# 15 Amp Breaker Keeps Tripping When I Plug Trailer In



## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

Hello Outback friends,

I'm having a problem with one of my 15 amp breakers on my 2006 26RS. When I plug my 30amp power chord into my home outlet (using a 30amp to regular power adapter), one of my 15 amp breaker immediately trips. This didn't always happen. I had it plugged in the other night and everything was fine. I was sitting in my house with my wife when all the lights briefly dimmed and we heard a humming noise. This lasted a couple seconds. I figured something happened with the trailer which was still plugged in in our driveway. When I went out there, the 15amp breaker labeled Rec/Con was tripped (shown in attached picture). I tried resetting it and it immediately trips. I can hear a brief hum when I reset it. Last season I had it plugged into my house the same way with no issues. The only thing I can think of that was different was that I was using a different extension chord to connect to the trailer's 30 amp chord. Maybe a different gauge chord. But I after I thought of this, I connected the the trailer's 30amp chord directly to my house's power (no extension chord). Still tripped the breaker immediately. I'm not using anything appliances or lights when this happens. Here's the promising part (I think?). When I'm using battery power, everything works. The breaker doesn't trip. Anyone have any ideas on what could be going on here? We're supposed to go on our first trip this weekend so I'd love to get this resolved by then.

What I've done to troubleshoot this so far:

I've checked all the fuses. They're fine.

I've checked the GFCI outlets to make sure they're not tripped.

I've plugged into a different outlet at my house.

I've tried a different 30amp to 15amp adapter.

The only thing I haven't tried is plugging the trailer's 30 amp chord into another outlet on my house without an extension chord. The only problem is that I don't have another outlet close enough that is on a different breaker. I do have a 30 amp extension chord that will reach another outlet on a different breaker on my house that probably uses less power.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

When on battery the breakers are not used, only fuses. The fuses are not affected by 120 volt AC issues.

The issue is the WFCO converter/battery charger has failed. There are many replacement converters to pick from and they are easy to replace but will set you back $100 to $200 depending on the quality and features.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

@CamperAndy Thank you for answering. Any suggestions on which WFCO converter to buy? How do I know if it is compatible with my trailer? Also how sure are you about that being the problem? I'm amazed you knew what the problem was. I know nothing about this, so I'm trying to get as much info as possible before I attempt doing this myself. Where is the converter located and is there an install guide available somewhere?


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The converter is below the breaker/fuse panel and about 99% are interchangeable. Once you pull the cover off there are only 5 wires and a couple of screws.

As for how I determined the issue, it is a common failure mode. The Rec/Con breaker supplies power to the Converter, that is what the Con in Re/Con stands for. If nothing is connected to the Receptacles (The Rec part of the description) then the converter is the only thing it can be. If you have a meter you van check the converter output but since the breaker keeps tripping I would guess when you slide it out you will see burnt components on the converter.

Go to BestConverters.com and you will have most if not all the info you need.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

I'll check it out and let you know how it goes. Thanks.


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

Good answer Camper_Andy! thumbright worthy thumbleft It really is good to know that there are people here on Outbackers that know their stuff. You got my vote for contributor of the day!!


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Leedek said:


> Good answer Camper_Andy! thumbright worthy thumbleft It really is good to know that there are people here on Outbackers that know their stuff. You got my vote for contributor of the day!!


I try, thanks. That said auto correct keeps miss correcting stuff. I went back to read my last post and it had a ton of errors. At least I am confident the issue is the converter.


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Be sure to check out the information in this thread --> 12v Converter Upgrade Although the thread is a bit dated, the information is still relevant. I replaced the the converter in our 2004 Outback and it was one of the first mods I did when we picked up our 2013 Outback.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

I ordered a replacement converter which is arriving today. I looked at the one that's installed right now, but I couldn't find any burnt components. Would there definitely be burnt parts in there? I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that replacing the converter will fix my issue. Otherwise we're probably canceling our trip planned for tomorrow. I guess we could camp off battery power, which we have never done before, but none of my outlets are working when running on the battery. Does anyone know if that is normal? Does the converter need to be working to convert the battery power to outlet power. I don't know a lot about this, but that seems to make sense. DC power needs to be converted to AC power, which all the outlet run on?


