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Old 11-03-2018, 06:14 AM   #1
Vprice
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2k sprinter fifthwheel elec issue

We recently purchased a used 2000 Sprinter 250rk 5th wheel. We have resided in this camper for about 3 weeks now, and everything worked great until we leveled it yesterday. A few hours after leveling, the electricity started flickering, got worse over time. Is this a coincidence or did I possibly do something to cause this? Note: there is some water damage around the antenna crank... Maybe this had something to do with it?
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Old 11-03-2018, 06:35 AM   #2
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We recently purchased a used 2000 Sprinter 250rk 5th wheel. We have resided in this camper for about 3 weeks now, and everything worked great until we leveled it yesterday. A few hours after leveling, the electricity started flickering, got worse over time. Is this a coincidence or did I possibly do something to cause this? Note: there is some water damage around the antenna crank... Maybe this had something to do with it?
Howdy and welcome from Virginia!

Are you sure it’s your rig and not the power supplied from the C/G you’re staying at?
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Old 11-03-2018, 07:05 AM   #3
Vprice
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[QUOTE=Wing-in-it;313975][B]Howdy and welcome from Virginia!

Are you sure it’s your rig and not the power supplied from the C/G you’re staying at?[

Thank you 😉
I was going it was the location, but no one else seemed to be having this issue. I can tell you that previous owner had stated that the leak over antenna crank had be.fixed, but we noticed a small leak last week in that same pot. Is it possible that leveling it caused water to move into wiring?
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Old 11-03-2018, 07:26 AM   #4
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My gut feeling is probably not a water issue. A couple of things to consider. 1st if you leveled the trailer and moved the way that it sits, you may have a loose wire that has moved and is no longer making good contact. 2nd is the pedestal may not be good or there may be a loose wire there that is causing a problem. That would only affect you and not necessarily anybody else at the campground.
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Old 11-03-2018, 07:56 AM   #5
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I would first look at the power cable. Are the pins on the plug burned or arced and pitted? Next, flex/bend the cable where it enters the plug and where it enters the trailer. Do the lights flicker? Next wiggle the plug at the power connection on the park receptacle, do the lights flicker? Next, unplug the trailer from park power, go inside and remove the cover from the power distribution center. Check every terminal lug for tightness. Use a screwdriver/nut driver to be sure each screw lug is tight. Then turn off all the circuit breakers and check each terminal where the Romex is connected. Move to the DC side of the power center, remove each "mini-fuse" and look for corrosion or loose terminal plugs. Use needle nose pliers to bend the terminals to tighten them if needed. Replace the fuses and reinstall the power center cover, plug in the RV power cable and turn on the circuit breakers. Is power steady? If so, it was probably a loose connection. If the lights still flicker, you will need to continue looking for a loose/broken wire in the trailer wiring harness.

Once you've assured the power cable is good, each of the screw lugs is tight, the fuses are tight and not corroded, if you still have flickering, you'll need to determine if the problem is in the AC (120 volt) or DC (12 volt) circuits. You can do this by monitoring what is "flickering". Is it the lights only? (12VDC side) or is it the microwave, TV, things plugged into the sockets? (120 VAC side) and then focus on that part of the wiring harness.

Let us know once you've verified the power cable and that the connections inside the power center are tight, and we can move forward from there.

BE SURE TO UNPLUG THE TRAILER BEFORE REMOVING THE POWER CENTER COVER !!!!! You can get a nasty shock or even kill yourself if you make a mistake with power applied to the trailer, so be safe !!!!! UNPLUG THE TRAILER !!!!!
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Old 11-03-2018, 07:58 AM   #6
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As a rule all the electrical wiring is in the underbelly and then routed up as needed. The antenna most likely has zero effect on the issue at hand. Since there are 2 SEPERATE electrical circuits we need to know if its the 12VDC or the 110VAC system.

Your lights are 12V, and your TV and Microwave are 110V. The 12V things are powered by the converter when plugged into shore power and by the battery when not plugged in. Simply unplug from the shore power and if things are still flickering let us know and we can try to determine the course of action.
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Old 11-03-2018, 08:19 AM   #7
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I checked the pig tail and the end that plugs into the location are burnt...
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Old 11-03-2018, 08:31 AM   #8
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I gasped the prongs a bit too get a better fit, it seems to be working so far. If I have to replace something on pig tail... Would it be the whole thing or just the plug end?
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Old 11-03-2018, 08:32 AM   #9
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I checked the pig tail and the end that plugs into the location are burnt...
Take a real close look at the receptacle. The end of the shore cord can be replaced easy enough.
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Old 11-03-2018, 09:47 AM   #10
JRTJH
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I'm guessing your trailer has a 30 amp (3 pins on the plug) power cable. It is very easy to cut off the male plug on the cable and install a replacement. The only "concern is maintaining the correct phasing. In other words, making sure the black and white cables are on the correct side, so pay attention to how they are connected when you take it apart and be sure to install the new plug with the wires on the correct pins.

You can buy a replacement plug at any RV center or from EBay or Amazon. Here is a link to the kind of plug you'll need for a 30 amp cable. https://www.amazon.com/Snowy-Fox-Mal...placement+plug I am not recommending this specific plug, although I don't have any reason not to recommend it either. I'm just giving you a "starting point" to search for a replacement. Also, this is a photo of what you'll be replacing. Good Luck.
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Old 11-03-2018, 10:00 AM   #11
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Be glad it’s the pedestal end plug of your shore cable that needs replacement. We were in one location a couple months ago and when packing up to leave, attempted to disconnect the trailer end of our 50 amp shore cable right angle adapter from the trailer receptacle and it would not come out. I finally put a large pair of pliers on it and parts came out that weren’t supposed to. Got to our next location and had to make a trip to CW to get a new receptacle and a new right angle adapter. One of the terminals in the plug had gotten hot and distorted the white plastic part of the plug. It was about a $150 replacement of parts but it only took maybe 30 minutes to do back at the RV park.
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Old 11-08-2018, 05:14 PM   #12
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All of you were very good at explaining things in simple understandable ways
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Old 11-09-2018, 07:33 AM   #13
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I suggest you buy a good EMS/Surge Protector. The digital display on our Progressive Industries EMS-PT50X told us a lot about what was going on with the power. With this unit, you would have an error message that told you the problem was the pedestal, not your rig. Also, it would have warned you that there was a dip in the voltage coming into it, which would have been another clue that your rig wasn't the problem. You will occasionally find older pedestals that show signs of aging of the plug. If it's a good campground, they will fix it quickly.
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