015, 06:30 PM   #10
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Sorry for the confusion. I was trying to answer your request based on what you wrote..."When we plug into shore power in a GFI outlet it pops the fuse within 5-6 seconds. It is a 30amp GFI outlet...". Glad you found the problem.
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Old 02-20-2015, 06:32 PM   #11
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No problem, confusion is on my part! Thanks for giving it a shot.
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Old 02-20-2015, 07:10 PM   #12
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Jattaway, I'm still confused, excuse me please. How many 30 amp outlets do you have in your house? You mentioned going from a 30 amp gci to a non-gci 30 amp. Are you talking about big RV 30 amp plugs, or the normal household (with and without GFI) 20 amp outlets?
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Old 02-21-2015, 05:22 AM   #13
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MartyinSC,

I was talking about hooking my shore power cable into a normal household outlet, not a big RV outlet. Just checked my circuit box in my house and it was a 20 amp GFI outlet that I was plugging into and causing it to blow. I switched the shore power to another 20 amp GFI and it still blew. I then hooked it outlet my washing machine is on (30 amp non-GFI outlet) and it worked. As fhenn recommended I extended the slide out and checked out the junction box (under the living room). It was full of water, so I drained it and resealed it. It is no longer blowing the 20 amp GFI.
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Old 02-21-2015, 07:59 AM   #14
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Jattaway, thanks for the explanation. Now it all makes sense, even to an old guy! LOL
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