bestbowl Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Hello, I have an 87 Dolphin and none of the AC power is working (sockets, air conditioner). All the fuses and wiring look good and I have tripped the breakers several times (the breakers were not tripped/ off to begin with). I just bought it and the AC power has never worked for me. I was wondering if this is common and if there is something that I should check first (i.e. dead power converter etc)? Thanks in advance for any ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 There is a main breaker 30 amp it is connected to the power cord in turn it feeds the other breakers a/c, outlets and the converter. If the converter is toes up it will have no effect on the a/c or outlets just the lights and battery charging. If you do not understand 120 volt power it's best left to so one that does the breaker panel needs to come apart and power through the shore power cord tested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyomota Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 If you can get one of those AC proximity tester from any home center, they're great for tracing faults in AC lines. Before you plug in your "shore" power cord, turn off all the lights, appliances, converter and accessories. Now once plugged in, use that tester to see if power is going to the 30A main breaker which Maineah have mentioned. If you have power on the main, check each breaker if it's getting distributed to all. If everything is good there, switch on your appliances and accessories one at a time to find the offending one. I had this kinda problem before, and what happened was the old converter/charger combined with a dying coach battery was drawing too much current from our outside AC outlet which tripped the house breaker constantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 If you do not understand 120 volt power it's best left to so one that does the breaker panel needs to come apart and power through the shore power cord tested. Words of wisdom, I agree! If you can get one of those AC proximity tester from any home center, they're great for tracing faults in AC lines. The proximity testers will test the hot side but will not show a problem if the loose connection or fault is on the neutral side as the light will still illuminate or the buzzer buzz. Our maintenance guys are always stumped when they tell me the proximity tester says there is power in the outlet but the TV will not turn on. Its because the neutral died somewhere. With a standard multi tester you will be able to run other tests such as continuity on your shore power cord and the brakers etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyomota Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Words of wisdom, I agree! The proximity testers will test the hot side but will not show a problem if the loose connection or fault is on the neutral side as the light will still illuminate or the buzzer buzz. Our maintenance guys are always stumped when they tell me the proximity tester says there is power in the outlet but the TV will not turn on. Its because the neutral died somewhere. With a standard multi tester you will be able to run other tests such as continuity on your shore power cord and the brakers etc.. Thanks for that follow-up Greg, I was gonna edit my post regarding the neutral side. But here's the thing though, if a person is afraid to touch that high voltage-high current wire with his multimeter's probe for the reason of getting electrocuted, then a Non-contact tester is probably the way to go - I think. Just turn on whatever is plugged in (might not work with some solid-state relays and appliances)to that outlet to complete the circuit then "buzz buzz" away the neutral line til gone, then there's your break... kinda like the christmas light tester. But I'm ball-c enough to use both AC-PT and MMtester because I use it at work. With Maineah's words of wisdom, I totally agree to that as well. And folks, the last main thing is ..... -Safety First- ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Yeah you really need to check for 120 volt power at the breaker box it can have a bad neutral they are floating neutrals (not connected to ground). They are insulated in the breaker box so unlike a house system it can not supply return voltage through the ground. I would be very concerned about the ground also you don't want a hot motor home so if there is one broken wire there maybe two. Some thing is wrong and it really needs to be looked at by some one that knows or understands MH wiring. I would drag the power cord out all the way and have a good look at it to see if it has been run over or if there is some other damage. The reason they float the neutral is because if some wing nut at the camp ground wired a outlet backwards you can't end up with a hot frame. I like the little testers and I use them but only to give me a heads up that there maybe power there then I break out the DVM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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