vtchris
vermont
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While waiting for the house to sell I am camping in the RV in the back yard. The weather turned hot and I need air conditioning. My RV is 30 amp. So I got a 25' ten gauge extension cord, ran it to a 20 amp house socket in the garage. I checked to see what else was on this breaker (two other outlets, my toaster oven and a table lamp). I made sure nothing else was turned on (not the toaster, not the lamp, nothing in the RV) and then ran my RV air conditioner. All seemed well, volt meter 112-114. Ran it about 2 hours maybe. Then turned it off and went in the house to fix dinner and guess what??? The toaster and the lamp sockets no longer work!! And yet the garage outlet works fine (the garage is attached to the house and these sockets share a wall). Anyone have any idea what is going on? Now I am scared to use the a/c in the RV so am back in my one air conditioned room in the house (it is HOT). Also, this house was built in 1918, the outlets do not have GFI's. Thanks for any help!
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Shellback62
Sedro-Woolley, Washington
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Joined: 01/11/2007
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Look at the wires connected to the braker. I suspect they will show signs of over heating and perhaps heat damage to the braker as well. You have most likely maxed the 20 amp circuit with some resulting damage.
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vtchris
vermont
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Shellback62: Wouldn't that make the third outlet (in the garage) non-functional also?
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NORM WADDELL
PENSACOLA FL 32514
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Joined: 11/16/2000
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Turn off the power to that circuit
Check with voltmeter to be sure it's off
Remove the receptacles and look for loose wires.
And, in the attic, a wire connection may have come loose.
It's an OPEN CIRCUIT problem.
L NORMAN WADDELL
30 FOOT ALLEGRO
SATURN TOAD
WIFE AND 2 DOGS SUGAR BEAR & COCO BEAR
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Mandalay Parr
Phoenix, AZ
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NORM WADDELL wrote:Turn off the power to that circuit
Check with voltmeter to be sure it's off
Remove the receptacles and look for loose wires.
And, in the attic, a wire connection may have come loose.
It's an OPEN CIRCUIT problem.
Ditto, Ditto, Ditto.
Jerry Parr
Full-time
2005 Mandalay 40B
Cat C7 350, 4 Slides
Blue Ox, Brake Buddy
2004 CR-V Toad
602-321-8141
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vtchris
vermont
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NORM WADDELL wrote:Turn off the power to that circuit
Check with voltmeter to be sure it's off
Remove the receptacles and look for loose wires.
And, in the attic, a wire connection may have come loose.
It's an OPEN CIRCUIT problem.
Excuse my ignorance, but wiring is not my thing. To turn off the power to that circuit, do I turn the breaker to the off position? How do I use the voltmeter to be sure it is off? Why would a wire in the attic be an issue? There are lots of wires up there and I wouldn't have a clue how to check for a loose connection. What is an "open circuit"? Thanks!
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teddyu
Enfield, Ct
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Joined: 09/23/2004
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Check to see if the recepatcle in the garage is not GFCI protected from in the house. The inductive kick when securing the A/C may have tripped the GFCI.
Ted & Cammy
2008 Challenger 371 Platinum Edition
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RVnRobin
Pacific Northwest
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vtchris wrote:NORM WADDELL wrote:Turn off the power to that circuit
Check with voltmeter to be sure it's off
Remove the receptacles and look for loose wires.
And, in the attic, a wire connection may have come loose.
It's an OPEN CIRCUIT problem. Excuse my ignorance, but wiring is not my thing. To turn off the power to that circuit, do I turn the breaker to the off position? How do I use the voltmeter to be sure it is off? Why would a wire in the attic be an issue? There are lots of wires up there and I wouldn't have a clue how to check for a loose connection. What is an "open circuit"? Thanks! At many points in our lives we all will be presented with challanges where it is necessary to call in professional reinforcements. Due to the questions you are asking, I recommend you call an electrician.
RVnRobin, DW, and the cat.
The cat thinks she is the boss!
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GSF
full-timing in North America
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Joined: 06/04/2004
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I think that you have a circuit breaker that's popped, but doesn't look it. Reset the breakers.
George
97 Airstream Land Yacht
01 PT Cruiser Dinghy
Cappy - Pekinese Burglar Alarm
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DraginRat
On The Road
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How did you come to the conclusion that those particular outlets were on the same circuit as the garage? Is it possible that you made a mistake, and they are NOT on the same circuit. Can't really say how things were done back when the garage was wired, but by today's standards, the garage should be on it's own circuit. Maybe the circuit breaker for the outlets in the kitchen were accidentally tripped, and need to be reset.
I would think that there is a very small chance that operating the A/C in the RV would do damage to the circuit, and NOT affect the outlet that it is plugged into.
Again, I would check all the circuit breakers before I did anything else.
Ken Gasbarri
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