110 volt outlet/refrigerator circuits

[bobby_409]

Does anyone know if the 110 volt outlets for refrigerator and inside outlet go through (are connected) to the back of the GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) located on the wall next to the frigerater and above the generator switch in a 1992 B Model. I had no power to frig or the outlet at the door and by resetting GFCI it or a gremlin caused the power to come back on. There is no way to make a physical inspection. The wiring discription needless to say is very sparing in all areas.

[Alaskan]

Correct Robert....

If the GFI is tripped the rear 110 outlets stop working as they are behind the GFI outlet.

That can create a problem with the frig being turned off and you not being aware of it.

[skater]

Does anyone know if the 110 volt outlets for refrigerator and inside outlet go through (are connected) to the back of the GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) located on the wall next to the frigerater and above the generator switch in a 1992 B Model. I had no power to frig or the outlet at the door and by resetting GFCI it or a gremlin caused the power to come back on. There is no way to make a physical inspection. The wiring discription needless to say is very sparing in all areas.

That's useful to know. In mine, the GFCI outlet has a little light in it that comes on when the outlets are powered, which I mainly use to make sure the shore power is working. But now I know to keep an eye on it while I'm actually camping, too.

[Alaskan]

Those GFI's can become sensitive if they have been kicked off a number of times like a breaker...

Slight power surges from the 110 power cord can affect them also....

In our rigs, in-my-opinion, they aren't worth the trouble they can cause, like kicking the refrigerator off....replaced mine with a non-GFI

Don't forget an inline surge protector on your 110 cord....rather than having to deal with it on the plug end I installed it on the other end in the compartment where the cord is stored under the shower stall.....that type mod can easily be done on the pre 1997 rigs.

[skater]

Don't forget an inline surge protector on your 110 cord....rather than having to deal with it on the plug end I installed it on the other end in the compartment where the cord is stored under the shower stall.....that type mod can easily be done on the pre 1997 rigs.

That's a good idea. I'll have to look into that.

[Alaskan]

Stay Tuned for a picture of that....

These are available at any RV supply for about a hundred bucks...they come with a plug on each end and are actually made to go on the other end of your power cord...

I chose to install it permanently (between the 2 metal electrical boxes there in the picture below) on the vehicle end...it was a pretty easy project

Also note that due to the fact I never use my roof-air conditioner while plugged into 110v....I removed that big ole hard-to-coil-up cord ya gotta drag or push back into the compartment with a smaller power cord that plugs into that short pig-tail..

[Planck]

1993 B190 Ground fault problem

I just installed a new converter from Best Converter. Never had the 110 plugged in with the old Megatek unit, so not sure if this is a new problem, or it was there with the old converter. My guess is that is was there with the old unit also.

The problem is that the interior ground fault outlet was tripping in about 3 seconds. I replaced it with a new ground fault outlet and now it trips in about 18 seconds. If that does not trip, the ground fault on my outside garage outlet where I have the camper plugged in will trip. If I turn off the outlet breaker at the panel, the garage ground fault will not trip. Microwave and roof air/heater work fine. Also no power at the outlet where fridge plugs in. I think this is a separate circuit than the interior outlets, as a test light on the fridge outlet never lights up in those 18 seconds before the interior ground fault trips.

Anyone run into this problem? I really don't want to eliminate the ground fault outlet. Something fixable is causing this.

Thanks

Update on 5/11/11
Well, the 120v fridge outlet is on the same circuit. When I unplug the fridge, ground fault no longer trips. And the 120 heating element is leaking to ground, so a new one is on order. Hopefully this will fix the problem.

[Roadhog]

Unplug your frig and try to reset the GFI ckts. If this works, then you have a bad 110 volt heater element in your frig. These elements when shorted will trip the GFI ckts. You can also doublecheck by plugging the frig into a GFI protected house ckt , if it trips this ckt you definetly have a bad frig 110 V element.
Happy trails, Howard

[Roadhog]

Sorry I didn't read your update before responding. You got it identified correctley and that will solve your problem.
Howard