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

windwill said:


> I ordered a replacement converter which is arriving today. I looked at the one that's installed right now, but I couldn't find any burnt components. Would there definitely be burnt parts in there? I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that replacing the converter will fix my issue. Otherwise we're probably canceling our trip planned for tomorrow. I guess we could camp off battery power, which we have never done before, but none of my outlets are working when running on the battery. Does anyone know if that is normal? Does the converter need to be working to convert the battery power to outlet power. I don't know a lot about this, but that seems to make sense. DC power needs to be converted to AC power, which all the outlet run on?


AC is converted to DC and DC is inverted to AC. The outlets only work when connected to shore power and the batteries do not provide AC unless you have an inverter.

Disconnect the converter from the AC panel and then reconnect the shore power the 15 am breaker should not trip. If it still trips with the converter disconnected then you have a ground/short in one of the receptacles. You will need to get an electrician to fix the short if you do not feel competent to repair.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

So I installed the new power converter, but it didn't work. Same thing happened as soon as I plugged in the power. Same breaker tripped immediately. So I took your other advice and disconnected the converter from the AC panel and reconnected the shore power. The breaker still tripped. So I guess I have a short in one of the receptacles. Looks like I'll be calling an electrician or taking it to a shop. One more question. Would using a standard 16 gauge extension chord connected to the 30 amp chord have anything to do with this issue? I read that you shouldn't use anything less than 10 gauge.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

Yes, as far as I know, the converter is the only circuit connected to REC/CON. When I removed the old converter and added the new one, this was the only wire going into the 15 amp breaker for REC/CON. You can't really see in the picture attached, but the bottom breaker has the converter going in the top 15 amp and the bottom 15 amp has a wire for the hot water heater I guess (that's how it is labeled).

So I think the converter can be ruled out as the issue. Now it's a matter of finding out which receptacle is shorting? Would this be a job for any electrician or would an RV service dept. be better for looking at this type of issue?


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The GFCI circuit has its own breaker.

You will have to identify the ones not on the GFCI circuit. Is the fridge working on AC when plugged into shore power?


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

Windwill - Take the time to read the thread I linked here: http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=85787.0 The systematic approach to finding the short should help you find your problem. As stated in the text, write down what circuit goes to what breaker. A dead short will cause an immediate trip of breaker. undoing all the receptacles and adding one back at a time seems a rational and logical approach.

I read a thread yesterday that stated REC/CON breakers have receptacles, converter, and refrigerator in circuit. Your refrigerator, if in circuit, may have a dead short.

KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOUT YOU WHEN SWITCHING AC OFF AND ON. BEING ZAPPED BY 120VAC IS NOT PLEASANT.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

This might be making sense now. No, the fridge is not working when plugged in to shore power. I actually went camping this weekend for a couple nights and was able to narrow down the problem to 5 outlets not working, 1 of those being the fridge. The lights, monitor/control panel, furnace and fridge only ran off battery power. My plan was to have an electrician look at this, but should I just start replacing receptacles, beginning with the one for the fridge?

Also one mistake I've been making is that I haven't unplugged the fridge when plugging into shore power. Before this weekend's trip, I kind of forgot that the fridge has its own receptacle behind the outside panel. So I'm guessing if the fridge is the issue, I can unplug the fridge and the breaker shouldn't trip when I plug in shore power.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

windwill said:


> So I'm guessing if the fridge is the issue, I can unplug the fridge and the breaker shouldn't trip when I plug in shore power.


This would be 100% correct. If the issue is the fridge then even just switching the fridge to GAS only, then the breaker would not trip. The fridge has a heating coil that could be shorted and it is not likely the receptacle.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

So I made some progress last night. First I started by unplugging the fridge and hooked up the shore power. The REC/CON breaker still tripped. Next, I disconnected the receptacle that the fridge was plugged into. While doing this I found that one of the Romex wires looked like the coating was somehow cut or worn down or maybe even chewed to where the wire was exposed. See the attached pics. So obviously this was a red flag. I wrapped the damaged wire in electrical tape. Then I disconnected the receptacle. There are 3 sets of wires connected to it (attached pic). I taped up the ends and left them disconnected, then reconnected the shore power. Went in and turned on the breaker and IT DIDN"T TRIP!! So I think I have the problem narrowed down to the bad wire and fridge receptacle, although I'm not sure if the receptacle is bad yet, but I'll probably replace it anyway. So after all of this, almost everything in the camper is working. There are still 3 outlets that are not working. This is the only thing left that is worrying me. Is this because I left the wires to the fridge receptacle disconnected? Again, I don't know very much about how this all works, but I'm assuming that because the fridge receptacle wires were disconnected, maybe the other receptacles were not getting power due to an incomplete circuit? I ran out of time last night so I couldn't reconnect everything and test. I'll be doing this tonight. As far as the damaged wire goes, should I replace it? Is the electrical tape repair enough? I think there's enough play in the wire to where I can cut off the damaged part and still have enough wire to connect to a new receptacle.

