2018 Tab 320 cs-s 15 amp breaker tripped, and power with battery, not 30 amp Resolved

Lawyerboy · June 7

Good day Folks, Went to check on our Tab, and no power, fan off etc. Was plugged in 30amp out back like normal. Found the 15 amp breaker tripped and will not reset. When I use only battery, with shunt on, fan powers, radio lights up, even with that 15 amp breaker tripped. When I unplug the 30 amp plug and back in, I hear a beep, but still cannot get 30 amp power and that 15 amp breaker will not reset. Any help is appreciated. TY Mark

twocutes · June 8

@Lawyerboy Could you tell us year and model of your camper? That will help us help you. Which 15 amp breaker are you referring to and where is it?

Grumpy_G · June 8

Lots to unpack here. With the battery on all the 12V things will work, independently of working AC power and tripped breakers so let's ignore this. You claim you can not get 30A power but the breaker in question is a 15A (which one ? guessing the one next to the 30A breaker based on the symptoms). Most likely the converter does not get power or is defective which is why the 12V lights, fan etc. are not working until you switch on the battery. Try the AC unit, It should come on as it is on a dedicated circuit. Lastly, did you push the breaker all the way to the off position before trying to turn it on again ?

Lawyerboy · June 8

2018 320 cs s. So the 15 amp breaker in the panel down below the seating on shower side second one in will not reset and yes fully down and tried up and will not reset. Now when I unplug the 30 amp plug and plug back in, I hear a beep but that 15 amp breaker will not reset at the panel. At the moment I have power supplied from the battery with tender on it. With that power source lights work in the galley and inside unit. Fan above powers on as does fridge. Have not tried the ac on 30 amp yet but that breaker is not tripped. Ty all

pthomas745 · June 8

This is the Fuses For Newbies file photo of the WFCO for around that year of trailer. The 15 amp breaker is listed as the GFCI breaker. There are lots of ins and outs about GFCI breakers that I will have to look for other threads, but….try to reset the GFCI with the trailer not plugged into shore power, and then try again.

Here is more discussion concerning the GFCI circuit. There is one comment from MichiganMike that says his 2018 WFCO has different labeling for the breakers, so check what you might have in your particular model.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/7522/help-no-shore-power-to-t-b

No Shore Power to Trailer

Grumpy_G · June 8

If a breaker does not want to turn on it typically means the short that caused it to trip is still present.

Do you have a microwave ? That's probably the beep you're hearing.

Lawyerboy · June 8

no microwave but there is a gfi left of the panel that will not reset. Will get into it tomorrow with my neighbor who is a retired electrician. Not sure of any other gfi locations.

twocutes · June 8

@Lawyerboy Do you know if your propane/CO gas alarm is original or has ever been replaced? If not, that could explain the beeping if it's continuous. The unit lifespan is 5 years, give or take. The one in my 2020 T@B 320 CSS BDL is still showing green, but I just purchased one from Amazon to install next weekend. That detector/alarm is likely black and located to the left of the fuse panel.

Lawyerboy · June 8

to the right of the panel it’s original

Lawyerboy · June 8

it beeps once

twocutes · June 8

Hmm, yours may be different than mine, but you should look at the expiration date on the front of it and get a replacement while you are in the neighborhood looking at fuses. :D

Lawyerboy · June 8

will do. Ty

MuttonChops · June 8

Disclaimer: There was a lot of minor wiring differences in TAB builds over the 2015-2019 years.

My 2018 320S 120Vac Breakers are:

far left, 30A, main input breaker
first to right, 15A, powers the Converter and the GFCI 'circuit' outlet(s).

The 15A not resetting means the breaker itself is bad (low likelihood) or there is a short with the convertor or gfci outlets being the most likely failure point.

Bayliss · June 8

@Lawyerboy, based on what you are describing, it does sound like a GFCI issue to me.

If you are plugged in to your house electricity, make sure that a GFCI at the house on the circuit you are connected to has not tripped (but, seems unlikely since you hear a "beep" when you plug in the 30A AC cord, so power "seems" to be making it somewhere inside the trailer). You might have someone else stand inside the trailer as you plug in the 30A cord to determine what the source of the "beep" is.

IMPORTANT: A GFCI receptacle will not reset unless it has power, so make sure the trailer is connected to power when you attempt to reset the GFCI inside the trailer. However, if it is powered via the tripped 15A breaker circuit you referenced (which I believe protects the interior GFCI circuit), that needs to be working first so power can flow to the GFCI receptacle.

Finally, if you have an outside receptacle, that likely has a GFCI, so check there as well.

ScottG · June 8

The 15A not resetting means the breaker itself is bad (low likelihood)
or there is a short with the convertor or gfci outlets being the most
likely failure point.

Lots of good advice in this discussion. The above comment by @MuttonChops almost certainly sums up the problem given the evidence provided.

The "beep" you hear when you plug in suggests the power source to the camper is fine, as is the 120V AC distribution within the camper.

That things work on battery power suggests the 12V DC distribution within the camper is also fine.

This narrows things down to a likely short in the single 120V AC circuit protected by the 15A breaker that won't reset. That circuit typically powers the AC to DC converter, as well as the camper's AC outlets. Note that a single GFI outlet is likely wired to protect other regular outlets downstream in the circuit.

Lawyerboy · June 8

Good morning and ty. So, I plugged the 30 amp back in. Cannot reset the GFI left of the breaker panel. The 15amp breaker will not reset, with 30 amp power to the unit or not. The AC will go on, lights will go on, but that GFI and outlets associated to that line seem inoperable.

ScottG · June 8

As noted in a previous comment, you cannot reset a GFI outlet unless the outlet has power (which in this case it doesn't because the breaker is tripped).

That the air conditioner works support the idea that the problem is limited to that single 15A circuit that powers the converter and the camper's 120V outlets.

However, I am suspicious that the lights are coming on. Do you still have the battery connected?

Lawyerboy · June 8

Problem solved. So, my neighbor came over. He said that the 15 amp breaker did not trip, per se, but would not reset. We powered off the unit. We removed that breaker from the panel. It is attached to the 30. We took the wires off. He felt that it was the breaker when he removed the load wire and it did not reset. Electrician trick, he then takes it and taps it on the ground, and low and behold, good as new. I used a can of air to clean out the breaker panel, as there were remnants of insects and anything the panel fan would bring in. I reattached the wires, installed the breaker, and boom chacalaca, good as new. Problem solved. Power and no issue with that breaker. TY all.

rydfree · June 9

As an electrician , I would definitely replace that breaker. If it would not reset then it may not trip when needed either. It's not worth the risk of a fire for a few dollar breaker.

Glad you found it .

2018 Tab 320 cs-s 15 amp breaker tripped, and power with battery, not 30 amp Resolved

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