# Blowing Breaker



## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

i have a 07 23rs and i keep blowing the main 30 amp breaker in the trailer . i,m hooked up to a 30 amp breaker with a properrv plug in my house with 25 foot rv extension. the trailer has been plugged in for a couple of weeks. yesterday i plugged in a little heater into it the heater was working i went back and checked on it after a couple hours and the breaker was blown. had the same problem last year when i used the air conditioner. that is why i put in the proper plug on the house. last year i had it checked while still under warranty and they found nothing wrong. HELP!!


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Be patient...the electricians will be along soon...


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## russk42 (Sep 10, 2007)

I assume that you're no longer under warranty? depending on your relationship with the dealer, you might get them to fix it; based on the fact that you had the problem last year. That may be your best course of action.

My best guess is that it's a bad breaker. They're not expensive; if you have some mechanical ability, you could replace it yourself.

30 Amps is a lot of current: I don't know what the rating on your heater is, but it's most likely 15 amps or less. Assuming your water heater is off, the only other load is the 12v charger: which should be MUCH less than 15 amps.


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

bcdude said:


> i have a 07 23rs and i keep blowing the main 30 amp breaker in the trailer . i,m hooked up to a 30 amp breaker with a properrv plug in my house with 25 foot rv extension. the trailer has been plugged in for a couple of weeks. yesterday i plugged in a little heater into it the heater was working i went back and checked on it after a couple hours and the breaker was blown. had the same problem last year when i used the air conditioner. that is why i put in the proper plug on the house. last year i had it checked while still under warranty and they found nothing wrong. HELP!!


 I would prefer to be looking at it in person, but here is a couple of things to check.

I was blowing fuses also. I blew one because I hooked the battery up backwards..oops, did I just say that.....









Check your battery leads. Your looking for chaffing or scuffed insulation.

Does your battery have a charge? Is it hooked up? Is it hooked up correctly?

- From the negative post of your battery trace back the wire to the ground bolt on your camper frame.
- from the positive post do the same to the terminal block mounted on the frame.
- Make sure there isn't a poor lug or wires/lugs making contact with each other. 
- Check the wires from the terminal block back as far as you can go under the camper. You may find a lead pinched just enough. 
- Disconnect the battery.
- Disconnect AC power from the camper.
- Open the converter panel, inspect for pinched, frayed, or chaffed insulation.

- With a voltmeter measure the resistance from the Negative battery lead terminal lug to bare metal on the frame. You should read about 1.0 Ohm. If you have high resistance, remove the bolted lug from the frame, clean it with a wire brush or other tool to ensure you have a clean ground. Measure again to ensure you have low resistance. Inspect the lugs as well.

- Using the voltmeter again, *ensure no power applied to the camper* measure your battery cable positive side to the frame mounted terminal block. ensure you have low resistance. Measure from the terminal block to the frame. You should have NO continuity, the meter should read open. If you can read continuity from the terminal block to the frame you have a short. A high resistance short could cause the problem you are experiencing. Any added load is enough to cause a large current draw and cause the fuse to open.

- At the converter panel with no power applied, find the battery charging terminal and measure resistance to ground at the panel. you may have to go to the frame again. Ensure no continuity. Ensure your Positive battery cable is not making contact with any metal.

A few questions.

- Does the fuse blow when any particular appliance is used or any?
- What did the dealer check specifically? Did the look at the converter panel, breakers and fuses specifically or did they try ringing out the wires?

Notes: The problem is going to be from the breaker panel into your camper somewhere, not to your home or extension cord.

if you are blowing the fuse and tripping the breaker at the same time you have grounding out to the frame. You have to isolate what it is. Hopefully you'll find it is a battery cable.

I hope this is some help. Give us more info or pictures as you troubleshoot.

P.S. The dealer said they can't find the problem? Dump the blown fuses in their hands and have them explain what they are.

Eric


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

bcdude said:


> ...25 foot rv extension...


Hmmm. So let me get this straight. You are using your camper's 25' electrical cord which is then plugged into a 25' extension for a total cord run of 50'? This could be critical and effect the troubleshooting answers you will get.

But my thoughts are still that you're just plain drawing too much current, even without an extension. It all adds up quick. I will normally blow the main breaker running the air and microwave at the same time. In your case an electric space heater that could easily draw 15 amps, the converter in charge mode can draw alot of amps, then Lord forbid if you've got the water heater on in electric mode. POP!

I'm not saying that there is not a mechanical/electrical challenge that may need to be addressed. But carefully consider and investigate all of the 120v items that were running and add up their amperage draw. This is further exacerbated if you do indeed have a 50' cord run which will lower the total amperage available. It may be that simple.

After that I would keep it simple at first and check all of your electrical connections inside the main panel looking for loose screws.