Thanks again to everyone who has replied to this issue. I really appreciate everyone's help and getting me this far.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

There are additional tests you can do but the damaged section is as you say a red flag. If there is enough play then cut back to that section and reconnect everthing to complete the circuits and try the power again.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

I was able to reconnect the receptacle last night. I didn't cut back the bad part of the wire yet. I only wrapped it in electrical tape. I wanted to wait and test the receptacle first. After connecting everything and plugging in the shore power, the breaker stayed on for about a minute, then tripped. So now I guess I have to try cutting out the bad part of the wire before I try adding a new receptacle.

If the bad section of wire is the problem, why would the breaker not trip when none of the wires are connected to the receptacle? Is it because there's no power flowing through that wire? So when I connect the wire to the receptacle, the power flow is resumed through the bad wire causing the short? Would the electrical tape not be enough to fix the short?

Also, see the attached pics of the receptacle. Should I replace it with the exact same one (I believe they are called a self-contained receptacle) or can I use a different one? Any suggestions on what receptacle I could use instead?


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

Adding a link to this document in case anyone is looking for the wiring for this type of receptacle.

http://mobilehomepartsstore.com/Merchant2/documents/scd-instructions.pdf


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

windwill said:


> If the bad section of wire is the problem, why would the breaker not trip when none of the wires are connected to the receptacle? Is it because there's no power flowing through that wire? So when I connect the wire to the receptacle, the power flow is resumed through the bad wire causing the short? Would the electrical tape not be enough to fix the short?


The issue is internal of the wire. when you moved it it changed from a dead short with instant trip to a partial/high resistance short and did not trip immediately until the wires heated up. Covering the outside of the bad section with tape will not fix the internal short in that section of wire.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

Ok, I think I finally have this resolved. I cut off the bad section of wire last night and wired up a new receptacle. Plugged in shore power and EVERYTHING is working. All of the outlets inside are working now. The new receptacle for the fridge is also working. And the breaker no longer trips. I have a couple things left to do like put back the old converter. I'm pretty sure the new converter didn't do anything to help, so I'm going to hook up the old one and return the new one to Amazon ($150 saved there). The new receptacle I hooked up was just a regular $2 Pass & Seymour 15-Amp Duplex. I hooked this up just to test. I'd like to replace it with a new self-contained receptacle, which I ordered here: http://www.magicmobilehomesupply.com/Snap_On_Self_Contained_Receptacle_White_p/487.htm

The self-contained receptacle was what was originally there.

Thanks again to all who replied, especially CamperAndy. I don't think I would have figured this out without you guys and I would have ended up taking it to a dealer who would have charged me a lot more than the $12 it ended up costing me. Thanks again!! Happy Camping this summer!


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

In my opinion, if you have already installed the new converter, keep it. You will end up saving way more than the $150 you spent on the new converter in the long term cost of replacing the battery due to the piece of junk factory installed converter cooking and killing your battery. The factory standard ones are notorious for not kicking off bulk charge mode and boiling the water from your battery.

Are you guys heading out camping this Memorial Weekend? We are heading over to Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park and plan to head into Galena for the day on Saturday.


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## windwill (Sep 10, 2015)

I already returned the converter. Until I see a problem with it, I'll keep the original. Right now it's working, so I'll keep the $150 in my pocket. No, I didn't go anywhere for Memorial Day. We stayed home so I could get everything with this shorted wire in order. Which I was finally able to do. The old converter is back in place and the new self-contained receptacle is wired up and installed for the fridge. Everything is working!


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

Ahh... relax and have a cool one! http://cdn.instructables.com/FFY/C13O/H6S4G5V7/FFYC13OH6S4G5V7.MEDIUM.gif


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