Plugged my new (08) Kodiak Scamper into a shore line last fall. Furnace, air, lights, radio...everything worked. Plugged it in a few minutes ago (with the power switches in the unit in the off position)
The furnace immediately came on (???) and a breaker switch in my house tripped. Repeated the procedure again but the switch tripped again.
Might try taking the battery out and recharging it separately.
Then put the fully charged battery in your camper...check that everything is still Off...and plug it in again.
If it still trips at that point you're probably looking at a shrt circuit --- have you driven any nails or screws into the camper since it was working last? Maybe you hit a wire.
Big draw items... A/c, converter, water heater, microwave....
Check that your A/C is off and (if equipped) is not in the HEAT position (some have a heat strip).
It's possible the last time you used it was in cold weather?
You could try turning off all the breakers in your load center (convertor) and plugging it in, then turning one by one on.
If your furnace came on right away, it is possible it was left on and calling for heat until it drained your battery (see above poster's comment about charging the battery separately first)
Battery is fully charged. Tried turning off all the breakers then plugging in. Switched the breakers on and click went the trip switch in the house. Not receiving any power to the trailer from the battery when Im unplugged from shore. AC is definately off. No, no nails.
Are you plugging the power cable into the same outlet you used previously?
Have you checked voltage at outlet?
Have you checked continuity of all three cable connectors?
Can you disconnect cable from trailer? If yes, then remove from trailer and plug the other end back into the outlet and check the voltage at the connector that plugs into the trailer?
If you can't remove cable from trailer, can you get to the trailer's terminal lugs where the cable is wired into? If yes, check continuity from the lugs to the trailer's ground.
Do you have squirrels or other rodents around that could have eaten an electrical line in the trailer thus causing a direct short to ground someplace?
Hope this helps
Ron
Ron & Sandie
'08 Safari Simba SBD35 CAT C7
Toad: 2011 GMC Terrain SLT2
Tow Bar: Sterling AT
Toad Brakes: Unified U.S. Gear
TPMS: Pressure Pro
Member of: GS, FMCA, Safari Intl, CAT
Fix the DC problem first then the AC problem. Load test the battery - free in a auto store. Then check DC disconnects, fuses etc and a voltmeter or test lamp to find out why you have no DC power for the rig.
With the DC working turn off all rig breakers. Then turn on one at a time. Which one causes the house to trip and what is on that circuit?
Have you tried plugging into a dedicated plug? House plugs are normally shared which could trip with the extra rig load.
Thanks guys. Tried all of your suggestions. Nothing yet. Had a new hitch installed on my Ford Escape last week. I'm taking the trailer in on monday to make sure the brakes are adjusted properly. I'll have them look at the electric while I'm there. I'm sure it's something simple. Will let you know.
Thanks, Rick.
are you towing the Kodiak with an Escape? sounds like it didn't come with the factory tow package if you had to add a hitch receiver.
the Escape has a 3500lbs. tow capacity, IF it has the factory tow package and only a 150lb. driver in it.
the 160 model, if that's what you have, has a GVWR over 3500lbs.
in fact, without the weight of "options"(oven, microwave, awning, a/c, spare tire, battery), it already weighs nearly 3000lbs.
add the weight of those things and you'll be at least near 3300lbs., before you add cargo and propane.
now, subtract the weight of anything in the Escape over a 150lb. driver, from the 3500 number. and the weight of a WDH has to be subtracted from the 3500 amount also.
you'll easily be at or over the Escape's tow max, IF it has the factory tow package.
if it doesn't have the tow package, it's tow max is around 2000lbs.
for you and your family's sake, i hope you're towing with something else.
Dan- Firefighter, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever(RIP), 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
When you say you turned the breakers on, which breakers did you turn on?
Try turning one on at a time and see when it trips. (A helper is handy for this!)
Make sure everything in your camper is turned off.
Try different combinations of breakers until you isolate which ONE is tripping it.
It's very likely that if turning on a single breaker- no matter which one- trips your breaker, that you have a problem at your load center/convertor (or the wires going to it)
Otherwise, you should be able to narrow it down to a single circuit (the breaker that trips your house breaker)
Troubleshooting consists of isolating the problem. As suggested above start with all breakers Off.
Start cycling them On/Off one at a time. Then in pairs.
The converter powers the DC appliances and charges the battery. If the converter is trying to put all 55 amps (or whatever it's rating) into the battery, lights, etc. it will only draw 5.5 amps of AC current, Not enough to trip the converter breaker, let alone the main breaker or one in your house.
Turn off the water heater breaker when not using it. If the water heater is set to AC it will draw close to 15 amps. Other than a dead short this is the most probable suspect. If there was no water in the tank the heater element immediately burns up but could fuse into a dead short.
-- Chuck
'06 Roo 23SS behind '07 Expedition out of Cleveland Our Photo pages
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, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur
, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever(RIP
), 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
