Made a mistake And need help.Micrwave and AC not working.

denlyn08 · 06-09-2017, 05:50 AM

I made a truly rookie mistake I think. We are new to learning about the Montana 3075RL and were cleaning it for the first time. We used a pressure washer on the outside and on the roof, and I must have gotten water where it shouldn't have been. I have found the following problems after we finished.
1. GFCI in bathroom is tripped and cannot be reset.
2. All outlets in the bedroom that are down line of that gfci of course, have no power.
3. Central Vacuum not working.
4. Microwave has no Power.
5. Air Conditioner does not have power, although the thermostat appears to work fine.

I stayed up all night berating myself for such a dumb mistake, but I can't cry over blown circuits! lol.
I read all the troubleshooting blogs I could find and watched countless YouTube videos, but I still am unsure how to fix it.
The Keystone User Manuals are virtually worthless for this type of issue.

This is what I've tried so far.

1. Turned all circuit breakers off and on in case they were tripped.
2. Pulled, checked and replaced all the fuses.
3. Scoured the entire camper to locate all GFI and GFCI plugs to see if others were tripped. My camper has only 2 that have the test and reset buttons (kitchen and bathroom), but there are more That are labeled GFI but have no buttons, (outdoor outlet, 1 in the basement, and I think I remember one in the washer dryer closet too. But don't quote me on that. I can test and reset the kitchen GFCI, But when I do the same to the bathroom, it won't reset. I know that means that there is still a problem, but I thought at least I could pickup a new gfci outlet and install it and then I could rule out a bad outlet.
4. I Unplugged the shoreline and checked for any water issues there and then plugged it back in securely.

So, that's it. I'm not sure what to do next. I'm getting ready to go to Camping World and pick up a new GFCI outlet.

Any help or advice from anyone is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Canonman · 06-09-2017, 06:33 AM

GFCI outlets are looking for a "Ground Fault" Any outlets that say GFCI but don't have the reset buttons are wired behind or downstream of the resettable outlet. LIkely you have an outlet downstream from the bathroom GFCI that has some water issue allowing one leg (either hot or neutral) to go to ground. Have you found any water inside the trailer? Any outlets in that area would be suspect. Next, I'd look at any outlets outside the trailer. There should be at least one convenience outlet outside, one in the cargo bay? Outside kitchen?? Disconnect the shore power and just unscrew these outlets and the downstream outlets one at a time and inspect them for for any moisture. The A/C will be on a separate circuit from the coach outlets. You can pull the cover on the roof unit and check for any water there as well. Same with the vac. Find the power source for the vac and look for any moisture. If the lights (110v) work and other outlets work then this is a circuit by circuit issue. I'd say your GFCI is still god but if you want to try replacing it you can go to Home Depot or any convenient hardware store and buy a standard residential GFCI outlet. Again, be sure to disconnect the shore power before you start pulling plugs. Good luck and post what you find out.

Dave B · 06-09-2017, 06:34 AM

Do any of the 110v outlets/appliances work, or are they all out? If they're all out, check and make sure that your power coming in to the RV is still on. The incoming power from the house is often on its own GFCI circuit and it may have popped.

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slow · 06-09-2017, 06:50 AM

Assuming you do not have a residential fridge: Also check the outlet that your fridge is plugged into. Very easy to get it wet when washing the unit. It will be behind the lower access panel to the back side of the fridge.

**JRTJH** · 06-09-2017, 07:02 AM

You say that you disconnected the trailer from your shore power source, checked for any water and then securely plugged it back in. Did you verify that there is power at the plug coming from your house? Also, your trailer power cord is detachable, so if you used a pressure washer, you may have sprayed some water into the connector at the "trailer end" of the power cord.

First, I'd check to make sure you do have power at the "house outlet" that you're using and then verify that there are good, dry connections at the trailer connector.

canesfan · 06-09-2017, 08:05 AM

Everytime we have a hard rain my house outdoor outlets trip the GFI breaker they are wired to. Sometimes it takes a couple days for them to dry out and I can reset it. I'd turn everything off, run an extension cord from a live outlet somewhere and get a hair dryer and dry out each outlet for starters. Like others said, check the fridge compartment, there's probably an outlet in there too. And next time wash it by hand.

dcg9381 · 06-09-2017, 08:10 AM

Specific steps:
1) Power down the RV
2) Disconnect the "downstream" from the GFCI outlet.
3) Power up the RV, reset the GFCI. (Some outlets won't reset without power applied)

Let us know if it trips.

**chuckster57** · 06-09-2017, 08:12 AM

using a pressure washer is fine, just have to know how close the nozzle can be and where you CAN'T point it. too close to the lower refer vent may cause problems. another one is the furnace and water heater. Too close and water can get into places it doesn't belong. If you have water intrusion from washing the roof, then you have bigger problems that need looking into.
We use a pressure washer on everything at work...Ever try hand washing a 43ft Class A or a 45ft toy hauler?

notanlines · 06-09-2017, 01:48 PM

The first thing that came into my mind was that you had no power from your source. As mentioned earlier check that first. And what Chuckster said about power washers is absolutely true. They are used in every RV park we have been in. Just don't get up close and don't poke them just everywhere. Keep us posted if you will.

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