Outlets on the Recep breaker.

[Enderwin]

Hey guys;

I've been doing a bit of my own searching and I found some issues that related to the one I'm having but none that are identical. I've traced all the wires in the circuit from the dining slide front to back then to left then right cabinet at the rear, then up to the TV and shoots all the way to the outlet by the entrance door. The feed at that entrance is fluctuating in voltage (60v-112v) and I can't figure out where the feed comes from. I've tested the voltage at the breaker and it checks out @ 120v. Something is causing a serious voltage drop between the breaker and that outlet. It would be super handy to know where the feed to that outlet comes from so I can narrow down what is going on. Also to add the breaker does not trip. Which makes me believe I don't have a short.

Any advice would be appreciated

Extension cords are getting old.

Thanks


Corey

[LHaven]

So to clarify your request, you've identified all the outlets that are fed from that one breaker, but you need to find out in what order they are connected? You're positive that the bad one is the last in the string, and that it's the only bad one?

[sourdough]

Sounds to me like what I call a 'hi joint" - a loose connection; in a daisy chained receptacle, a connector somewhere etc. that doesn't let all the voltage through. This can also be dangerous because it generates heat, and can in the right circumstances, cause sparks that can cause a fire. If you had a short or short to ground you should throw the breaker.

[Canonman]

Danny's right. When the installer is using a "stab" connector on the back of an outlet, there is a good chance that it will vibrate loose assuming that it had good contact in the first place. I'd suggest start working your way back, removing the outlet and pulling on the wires to make sure they are solidly in the connector. Replace the outlet in the box and move to the next one. Eventually you'll find one will pull loose. Might be either white or black so check both wires. When you find an outlet with just one wire, that's the end of the line for that circuit.

[LHaven]

I'd guess it's almost certainly the next to the last receptacle in the string... problem is in figuring out which one is next to last. With a high-precision ohmmeter, you could theoretically rank them by the numbers, but that's the only way I can think of short of disassembling them all until you hit the right one.

[chuckster57]

120 and 12 volt feed will be in the bundle under the slide. It will enter the slide at the exterior edge, and in the case of 120VAC, it’s either in a junction box or a “molex” (sp) plug. Identify the entry point, and then look inside for a cabinet, or a junction box.

[Enderwin]

So to clarify your request, you've identified all the outlets that are fed from that one breaker, but you need to find out in what order they are connected? You're positive that the bad one is the last in the string, and that it's the only bad one?

I worked my way back to the plug next to the entrance door. I couldn't figure out where it goes from there. My hope was that someone on here has already done the tracing and knows the order the receptacles are wired. Since I made this post I have discovered there is another outlet in the closet up front in the bedroom. I haven't been up to ring that out as the next plug in series.

[LHaven]

Well, this is confusing. If you "worked your way back," does that imply that the faulty receptacle is not the last one on the string? If so, the ones further down the string ought to be showing the same faulty behavior, right?

[Enderwin]

Sorry yes all the ones that I have traced are showing the same faulty behavior. Know there are other plugs on that circuit that are working properly that obviously are first in line after the breaker. The end of the circuit is the dining room outlet then to the back of that slide, then I traced it to the rear left cabinet, then to the right cabinet at the rear, then up to the TV plug at the rear if the rv, then all the way up to the plug next to the door. From there I wasn't successful in finding the next plug up the line towards the breaker.
As I mentioned I want aware of another plug in the closet at the front of the rv. That may be the problem plug. Trailer is about an hour drive from here so I'll hopefully make it up there this weekend and have another go at it.

[MarkEHansen]

So, to answer the OP's question, each trailer is not necessarily wired the same. Even when the same model is coming down the assembly line, they can differ. You will have to determine how your's is wired (which you are doing) and go from there.

[JRTJH]

You indicated in your first post that the "bad plug" is located in the slide. There is an electrical connector (Mobile Home Snap Connector) in a cabinet near the location where the ROMEX changes to "flexible, strand wire". That plug, although usually a very reliable device, can work loose or even never have been completely plugged together.

I'd suggest you crawl under the slide, locate the area where the 110 VAC wire exits the trailer belly (on its way to the slide) and then go inside, locate that area and check the snap connector to be sure it's connected properly.

[CampNBrew2]

Canonman, Nice choice of picture for this thread LOL :) . Hopefully the OP will get this resolved before seeing that live in his trailer :)

[Bob Landry]

The wiring sequence of the outlets is irrelevant. They are all daisy chained in parallel using the exterior terminals, so a bad outlet will have no effect on others in the string unless it's a GFCI. If it fails, it kills all outlets down the string, but not the ones before it.
Also, all of the outlets near a water source, including the exterior ones will come off the GFCI, none of the others will.
Your best friend here is a $7 outlet tester from Home Depot. When you get to the outlet and does not light the LEDs correctly, pull the outlet and look for bad connections.

[LHaven]

The wiring sequence of the outlets is irrelevant. They are all daisy chained in parallel using the exterior terminals, so a bad outlet will have no effect on others in the string unless it's a GFCI.

This would be true if the daisychaining were always perfect in itself, but that's not the case. A bad wire insertion into a good outlet is going to affect all the other outlets down the line, and that is why the order is important, to identify which outlet box is most likely to have the problem wiring, so as not to have to take them all apart.

[Surferbill]

I had the same problem loose connection in the receptacle they are not the standard residential plugs. Took to dealer check good. Go camping and the fault would appear. The wire would get loosen. The wire is just push in not screwed right. Good luck replace every receptacle in the line with the regular residential receptacle.

[Enderwin]

So as the story goes. Bad plug was the first one in the sequence. Two things; lucky the trailer didn't burn to the ground and how are they allowed to use these garbage plugs? There's no way these can possibly be approved for use in a living environment. Somebody needs to loose their job.

[Enderwin]

Sounds to me like what I call a 'hi joint" - a loose connection; in a daisy chained receptacle, a connector somewhere etc. that doesn't let all the voltage through. This can also be dangerous because it generates heat, and can in the right circumstances, cause sparks that can cause a fire. If you had a short or short to ground you should throw the breaker.

Seems like you were right on the button. Thanks for the reply.

[sourdough]

I'm very glad you found it. That's not a good situation to have in your trailer. I have those type connectors on my deck lighting (low voltage) at our mountain home and they are the absolute pits for providing a good connection.