Scamp electrical problem

[mswhipp]

Hi all, we have lost all AC oulet power to the fridge side of our '99 Scamp. The electrical outlet installed on outside of trailer only stays on 5min.and then trips off (This outlet was an addition from previous owner). Any help greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[likeair2me]

Koren, are you trying to run something else on the fridge circuit through that outside plug?

[steve dunham]

Is the breaker tripping or the GFCI receptacle in the kitchen tripping ?
If it's the GFCI check the connections at the outside receptacle.
If it's not the outside receptacle then unplug the refrigerator . The 120V AC heater in the refrigerator maybe bad

[mswhipp]

No we're not running anything else on the outside plug. We'll unplug the fridge and see if that's the problem. Could it be a surge problem from the campground? But the air conditioner stays on so you'd think the whole trailer would shut down if it was the campground connection, right?

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by mswhipp

No we're not running anything else on the outside plug. We'll unplug the fridge and see if that's the problem. Could it be a surge problem from the campground? But the air conditioner stays on so you'd think the whole trailer would shut down if it was the campground connection, right?

The campground pedental breakers and the circuit breakers in your trailer provide overcurrent protection , they do not provide surge protection. GFCI' s do not provide overcurrent or surge protection , they are looking for a leakage current to ground.
You may have a bad / defective circuit breaker or a bad / loose line or neutral connection in the panel or at the receptacle , or the breakers bus connection could be loose or burned.
If it's not something simple like a tripped breaker or GFCI and you lack knowledge of electrical then I would suggest you seek some qualified help .

[mswhipp]

Thanks all. We have unplugged the fridge and the GFCI has not tripped yet! So it must be a fridge problem.

[mszabo]

Not so, try leaving the ac off and run the frig. If frig works ok and not tripping breaker you found your problem.
If I was to guess your over loading the circuit. Running to many thing on one circuit.
AC, frig, microwave, coffee pot, toaster, etc. you may need to learn how to manage your power. Too many items running on a circuit will do it ever time.

[mswhipp]

We don't have a microwave or toaster. The only thing on is the air conditioner. We tried shutting off the air conditioner and it still tripped the GFCI. So I think it might be the fridge.

[mszabo]

RV frig or dorm type frig.?

[steve dunham]

The rooftop A/C on a Scamp is on a separate circuit and is not on the same circuit as the kitchen / refrigerator.
As I mentioned before the GFCI does not provide overcurrent protection so overloading the circuit would cause the circuit breaker to trip but not the GFCI.
Standard circuit breakers and GFCI's perform two different functions

[mswhipp]

It's the RV fridge, mszabo.

[mswhipp]

Thanks Steve. All I know is, I unplugged the fridge and the outside plug is now working. So is the fridge the problem? The fridge has not been working at all this trip.

[stevebaz]

Sometimes loose wire connections heat up and expand and break connections. Check everything very carefully.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by mswhipp

Thanks Steve. All I know is, I unplugged the fridge and the outside plug is now working. So is the fridge the problem? The fridge has not been working at all this trip.

I would plug a small appliance or load into the refrigerator receptacle ( Refrigerator unplugged) and see if the GFCI holds under load .) If the GFCI holds under load , I would believe the problem lies with the refrigerator. If the GFCI still trips then I would check as SteveBaz suggested , the connections at the outside receptacle and refrigerator receptacle. Water has been known to leak past the gasket on the outside receptacle and cause the kitchen GFCI to trip
The electric heating element in the refrigerator has also been known to fail and creating a high resistance path to ground.
Good enough to trip the GFCI but not good enough or of a long enought duration to trip the circuit breaker.
A GFCI requires only 0.005 amps of fault current to cause it to trip.
High resistance grounds can sometimes be difficult to find.

[mswhipp]

Thank you, Steve! We'll try that now.

[rubicon327]

Koren: Just happened to come across this. Did you ever get this resolved?? This was my father's old trailer and I installed the exterior outlet. It was simply wired inline so it also afforded GFI protection to the kitchen area of the trailer which Scamp didn't provide. We never had a problem. Let me know if I can help.

Dave