had a huge storm and downpour on Sunday afternoon and constant heavy showers since. Have tried using generator everyday and still all working. I will plug it in when we get home to make sure it wasn't a supply issue along lines @ rockape suggested.
Help! Fuse keeps tripping in 17.56-01 OB - problem solved
- Thread starter Still_dreamin
- Start date
Good that the problem has gone away, but as suggested you do need to check to see if you can find the cause of the original problem.
There will most likely be evidence of shorting water damage (water marking) or even carbon tracking (black marks caused by the spark associated with the short). Note though if it was earth leakage sparking would be minimal.
Not suggesting that you get someone in to check but there are things that you can do yourself. While the caravan is completly disconnected from 240V power (including inverters, generators etc) visually inspect behind each power point for signs of water / metal / conductive material that may have contacted the wires and power points. Also make sure that wires are not loose.
If a circuit breaker / RCD (earth leakage) trips with all items removed from power points then the issue is generally between the CB/RCD and the power points being protected. In the case of a caravan with one CB/RCD this would mean all power points are suspects.
I have had an issue explained to me about neighbours earthing being incorrect and triggering RCD on other houses but do not have the details and believe it is a rare event.
If you have access to a plug in power meter (or current meter) check to see that with all power points off and all appliances disconnected that there is no power (current draw) being used by the caravan. In some cases associated with water entry (and other shorts) it is possible that the short has now dried out and is only drawing small amounts of current (again not a frequent occurance but could explain why it is working now)
Another test is while everything is working, use a single appliance (not electronic) and plug it into each power point and check that all power points are working (hair dryer, kettle) remove as many appliances as possible.
Once all power points are checked then plug each item in the caravan in one at a time, check and then turn off and remove plug and move on to next. With the fridge make sure it is on 240V.
If any power point or appliance trips then you have isolated the problem and can get it fixed.
Then finally plug fixed items in and run together. If there is an issue here then check all combinations and determine which combination gives the failure. You may need help here if it is a combination issue. (Good idea to check with a power meter (current meter) that you have not exceeded the 15 Amps).
Hope this helps.
There will most likely be evidence of shorting water damage (water marking) or even carbon tracking (black marks caused by the spark associated with the short). Note though if it was earth leakage sparking would be minimal.
Not suggesting that you get someone in to check but there are things that you can do yourself. While the caravan is completly disconnected from 240V power (including inverters, generators etc) visually inspect behind each power point for signs of water / metal / conductive material that may have contacted the wires and power points. Also make sure that wires are not loose.
If a circuit breaker / RCD (earth leakage) trips with all items removed from power points then the issue is generally between the CB/RCD and the power points being protected. In the case of a caravan with one CB/RCD this would mean all power points are suspects.
I have had an issue explained to me about neighbours earthing being incorrect and triggering RCD on other houses but do not have the details and believe it is a rare event.
If you have access to a plug in power meter (or current meter) check to see that with all power points off and all appliances disconnected that there is no power (current draw) being used by the caravan. In some cases associated with water entry (and other shorts) it is possible that the short has now dried out and is only drawing small amounts of current (again not a frequent occurance but could explain why it is working now)
Another test is while everything is working, use a single appliance (not electronic) and plug it into each power point and check that all power points are working (hair dryer, kettle) remove as many appliances as possible.
Once all power points are checked then plug each item in the caravan in one at a time, check and then turn off and remove plug and move on to next. With the fridge make sure it is on 240V.
If any power point or appliance trips then you have isolated the problem and can get it fixed.
Then finally plug fixed items in and run together. If there is an issue here then check all combinations and determine which combination gives the failure. You may need help here if it is a combination issue. (Good idea to check with a power meter (current meter) that you have not exceeded the 15 Amps).
Hope this helps.
Update. Getting ready to go away for the weekend and thought we would plug the expanda in and run fridge to get it cold. Guess what? It tripped again 
Brother in law is a sparky, so he came around to test and see if he could find the issue. My wife and I had already unplugged everything and narrowed it down to air con. Brother in law double checked everything we had done and agreed most likely air con. Disconnected power and he isolated ( read disconnected the 240v supply) the air con. When it was safe we plugged van back in and it no longer trips. Plugged everything but air con back in and still no tripping of the switch. Now we need to find a dometic service person on Brisbane northside.
Anyone know of a dometic service person/ centre on Brisbane northside?
Brother in law is a sparky, so he came around to test and see if he could find the issue. My wife and I had already unplugged everything and narrowed it down to air con. Brother in law double checked everything we had done and agreed most likely air con. Disconnected power and he isolated ( read disconnected the 240v supply) the air con. When it was safe we plugged van back in and it no longer trips. Plugged everything but air con back in and still no tripping of the switch. Now we need to find a dometic service person on Brisbane northside.
Anyone know of a dometic service person/ centre on Brisbane northside?
We got back from our trip yesterday with lots of rain and now ours is doing the same!!!! Not tripping the ampfibian but tripping some house power and nothing in the van is working!! And we are very new to this too
We got back from our trip yesterday with lots of rain and now ours is doing the same!!!! Not tripping the ampfibian but tripping some house power and nothing in the van is working!! And we are very new to this too
UH OH.... Not having much luck @Nagga's .
Sounds like some wiring might have got wet in the roof with the sunlight leak you had?
Booked in with dometic service agent next Tuesday. They sounded fairly confident on the phone it was one of two controller boards causing the problem. One relatively inexpensive the other very expensive I was told. Wonder which one it will be..........We got back from our trip yesterday with lots of rain and now ours is doing the same!!!! Not tripping the ampfibian but tripping some house power and nothing in the van is working!! And we are very new to this too
@Still_dreamin after our power tripping out in the van and a couple of things in the house, rained here again for a few hrs and now the van has dried out in the sun for a couple of day, plugged the power back in and BAZINGA back in business, lights and aircon both worked! Doesn't help with the leak in the skylight when it rain though! Waiting for a call back from the service department!
@Nagga's I'd be concerned about the amphibian not tripping as it's an RCD as well, domestic RCD's should trip at 10mA fault current, if your amphibiam did not trip it may be rated at a higher trip level like 30mA, usually 30mA RCD's are reserved for industry. It will still protect you but the fault level is slightly higher.
Dave
Dave
mmm we got it from the Jayco toy shop the day we picked up the van! Is there a way of telling the difference Dave?
Possibly the issue with safety switch or RCD "not" tripping is due to generator wiring. Unless the generator has been configured with a neutral/earth common connection the RCD in the van will not trip on an earth fault condition. Most generators do not have this connection, it is usually not present unless an RCD is fitted to the generator. Mains power installations have this connection, commonly referred to as an MEN connection. Extremely unlikely to be any safety issue with connecting a "standard" generator to a caravan.
Cheers.
Cheers.