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

egregg57 said:


> i have a 07 23rs and i keep blowing the main 30 amp breaker in the trailer . i,m hooked up to a 30 amp breaker with a properrv plug in my house with 25 foot rv extension. the trailer has been plugged in for a couple of weeks. yesterday i plugged in a little heater into it the heater was working i went back and checked on it after a couple hours and the breaker was blown. had the same problem last year when i used the air conditioner. that is why i put in the proper plug on the house. last year i had it checked while still under warranty and they found nothing wrong. HELP!!


 I would prefer to be looking at it in person, but here is a couple of things to check.

I was blowing fuses also. I blew one because I hooked the battery up backwards..oops, did I just say that.....









Check your battery leads. Your looking for chaffing or scuffed insulation.

Does your battery have a charge? Is it hooked up? Is it hooked up correctly?

- From the negative post of your battery trace back the wire to the ground bolt on your camper frame.
- from the positive post do the same to the terminal block mounted on the frame.
- Make sure there isn't a poor lug or wires/lugs making contact with each other. 
- Check the wires from the terminal block back as far as you can go under the camper. You may find a lead pinched just enough. 
- Disconnect the battery.
- Disconnect AC power from the camper.
- Open the converter panel, inspect for pinched, frayed, or chaffed insulation.

- With a voltmeter measure the resistance from the Negative battery lead terminal lug to bare metal on the frame. You should read about 1.0 Ohm. If you have high resistance, remove the bolted lug from the frame, clean it with a wire brush or other tool to ensure you have a clean ground. Measure again to ensure you have low resistance. Inspect the lugs as well.

- Using the voltmeter again, *ensure no power applied to the camper* measure your battery cable positive side to the frame mounted terminal block. ensure you have low resistance. Measure from the terminal block to the frame. You should have NO continuity, the meter should read open. If you can read continuity from the terminal block to the frame you have a short. A high resistance short could cause the problem you are experiencing. Any added load is enough to cause a large current draw and cause the fuse to open.

- At the converter panel with no power applied, find the battery charging terminal and measure resistance to ground at the panel. you may have to go to the frame again. Ensure no continuity. Ensure your Positive battery cable is not making contact with any metal.

A few questions.

- Does the fuse blow when any particular appliance is used or any?
- What did the dealer check specifically? Did the look at the converter panel, breakers and fuses specifically or did they try ringing out the wires?

Notes: The problem is going to be from the breaker panel into your camper somewhere, not to your home or extension cord.

if you are blowing the fuse and tripping the breaker at the same time you have grounding out to the frame. You have to isolate what it is. Hopefully you'll find it is a battery cable.

I hope this is some help. Give us more info or pictures as you troubleshoot.

P.S. The dealer said they can't find the problem? Dump the blown fuses in their hands and have them explain what they are.

Eric
[/quote]

Eric, after you put all that effort into your reply; he is popping an _AC_ breaker....not blowing _DC_ fuses.









Bob


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## campingnut18 (Mar 11, 2004)

Hoping the DH will post on our experiences but we had a fuse blow that was 40amp (vs 30). The only place we could get it was Camping World. I am now required to turn other things off like A/C when running the microwave or hairdryer.

C-


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

W4DRR said:


> i have a 07 23rs and i keep blowing the main 30 amp breaker in the trailer . i,m hooked up to a 30 amp breaker with a properrv plug in my house with 25 foot rv extension. the trailer has been plugged in for a couple of weeks. yesterday i plugged in a little heater into it the heater was working i went back and checked on it after a couple hours and the breaker was blown. had the same problem last year when i used the air conditioner. that is why i put in the proper plug on the house. last year i had it checked while still under warranty and they found nothing wrong. HELP!!


I would prefer to be looking at it in person, but here is a couple of things to check.

I was blowing fuses also. I blew one because I hooked the battery up backwards..oops, did I just say that.....









Check your battery leads. Your looking for chaffing or scuffed insulation.

Does your battery have a charge? Is it hooked up? Is it hooked up correctly?

- From the negative post of your battery trace back the wire to the ground bolt on your camper frame.
- from the positive post do the same to the terminal block mounted on the frame.
- Make sure there isn't a poor lug or wires/lugs making contact with each other. 
- Check the wires from the terminal block back as far as you can go under the camper. You may find a lead pinched just enough. 
- Disconnect the battery.
- Disconnect AC power from the camper.
- Open the converter panel, inspect for pinched, frayed, or chaffed insulation.

- With a voltmeter measure the resistance from the Negative battery lead terminal lug to bare metal on the frame. You should read about 1.0 Ohm. If you have high resistance, remove the bolted lug from the frame, clean it with a wire brush or other tool to ensure you have a clean ground. Measure again to ensure you have low resistance. Inspect the lugs as well.

- Using the voltmeter again, *ensure no power applied to the camper* measure your battery cable positive side to the frame mounted terminal block. ensure you have low resistance. Measure from the terminal block to the frame. You should have NO continuity, the meter should read open. If you can read continuity from the terminal block to the frame you have a short. A high resistance short could cause the problem you are experiencing. Any added load is enough to cause a large current draw and cause the fuse to open.

