Microwave outlet replacement - Page 2 - Escape Trailer Owners Community
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Escape Trailer Owners Community > Escape Tech > Problem Solving | Owners helping each other
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 05-31-2018, 06:21 PM   #21
Senior Member
 
Slickheadhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Weare, New Hampshire
Trailer: 2015 Escape 17A
Posts: 428
The breakers for what I think is the microwave is labeled fridge and conv box. The fridge has power on AC but no power to that electrical box. I also tried the other breakers that are labeled for "plugs" and they all are working. I don't believe it's the breaker that's bad but still no power to that lone plug outlet.
Slickheadhunter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 07:33 PM   #22
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: North of Danbury, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21C
Posts: 3,033
The type of outlets used in most RV’s and the connection method employed are notorious for failing . The wire connection often come loose
Take a meter and check to see if you have a hot , neutral and equipment ground at the receptacle. From my experience you have probably lost the hot or the neutral .
If the connections are bad , I would remove the receptacle install a cut in box and replace the receptacle with a standard duplex receptacle ( wrap the wires around the receptacle screws — Do NOT use the backwire pushin terminals .
After years of repairing burned up plugs in trailer homes ‘I refused to use the crimp on receptacles after viewing wall paneling with burn streaks going up the wall .
The mobile home / trailer receptacles are code compliant but are not best practice
steve dunham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 07:42 PM   #23
Senior Member
 
Slickheadhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Weare, New Hampshire
Trailer: 2015 Escape 17A
Posts: 428
Thanks Steve,
The problem is nothing looks bad, and the wire itself is not live! No juice to the wire and all the breakers are working. It leads me to believe somewhere from that outlet to the electrical box I have a problem.
Slickheadhunter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 07:50 PM   #24
Site Team
 
rbryan4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
Can I ask you Emile, has the outlet ever worked? If not, I'd suspect the problem is the connection (or lack thereof) of that circuit at the breaker panel.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
rbryan4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 08:03 PM   #25
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: North of Danbury, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21C
Posts: 3,033
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slickheadhunter View Post
Thanks Steve,
The problem is nothing looks bad, and the wire itself is not live! No juice to the wire and all the breakers are working. It leads me to believe somewhere from that outlet to the electrical box I have a problem.
Wires seldom break in the middle of a run . Most problems are at the connection points ( Receptacle or breaker panel )
If you can determine which cable feeds the microwave , you can remove the wires from the breaker and neutral bar and ohm out the circuit conductors going to the receptacle .
You should also check to make sure you have power at the load terminal of the microwave breaker .

GB Disclaimer ; I do not own an Escape but I was a licensed electrician for over 40 years
steve dunham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 08:34 PM   #26
Senior Member
 
Slickheadhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Weare, New Hampshire
Trailer: 2015 Escape 17A
Posts: 428
There doesn't seem to be a breaker for that outlet alone, all other outlets are working when the breaker is on, and are off when the breaker is off. The microwave works when plugged into every other outlet, and yes it was working when I put it in storage.

I have the outlet pulled into the microwave compartment and can see the wires which have no power when tested directly ( not going through the outlet plug )
Slickheadhunter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 09:12 PM   #27
Senior Member
 
tdf-texas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Baytown, Texas
Trailer: 2017 21' Escape - upgraded version
Posts: 2,697
The microwave outlet is on a breaker by itself (dedicated).

Try this:
Turn off the breakers for the A/C, Fridge, etc. In other words, all the breakers except the ones for outlets.

plug something into an outlet like a light so you can tell if it has power, turn off and on the remaining breakers one at a time until a breaker kills that outlet, leave it off.

Go to another outlet, plug something into that outlet.
If it has power, turn off and on the remaining breakers one at a time until a breaker kills that outlet, leave it off.
If that outlet is dead when you plug something into it, it is on the same breaker as the other outlet you tested - go to another outlet.

Keep doing this until all the outlets are dead - the breaker that is left is the one for the microwave.

Check the terminal on the breaker to see if it has power. If it does, check that the hot and neutral wires for that breaker are connected. If it doesn't have power on the breaker terminal, switch it hard to OFF to reset it and turn back on. If it still doesn't have power, replace the breaker - you have a bad one.
__________________
Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Engineers believe in fixing it so that it never breaks.
tdf-texas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2018, 10:05 PM   #28
Senior Member
 
Slickheadhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Weare, New Hampshire
Trailer: 2015 Escape 17A
Posts: 428
I only have two breakers that say outlets, looks like the three outlets on the sink side of the camper are on one breaker and the two outlets on the microwave side are on the other. The second outlet on the microwave side works when the breaker is on.

