Certain outlets not working

dpop · 01-25-2022, 09:10 AM

I have a 2021 Cougar 25RDSWE. I’m plugged in at a site and have been living in it for about 1.5 months now. I had a space heater and my fireplace on through the night. Woke up to my fireplace off. (This setup had been working fine for weeks.) Now the fireplace, water heater, the outlet under my dinette and the outlet on my slide out don’t work. Both the gfci outlets work. I’ve turned off and back on all the breakers and reset both gfci outlets. Called keystone and they told me to turn the battery disconnect off. Did that and no change.
Anyone have any insight or experience with this?

When this first happened I turned off/on the breakers and everything started working again (!!). But they turned off again after using just the space heater one night.

Is it the space heater? Why does the outlet the heater’s plugged into (and the heater) still work?

**JRTJH** · 01-25-2022, 09:55 AM

I'm unsure if you have a 30 amp or a 50 amp shore power system. The water heater is on a separate circuit breaker from the outlets, so it sounds like you're losing power to more than one circuit breaker.

If you have a 50 amp power system, I'd check the campground pedestal plug to make sure it's in good condition, check your shore power plug pins for any evidence of pitting or arcing. Use a volt meter to confirm that you have power at the input lugs to the circuit breaker connecting lugs.

If you have a 30 amp power system, check the circuit breakers to make sure you have power through them, to the ROMEX wire attached to the circuit breaker.

Then, with either amperage power system, check the actual plugs with a volt meter to confirm that power is/is not present at the plug. RV's use a "quick and fast blade system to make electrical contact with the plug/ROMEX and that connection is extremely prone to loosening and causing electrical problems at that plug AND at all plugs further down the line on that circuit breaker....

But, again, if you have a 50 amp shore power system, the first check I'd do is to make sure BOTH legs of power are present in the circuit breaker box inside your trailer power distribution center.

travelin texans · 01-25-2022, 10:06 AM

The battery disconnect will have nothing to do with the 120 volt plugs, but with it turned off your batteries won't be charging. Once the batteries are dead your water heater, fridge (if absorption type), water pump, furnace, lights & anything else 12 volt powered will be running off of the converter which would eventually strain it.

**flybouy** · 01-25-2022, 10:28 AM

Have you looked at the plug on the spaceheater? Notice any melted areas or discoloration on the prongs? From your description my guess would be the fireplace and the space heater were on the same breaker. Once a cord/plug on a space heater overheats it takes less and less time for it to trip a breaker as the resistance from the plug damage increases.

**sourdough** · 01-25-2022, 10:33 AM

Sounds like you may have initially tried to run a space heater on the same circuit as the fireplace (don't) and tripped a breaker. What has happened since is unclear but I would check your EMS and see if maybe you're losing one leg of a 50A service.

dpop · 01-25-2022, 12:14 PM

I have 50amp power for the trailer. I don’t have a volt meter, so I’m gunna get one and then check the shore power. Thank you @jrtjh

dpop · 01-25-2022, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelin texans

The battery disconnect will have nothing to do with the 120 volt plugs, but with it turned off your batteries won't be charging. Once the batteries are dead your water heater, fridge (if absorption type), water pump, furnace, lights & anything else 12 volt powered will be running off of the converter which would eventually strain it.

I meant turn the battery disconnect on - as in the battery needs to be on. The battery disconnect terminology confuses me - saying the disconnect is on sounds like it’s disconnected to me ��. Thanks @travelintexans

dpop · 01-25-2022, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

Have you looked at the plug on the spaceheater? Notice any melted areas or discoloration on the prongs? From your description my guess would be the fireplace and the space heater were on the same breaker. Once a cord/plug on a space heater overheats it takes less and less time for it to trip a breaker as the resistance from the plug damage increases.

It looks maybe damaged - attached a pic. The breakers have never been “tripped” as in in the off position. I’ve just been turning them off and back on again.
But if I unplug the space heater and then turn the breaker off and on, shouldn’t it be ok? @flybouy

**chuckster57** · 01-25-2022, 12:30 PM

When a breaker “trips” it won’t flip all the way to off. It can look like it’s still on and until you manually turn it all the way off and turn it back on, it won’t operate correctly.

rhagfo · 01-25-2022, 02:27 PM

Well I agree with those that say sounds like you lost one of the two legs of our 50 amp circuit. Could be a bad outlet at the pedestal or a bad breaker. You need check the plug end of your power cable also, make sure not burned or pitted.

I dislike portable heaters, but your plug looks good, the signs of over heating are the plastic starting to melt.

**JRTJH** · 01-25-2022, 04:57 PM

I agree with Russ. Your space heater plug looks OK to me. If it were overheated, corroded or damaged, it would show signs of melted plastic near where the pin enters the plastic. This photo is just one sample of a "overheated, corroded plug"... It's an "extreme example" and most won't look this bad before they should be pulled from service. This one shouldn't be used any further and the plug should be replaced. Yours looks to be in good condition.

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