- At the converter panel with no power applied, find the battery charging terminal and measure resistance to ground at the panel. you may have to go to the frame again. Ensure no continuity. Ensure your Positive battery cable is not making contact with any metal.

A few questions.

- Does the fuse blow when any particular appliance is used or any?
- What did the dealer check specifically? Did the look at the converter panel, breakers and fuses specifically or did they try ringing out the wires?

Notes: The problem is going to be from the breaker panel into your camper somewhere, not to your home or extension cord.

if you are blowing the fuse and tripping the breaker at the same time you have grounding out to the frame. You have to isolate what it is. Hopefully you'll find it is a battery cable.

I hope this is some help. Give us more info or pictures as you troubleshoot.

P.S. The dealer said they can't find the problem? Dump the blown fuses in their hands and have them explain what they are.

Eric
[/quote]

Eric, after you put all that effort into your reply; he is popping an _AC_ breaker....not blowing _DC_ fuses.









Bob
[/quote]















Well....errr....Hey If he EVER has a DC problem he's all set!


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## aplvlykat (Jan 25, 2004)

There are several things you will need to check. The first thing to do is to unplug the cord. First do a inspection of the main cord end. Do any look discolored or burnt? If so you will need to replace the cord or the end. Next Locate where the main cord comes into the TT. You should find a 4x4 junction box, untwist one at a time and redo all wire nut connections. Locate the converter and remove the cover. Tighten down all connections in the electrical box. If you want to you can also remove the screws mounting the converter into place, gently slide it out and tighten down all the wires on the 12 volt grounding block that is hidden behind the converter. I know this is 12 volts but almost all mine were loose and it may solve a problem down the road. There has been problems in the past with loose connection and burnt wires on Outbacks. You say you have a RV extension cord? Is it the outback main feed cord ,10 awg wire, or is it a seperate extension cord? If it is a extension cord is it 10 gage wire? Hope this helps, Kirk


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## aplvlykat (Jan 25, 2004)

Some thing else I just thought of, so I will throw this out there. Look at the back of the heater and see if it gives a amperage reading? If it is close to or over 15 amps it will trip the breaker. Almost all the 110 volt wiring is 14 awg wiring in the outback and is only rated for 15 amps max. This includes the A/C circuit. I have, at one time, thought of upgrading the feed to the A/C on mine to 12 awg wires. Kirk


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

I ran into a similar problem last year. Ultimately it turned out to be corrosion induced high-resistance connection where the shore-power cord hooked into the trailer. Everyone has given you great advice. It it doesn't pan out, find where the connection between the power and the trailer takes place and examine the connection. What I found was terrifying. Water had soaked that connection, causing so much resistance the plastic melted completely off of the wire nuts. As the tailer moved the now bare wires would occasionally touch each other or short into the box, causing the circuit breakers in the trailer, house and GFI to blow simultaneously. Once we discovered this we were able to find the source of the water, a leak in our bathtub, and fix it.










Note the corroded wires and the scorch marks on the metal box.










In this picture note the generally cruddy condition of the wiring.

We still consider it amazing we didn't burn the trailer down.

Reverie

PS: It's great to have friends like Bob, Lamar and Tommy, without whom I would never have found this.


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

I would put my money on the wire that feeds the 30amp breaker in the trailers panel is loose or the breaker is loose where it stabs onto the busbar and causing the breaker to heat up and trip.

UNPLUG THE POWER cord and remove the converter cover and check if the wire feeding the 30 is loose or if the breaker puls out with very little effort.

John


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## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

First of all thanks for all the replies. the heater is 1500 watts not sure how many amps? I,m working long hours all weekend so all i managed to check was that all the wires in the fuse/breaker box are tight and look great. the batteries are hooked up propery. nothing else is on. not sure about grounds to dark to crawl around tonight. I bought the outback 500 miles away from where i live so going back there is not really a option. on monday i will check the other things you all suggested and get back to you all. thanks again.

THIS IS THE BEST WEB SITE EVER.


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

That heater only draws 12.5 amps. Pull the 30 out and check to see if its been arcing where it connects to the panel. Or run the heater and see if that breaker is getting warm or if you can hear it arcing inside. You may just have a bad breaker too.

John


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## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

So I,m thinking i was just being paranoid i have had the heater running for three days on high and no problem. 1 hour ago i turned the fridge on electric and have all the lights on and everything good so far.if this works for a couple more hours i,m going to try everyting with the generator.


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## mike elliott (Dec 17, 2007)

I have had the generator on for 4 hours with everything on i could without de-winterizing it and everything is good. so i,m not sure why it blew the breaker the first time but igoing to forget that happened and hope for the best. thanks for the help anyway.







. by the way we were going to go camping this weekend but the provincial campgrounds don,t open till the may 15. and the forestry campgrounds re to muddy or the the lakes are still frozen. (yes still frozen my neibour went for a drive on sunday to our favorite lakes ,a hour drive we live in the country,)so i guesswe,ll just get ready for next weekend.


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