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Old 05-01-2017, 07:29 AM   #1
kennyskywalker
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GFCI outlet not working

I am at a campsite with 30amp service, I bought a 45amp dogbone because my 5ver is 50amp, ac, fridge and all outlets work except for outlet in kitchen and gfci tester outlet in bathroom I can not reset button and no power is available in these two spots. I took a pic of the 45amp dogbone not sure if this has anything to do with issue. Does anyone know a fix to this problem?

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Old 05-01-2017, 07:34 AM   #2
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Did you check the breaker in your power distribution panel?

Also is that 15amp plug hot? and is it wired to the 30amp breaker in the photo...
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Old 05-01-2017, 07:46 AM   #3
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x2 .. Check 110 VAC breaker labeled GFI in the Power Distribution Pane. Just curious where is that extension cord going that is connected to the pedestal 20 AMP GFI. Just curious not related to your problem
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Old 05-01-2017, 08:00 AM   #4
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x2 .. Check 110 VAC breaker labeled GFI in the Power Distribution Pane. Just curious where is that extension cord going that is connected to the pedestal 20 AMP GFI. Just curious not related to your problem
That's one of those split dogbones that use the 15 amp circuit on the pedestal to give you 45 amps... but it really only works if the pedestal feeds are wired independently... never thought they were a good idea....
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Old 05-01-2017, 08:27 AM   #5
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JAVI, Got it Thanks!! Also agree with you!

Having to depend on how pedestals are wired is a flip of the coin
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Old 05-01-2017, 09:00 AM   #6
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Did you check the breaker in your power distribution panel?

Also is that 15amp plug hot? and is it wired to the 30amp breaker in the photo...
Ill check the 15amp out, breaker in the rig is good

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Old 05-01-2017, 09:02 AM   #7
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x2 .. Check 110 VAC breaker labeled GFI in the Power Distribution Pane. Just curious where is that extension cord going that is connected to the pedestal 20 AMP GFI. Just curious not related to your problem
Breaker in rig is good, I disabled the 20amp to see if it made a difference, same result

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Old 05-01-2017, 09:42 AM   #8
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If the GFCI reset button won't stay in the outlet itself is probably blown. I've had several in the house go from lightning near misses. (Took one apart and blown-up components fell out.) So it's entirely possible the outlet retired. Do check you are pressing the right button for reset. I've been fooled more than once.

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Old 05-01-2017, 11:18 AM   #9
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If the GFCI reset button won't stay in the outlet itself is probably blown. I've had several in the house go from lightning near misses. (Took one apart and blown-up components fell out.) So it's entirely possible the outlet retired. Do check you are pressing the right button for reset. I've been fooled more than once.

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Good point, I have a black button on top red at bottom. Red button is in, black is out, I press black button but red button will not move, in fact I press red but it stays in

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Old 05-01-2017, 11:19 AM   #10
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I'm going to investigate the fuses, btw the microwave has no power either

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Old 05-01-2017, 11:21 AM   #11
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Remember, that cheater cord keeps the legs separate. The 30 amp goes to one side of your breaker box and the 15 amp goes to the other side of your breaker box. If the 15 amp receptacle is dead (not energized) one whole side of your breaker box is without power. Should check all devices on that side of the breaker box to see if you have power there.

However, a GFCI's reset button should stay in without power... so it is important to figure out if power is not going to the GFCI or if the GFCI is simply tripping as soon as you reset.

Is the 15amp receptacle on the pedestal on a GFCI? That is another issue. Lots to check for. Hard to diagnose not being there.


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Old 05-01-2017, 11:43 AM   #12
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Hard to tell, but is the 15 amp breaker turned on in your picture? I'm betting there is something amiss with the power pedestal. Check out both sides and keep us informed. Thanks.
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Old 05-01-2017, 11:52 AM   #13
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Have you used the dogbone before and it worked? Probably not the issue but would help eliminate something. I've not used a 45 amp adapter like you have and I'm not sure how it is wired. A normal 30 to 50A adapter bridges the 120vac to both hot legs in the 50A plug. If this adapter just passes one hot side on the 30A plug and the other hot side with the 15A plug you may have one of the AC inputs bad or not turned on.

