RJsfishin wrote: Didja unplug or shutoff the shorepower, then check all connections for tightness ? A loose connection can cause stuff to warm up when the goin gets tuff !
Changing a breaker is not hard to do, but must be removed (popped out) the right way. If you look at a new one, you can see how it must be removed,....like the right end first etc.
It's not uncommon for the connections to be loose, causing excessive heat.
I would check all breakers (for tight connections) before I started changing anything.
Quote: I should have mentioned that until I became a full timer I lived a pampered and sheltered life. Meaning I could afford to let someone else deal with this and not miss a heart beat. Not so now, this is my puppy and I feel like , like a wus not remembering if this is a simple task of removing culprit circuit and moving on if I don't electrocute myself in the process. So: next question. Should I disconnect batteries if it comes down to replacing a circuit? AND... is it no more difficult than say replacing a fuse?
Tomorrow is expected to be worse and we have two extra bodies to accomodate. Needless to say, I would like the visit to be as comfortable as possible.
There is no need to unhook the battery(s), since the 12 volt system has nothing to do with the 120 volt side UNLESS YOU HAVE AN INVERTER INSTALLED. If you do have an inverter, unhook the battery(s).
After you unhook the electricity, remove the cover over the breaker cover, remove one breaker at a time and tighten the connection where the wire goes into the breaker.
* This post was
edited 05/17/08 06:36am by curt12914 *
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Quote: It's not uncommon for the connections to be loose, causing excessive heat.
I would check all breakers (for tight connections) before I started changing anything.
The neutral wires(the white ones) will also cause the same problem so check them too. Very common in RVs.
I'm with Curt & Sam...most likely a loose wire. The vibration from a traveling RV does this....
I'd suggest disconnecting ALL power and getting behind the panel with a flashlight for a very good look. Tighten every connection, AC and DC. Look for any burned connections, and either clean them or cut them back to good wire and extend if needed. You want the copper to have the color of weak coffee--light brown--never darker than that. A very small smear of a contact antioxidant like Ox-Gard on the copper in the contact works well.
If you don't find something obviously wrong, and you're able to correct it, get a pro. You do not want a fire.
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Check your line voltage then unplug from the park power and check all connections in the panel to make sure there is not a loose connection. Then plug in and try again, if still gets too hot probably time for a new breaker. Easy to change just be sure to unplug from the park power, no need to worry about the batteries, seperate circuit.
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Replaced breakers, 20 amp was bad but replaced 30 as well. So far all appears to be good. No hot box..warm , but not hot. How easy was that!!!
Downside: S.O was de-moted as of today...I now wear the dresses in this family!!!
Thanks all.. life is sweet again...
First: Are you talking about the park's breaker (NOTE: Park can be your private one-rig park) or the main breaker INSIDE your rig?
IF it's a park, and not yours, notify park
Now: I'll divide this in three parts
General comment: HOT boxes are caused by one of three things
Either One: too much current is flowing for the device (wire or breaker) it's flowing through
Two: There is a poor connection inside the box -or-
Three: Direct sunlight (hey the power of the sun is immense)
Part two: Park box issues
If it is the park outlet box, pull your plug and inspect it for any signs of damage. Though plugs, nearly never wear out (They can be burned out) park outlets do, often, and a bad connection between the plug and the outlet is a common cause of hot plug and box.
Likewise the connections inside the box may not be all that good. a loose screw and you have an overheated box
Part 3: Your rig
If it's the box in your rig.. Well... I am fond of saying that many RVers have a few screws loose
I'm specifically talking about the screws inside the breaker box in many cases
I found several loose, including one of the main screws
NOTE: UNPLUG RIG BEFORE CHECKING THESE SCREWS AND CONNECTIONS!!!!!!!!!
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business John is Near Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
30 amp breaker in the box is maybe a main? Normally an A/C will be on a 20 amp circuit breaker, because of size of wiring used.
House main tripping slowly, thermally, is typical for high temperatures, there is just too much stuff running all the time. 12-16 amps to the A/C, 8-10 amps to a water heater element, 6-10 amps to the converter/inverter-charger; if everything is at the high end of its range (which A/C will be in hot weather, especially if voltage is on the low side), breaker is near maximum load with no periods of lighter load to cool down.
Breakers trip two ways. They trip magnetically, quickly, on significant overloads (e.g. >30 amps). They trip thermally when running too long very close to maximum loads, i.e. there is a duty cycle factored into the design, so that wiring doesn't stay too hot, too long. Typically, a breaker will handle about 80% of rated load indefinitely, but at 100% of rated load it has a time limit, the thermal element can't continue to throw off the heat.
A breaker tripping on full load or overload is not necessarily defective, it is just doing its job. But a breaker that's been tripped a lot, can go "soft" and trip more easily. Replacing it with a new one might get you a breaker that is more tolerant of running hot, or it might not.
For what it's worth, on my 30 amp system with oversize A/C, I can run the A/C and microwave together in moderate weather, with converter running and a couple of light appliances going. The A/C may cycle on and off. The microwave may cycle on and off.
But in very hot weather, if I want to run the microwave for more than a minute or two, I need to turn off the A/C for the duration of the microwave run, because the A/C isn't going to cycle off, and within a few minutes the combined load will trip a 30 amp main, either the one inside or the one out on the post.
Usually when an A/C trips a main running long in hot weather, there is some other continuous high current load involved. The culprit most often is an electric water heating element. When an A/C trips its own breaker, the fault is more likely in the A/C, something causing it to draw too much power.
Just as a precaution I think I'll check all screws among other things.
So far (all day) the air has worked fine without tripping...and, this may just be my imagination but, seems to be blowing colder. Unusual considering when it goes beyond a hundred Im hard pressed to drop the temp inside anywhere near comfortable and certainly not cool. Today it actually got cold and is running cold now...huh.
I'm still confused about the circuitry though because when it was tripping it tripped the thirty amp circuit but having checked the circuits , found the twenty amp to be bad and thirty to be okay but replaced it anyway. So as I said , I will do an exploratory tomorrow and see if I can make improvements. Thanks again.
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