walander
Idaho
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Hello, I am a first time camper owner who has a problem. I just got a 76 conestoga for free. I was told that all the electrical worked, and by the looks of it, alot of it has been redone and looks ok. however, when I got it home, I plugged it into an my house, nothing inside the camper worked, after looking around, I found an electrical panel ( remember, I know nothing about campers at all) on the panel is a little button that reads " Push for on, pull for off, grean band means off" ( some sort of breaker im guessing?) so i pushed it, I hear a slight buzzing sound from the panel, I have power for about 3 seconds and then the little button pops out and the power stops. if you try to push it back, it just keeps tripping, I made sure it was switched from battery to converter. still nothing. so my question is, is this user error? as I said, I feel stupid, I am a total noob to the camper, or rv in general world. Is that a breaker? if so, why does it keep tripping? here is a picture of the panel. 
any help at all would be great, thanks!
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Chuck and Di
Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 09/28/2008
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The noise you hear is the sound of an overloaded converter (that may only be a transformer in something this old) which is why the breaker won't stay on.
I think we'll need a bit more information to help. What does the writing near the switch and outlet say? Is there a battery installed? If not, are there leads for one, and if so, are the leads well isolated from each other? Have you tried removing all those fuses to see if it will stay on?
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JFG
TN
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Joined: 07/01/2007
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I would start with the basics... is battery charged... does converter work? What happens when you hook up to shore power? The pop-out fuse is normally related to the converter. When on shore, do appliances work... Does hw, refer, and furnace work on propane?
Fred
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walander
Idaho
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ok, So heres the deal. When I got it, the connector to hook it up to the truck electrics was cut. I have now replaced it, when running off the trucks battery, The power works, the breaker button does not seem to have anything to do with it when its running from a battery. The camper does not have its own batteries nor leads for them. When I hook it up to shore power is when the breaker pops, as I said, I hear a buzz from the breaker, then it pops and cant be pushed back in. After it sits for a bit, you can push the breaker button back in but same thing happens. I pulled out the electrical panel, it does have a converter and the converter is hooked up to a standard 2 prong outlet on the inside of the electrical panel, the outlet runs to a regular light switch on the side of the panel, I have tried with the switch on as well as off, still pops.
I unplugged the converter and plugged it in to an extension cord from my house, I can now hear the converter humming, tried the camper on shore power again ( with converter still running from the extension cord ) still pops.
The writing on the panel reads, above the popping breaker button " AC Breaker 15 amps, green band means off" then below the breaker it reads " push for on, pull for off"
Above the outlet reads " 110 AC outlet" and the black switch switches between battery and converter. Hope some one might have some advice for me, maybe a new breaker? where can I find a breaker like that? thanks for the help
PS. Yes, i tried taking out all the fuses, still it pops
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walander
Idaho
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ok, so im about ready to pull my hail out, this electrical thing is the only snag im having. is there any chance that the breaker is bad? would upgrading to somthing bigger then a 15 amp breaker help? where do I find a breaker like this? can I convert it over to a regular house breaker? let me know! thanks
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Nolann
Saskatchewan, Canada
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Joined: 02/16/2010
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to me it sounds like your breaker is working the way it should ... you have a problem with the AC side of things not the DC from what i can see ... i'd start by going to each AC box and unhook the wires ... might be a dead short or even a wire pinched somewhere ... trial and error and lots of patience
good luck
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walander
Idaho
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If I unhook the wires from the outlets, wont it still trip?
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fueling around
NW MN
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On a typical converter (of this vintage) the breaker is on the incoming shore power. This is prior to any 120 vac outlet(s) and the converter.
By disconnecting the converter and powering it from an extension cord you isolated the fault to your 120 vac circuits. On a TC this old I suspect a wire has rubbed through somewhere and created a dead short.
Start tracing the wires.
BTW, all converters humm. Some are very noisy
John
1997 Dodge 2500 CTD
1989 Cascade 8½ Self-contained Truck Camper
?? Eureka Timberline 4 tent
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88lover
Florida
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First things first. Since you are a new camper go to HD or Lowes and buy a little tester to check that your hot and ground wires are not reversed. I leave my tester plugged in because in the old days many campground recepticals were wired in reverse with hot to where ground should be and vise/versa. The little lights on the tester will tell you if everything is ok and you have no short circuts to ground etc. The other tester every camper should carry is at least a A/C D/C, ohm meter. With these two simple devices you will be ready to trouble shoot 90% of electrical problems. You will use the ohm meter to check for continutity of wires and for shorts to ground when ALL power is disconnected. For 12V circuits a automotive test light is also handy. I suspect the pull push switch is to engage and disengage the batteries and should be 12V when tested. There should be no connection between 110V and 12V except through the converter. Almost everything on a RV works on 12V except the Air Conditioner and Microwave and the refrigerator if it is 3 way (LPG,110,12)
or your daughters blow dryer
* This post was
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fueling around
NW MN
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88lover wrote:First things first. Since you are a new camper go to HD or Lowes and buy a little tester to check that your hot and ground wires are not reversed. I leave my tester plugged in because in the old days many campground recepticals were wired in reverse with hot to where ground should be and vise/versa. The little lights on the tester will tell you if everything is ok and you have no short circuts to ground etc.
... You're out of sequence on the situation. The camper AC outlets do not function at all when the breaker trips.
OP is also at home (not a campground) trying to use the shore power (camper) cord to a house circuit.
walander;
This tester only functions with a live outlet. Start by checking your home power source and move back to looking for a short in your camper.
This tester only functions with a live outlet. Start by checking your home power source.
I re-read your previous posts. A buzzing circuit breaker is the sign of a bad breaker. The converter should humm, not buzz.
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