I need HELP!!!: CGFI Tripping

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CGFI Tripping

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Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=14326
Printed Date: 28 May 2025 at 5:53pm
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Topic: CGFI Tripping

Posted By: SailorDude
Subject: CGFI Tripping
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 1:36am

This morning my wife was running the electric heater on high and the GFCI tripped in our RPOD 176. I reset it and it tripped again. I unplugged the heater. I reset it and it seem to work. Moved to another campground and found the GFCI would instantly trip after a reset. I replaced the GCFI switch thinking it was faulty. I even unplugged the refrigerator because it was also not working and and unplugged all other 110 plugs. Still can't get the GFCI to stay on. It instantly trips. i have even reset the circuit breaker thinking it might be the issue. Any thoughts one where else I might check and whether there are any other GCFI plugs besides the one next to the dinette, right next to the slide out.

Replies:

Posted By: Gebaldwin1
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 9:11am

If you have replaced the GFCI receptacle with a new known good one, that would confirm you have some leakage somewhere from line to ground. Be sure everything is disconnected. Look for water/moisture intrusion, possibly in the outside receptacle. Be sure GFCI is wired correctly - Power to line terminals on receptacle.

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GMan
Lil' Bumpy - RPod 180

Posted By: SailorDude
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 10:00am

Since it has been raining hard for a number of days I do suspect the outside plug. I'm going to just have wait until it stops raining to verify that one. Does anyone know if all plugs are wired thorough the GFCI plug, or a some not.

Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 1:30pm

Well if it's raining that kinda explains it. You might have moisture in an outside outlet or more likely its just your shore power cord laying across wet concrete, in some mud, a puddle, wet grass, etc.

Try supporting the shore power cord on bricks or leveler blocks, plastic milk crates, whatever you have, but NOT wet blocks of wood or metallic items like wheel rims or aluminum lawn chairs.

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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!

Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 9:04pm

I’m assuming from your post that the gfci is tripping with nothing at all connected to any receptacles, but power is otherwise still available in the trailer? If you have any receptacles powered separately from the gfci it should be easy to tell, those will be the ones that are still hot. In theory any ground fault upstream of the gfci should not trip it. So your fault should be in one of the dead receptacles or possibly in damaged insulation on the wires leading to the receptacles. Moisture is the number 1 cause. Gfci’s will trip with a few milliamps of ground fault current so it doesn’t take much.

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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Posted By: SailorDude
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 12:06am

Update. I moved out of one state camp sport to a different one down the road 30 miles. Still raining a lot, but now when I plug into service my GFCI switch is not tripping. I'm now wondering if it was the campground power pole that was causing my my problem. What do you think?

Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 8:02am

As I said before, in theory it shouldn’t. The gfci is comparing the current flowing through the hot (black or red) and neutral (white) wires feeding that circuit and trips if they are different. To be different there needs to be an alternative return path for the current besides the neutral (white) wire. That is the ground fault and the gfci is there to be sure the ground fault isn’t your body.

So no matter what’s happening upstream the gfci should be ok as long as you don’t have a ground fault downstream. In practice though gfci’s have to be really sensitive to slight current changes (they are supposed to trip at 5 milliamps) so have been known to trip from electrical noise on circuits, so anything is possible.

You should get a circuit analyzer if you are going to be on shore power much. Campground electrical service is notorious for being messed up in lots of different ways.

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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Posted By: SailorDude
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 11:13pm

Thanks for the explanation. Since everything is working now that I'm plugged into a different service at a different campground, I'm wondering how I might go about diagnosing my original problem, now that it GFCI is not tripping. Do you have any links to how a circuit analyzer works as well as links to where to purchase one?

Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 5:52am

There are many options available for RVs, lots of variation in price range too. Some are portable and connected to the pedestal and some are permanently installed in the trailer. As a minimum you want one that will check the RV park circuit for open ground, open neutral, low and high line voltage, and has surge protection. At least one also has an auto transformer which will bump up the voltage if it’s getting too low, fairly common in RV parks with long circuit runs.

I’d suggest doing a search on the forum for circuit analysers, surge suppressors, auto transformers, and similar keywords. I don’t personally own one (I very rarely camp with shore power) so can’t recommend one over another. Lots of folks on the forum have them and can comment or answer specific questions.

I’d get one and start using it, see if the problem reoccurs. With all the condensation you’ve been having inside your trailer you likely got some moisture condensing in your electric receptacles as well. That could definitely trip a gfci because the water creates a path from line (hot) to ground. It only takes 6 milliamps to trip. If you have your ventilation under control now you might not see the problem again.

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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold

Posted By: Badweissenbier
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2021 at 8:28am

Portable heaters(especially cheaper models) are notorious for kicking a GFCI. When they shut off, the still spinning fan will act as a generator and can induce a backward current flow which can then trip the GFCI.