2009 Tab electrical issue

Jgephart

I made the mistake of using a small ceramic heater instead of firing up the heat pump. Next day noticed it was running on battery alone - no 30 power. Don't see any tripped breaker or blown fuse. Is there a hidden fuse that would keep the 30amp from working?

Thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Nomad

Do you happen to have an outlet that has a ground-fault switch? Usually have a little red button on the outlet. If that trips, no AC current.

rfuss928

The small ceramic heater is the way to go.  The CoolCat is not a very efficient heater and quite noisy in comparison to a small ceramic heater. 
The ground fault reset is a good guess.  One of your outlets should be a GFI
Fuses are 12v DC only.  Two circuit breakers in the converter are the 120v AC.  One is outlets.  The other is the CC.

Jgephart

Thank you, saved me s service call. I had reset that a couple times, but tried again and seems normal now. May decide to change the outlet though. 

ScottG

GFI's can be quite temperamental. I've even had a situation where a certain appliance would trip a particular brand of GFI receptacle.

If you do replace the outlet, keep in mind it is probably wired such that other "downstream" receptacles are also GFI protected-at least that is the case in my 2015. If applicable, make sure you wire the new outlet as directed to maintain that protection.

wizard1880

You think GFI is rough, feel lucky they don't require AFI (arc fault Interrupters) in RVs (yet!). 


It's been part of NEMA code for homes for a few years now.  They watch the waveform of the output power, and if something looks even remotely like an arc, BAM it trips!  The earlier ones were notorious against vacuums or any large motor load.

Sharon_is_SAM

We added a dedicated circuit for our desktop computer that was installed as an AFI.  Then I decided to plug in the printer - uh uh, tripped.   Then the basement waterproof guys hijacked the AFI circuit for the sump pump and in the middle of a major rainstorm, it tripped.  That has since been corrected and now the printer is connected via extension cord across the room to another outlet on another circuit in this 100+ year old house.  Go figure.

wizard1880

Haha! Same thing happened to us! Apparently the corona wires in a laser printer create a strange arc that can confuse the breakers.

Sharon_is_SAM

We have all essentials plugged into a surge suppressor then plugged into the AFI.  We lost a computer and printer due to a faulty plug.  Costly lesson!