As Outback mentioned, if the plug in the ped is a gfci circuit that could be an issue. All the 45A adapters that I read up on said they would not work on a GFCI circuit.
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Old 05-01-2017, 01:48 PM   #14
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Okay it you know how to use a meter and feel comfortable around electricity go into the Power Distribution Panel and with breakers on measure for 110 VAC on the load side of each 110 VAC breaker. That will tell you if you are getting power to and through each individual breaker.
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Old 05-02-2017, 06:59 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by Outback 325BH View Post
Remember, that cheater cord keeps the legs separate. The 30 amp goes to one side of your breaker box and the 15 amp goes to the other side of your breaker box. If the 15 amp receptacle is dead (not energized) one whole side of your breaker box is without power. Should check all devices on that side of the breaker box to see if you have power there.

However, a GFCI's reset button should stay in without power... so it is important to figure out if power is not going to the GFCI or if the GFCI is simply tripping as soon as you reset.

Is the 15amp receptacle on the pedestal on a GFCI? That is another issue. Lots to check for. Hard to diagnose not being there.


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I removed the cheater cord and used 30amp dogbone, I'm back in business, thanks for the feedback here's a pic of correction made

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Old 05-02-2017, 08:17 AM   #16
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Another side note, when using 45amp dogbone I was not able to run fridge on aux power only LP

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Old 05-02-2017, 08:50 AM   #17
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Sounds like, if it were me, the 45A dogbone would go in the dog bone pile.

It also sounds like one of these is happening;

> The 45A adapter carries 120v from the 30A plug to one side of your 50A plug and the other 120V leg comes from the 15/20A plug.

> In your case the 20A plug was turned off (the pic shows the breaker off) OR

> The 20A plug was a GFCI (which it looks like in the pic) and the dog bone instructions specifically say it will not work on a GFCI circuit.

Any way you slice it I would definitely just stick with a real life 30A adapter which splits the 30A hot lead and sends it to both hot leads in the 50A plug. You only have 30A but everything will work without a bunch of potential problems.

Glad you got it fixed.
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Old 05-02-2017, 08:57 AM   #18
kennyskywalker
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Sounds like, if it were me, the 45A dogbone would go in the dog bone pile.

It also sounds like one of these is happening;

> The 45A adapter carries 120v from the 30A plug to one side of your 50A plug and the other 120V leg comes from the 15/20A plug.

> In your case the 20A plug was turned off (the pic shows the breaker off) OR

> The 20A plug was a GFCI (which it looks like in the pic) and the dog bone instructions specifically say it will not work on a GFCI circuit.

Any way you slice it I would definitely just stick with a real life 30A adapter which splits the 30A hot lead and sends it to both hot leads in the 50A plug. You only have 30A but everything will work without a bunch of potential problems.

Glad you got it fixed.
Thanks for the support you guys are awesome!

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Old 05-02-2017, 09:04 AM   #19
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I removed the cheater cord and used 30amp dogbone, I'm back in business, thanks for the feedback here's a pic of correction made

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Now that I see that pic better, I see the 20 amp receptacle is protected by a GFCI breaker. You can't use a cheater cord with a GFCI protected receptacle. The reason is, the neutral is shared across the 30 and 20 (which is electrically OK, but not a configuration that can be used with a GFCI ). A GFCI measures the current flowing on the hot and the neutral... and will trip if they do not match. Under normal circumstances this is correct. Due to the two different receptacles sharing the same neutral, the current flowing on the neutral and hot do not match and the GFCI trips. Although in this situation nothing electrically is wrong, the GFCI is not allowing for this.

When current flow on the neutral and hot do not match, it means current is flowing somewhere else. In a normal situation this means a possible dangerous situation... and the GFCI trips. In the case of the cheater cord, only the unbalanced current between both legs is flowing on the neutral -- a totally acceptable electrical configuration, however not compatible with GFCI protection.


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Old 05-06-2017, 09:47 AM   #20
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Great explanation Outback 325.... Those shared neutral circuits can be tricky.

One last thing I'm not sure if everyone knows.... a tripped GFI will not reset without power so if you suspect one is bad be sure you are getting power to it before replacing.
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