I have the main, fridge and conv box(whatever that is) two "outlet breakers" and one for the hot water heater.....that's it!
Slickheadhunter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 12:22 AM   #29
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slickheadhunter View Post
I have the main, fridge and conv box(whatever that is) two "outlet breakers" and one for the hot water heater.....that's it!
Just to confirm: you do not have the optional all-outlets inverter, right? That comes with an additional two-circuit breaker panel, but if you had it you would not have "outlet" breakers in the WFCO panel, and you would have one feeding the transfer switch.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 12:38 AM   #30
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
Quote:
Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
Wires seldom break in the middle of a run . Most problems are at the connection points ( Receptacle or breaker panel )
Since this is true, the culprit may be connections at another outlet on the same circuit, where power feeds through that receptacle to the microwave. Since it is a pain to dig into each receptacle it would be very helpful to know both what circuit the microwave is on (assuming it is on one of the "outlet" circuits), and what order the outlets are in on the chain from breaker to outlet to outlet.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 12:50 AM   #31
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
An additional possibility:
Based on another discussion thread (Breaker modification), it appears that in some cases Escape brings two cables into the breaker panel and joins them there (using a wire nut) to a short "pigtail" to the breaker. If that has been done with the cable to the microwave outlet and the cable to other outlets on the same circuit, then the wire nut connection is another potential location for connection failure.

I realize that the installation discussed in the linked thread has this style of connection in the extra panel of an inverter installation, which is not the case here (no inverter), but it might still be worth checking for the same style of wiring in this case.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 04:57 AM   #32
Senior Member
 
sclifrickson's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Port Townsend, Washington
Trailer: 2010 17B “MATT”, then 2017 19 “Lilly”
Posts: 1,584
Microwave outlet replacement

And another possibility: Maybe power is going to the outlet just fine but the outlet itself is broken or defective. Have you put a voltmeter directly on the wiring to confirm there’s no juice, or used a non-contact voltage detector or such? I’m no electrician but I have seen this happen a couple of times over the years, and was I ever happy when I figured it out because replacing an outlet is way easier than many other failure points.
__________________
💩-p+☕️+n
sclifrickson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 05:22 AM   #33
Senior Member
 
Slickheadhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Weare, New Hampshire
Trailer: 2015 Escape 17A
Posts: 428
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
Since this is true, the culprit may be connections at another outlet on the same circuit, where power feeds through that receptacle to the microwave. Since it is a pain to dig into each receptacle it would be very helpful to know both what circuit the microwave is on (assuming it is on one of the "outlet" circuits), and what order the outlets are in on the chain from breaker to outlet to outlet.
Never thought of this, the other outlet which I believe is on the same circuit is under the seat and easy to get to! I'll have a look at it after work today!

I did check the wire itself to the bad outlet and there is no power there.
Slickheadhunter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 07:03 AM   #34
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Westcliffe, Colorado
Trailer: 2010 EggCamper (#083); 2017 Escape 21 (#053); 2016 F-150 5.0L FX4
Posts: 1,765
I've learned to never assume things when it comes to electricity. So at this point, you might also want to go ahead and do an ohms test on each individual wire lead (from where it connects to the circuit breaker to where it connects the outlet) to make sure each wire can still carry a current. In older trailers, you never know what might have been pinched or stretched.
War Eagle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 10:59 AM   #35
Senior Member
 
Ron in BC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,743
On my 19 Circuit #1 powers both the microwave and the converter. There is a splice in the wires. If my m/w outlet wasn't working that's an item I'd check. Your wiring may be different.

Ron
Attached Thumbnails
09-11-2014 10-53-09 AM1_resize.jpg  
Ron in BC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 12:48 PM   #36
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: WI, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 465
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
On my 19 Circuit #1 powers both the microwave and the converter. There is a splice in the wires. If my m/w outlet wasn't working that's an item I'd check. Your wiring may be different.

Ron
I don't understand how the microwave must be on a dedicated circuit, yet we keep seeing examples of it not including the above linked thread? Maybe my definition of dedicated is not the same as electrical code.
MikeS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 02:10 PM   #37
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
On my 19 Circuit #1 powers both the microwave and the converter. There is a splice in the wires.
That's an example - complete with photo - of the multiple connections to one breaker that I was trying to explain, although it is actually Ron's circuit #2 which uses a visible wire nut and pigtail.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
An additional possibility:
Based on another discussion thread (Breaker modification), it appears that in some cases Escape brings two cables into the breaker panel and joins them there (using a wire nut) to a short "pigtail" to the breaker.
It appears that in circuit #1 in Ron's trailer the wire to the converter and the wire to the microwave are both under the same circuit breaker terminal screw. If so, that would be another place to have only some of the equipment on a breaker working... although if one of two wires came out, the other one would not likely have a good connection, either.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 02:19 PM   #38
Senior Member
 
Ron in BC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,743
Yes, and to further compound the situation, Circuit # 1 has two wires on the same breaker terminal. The first time that I acquainted myself with the panel the machine screw holding them was loose, still contact, but loose.

Ron
Ron in BC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 02:22 PM   #39
Site Team
 
John in Santa Cruz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Mid Left Coast, California
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21
Posts: 5,122
not sure I understand why that other wire goes to the wire nut, and not just directly to the breaker.
John in Santa Cruz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2018, 02:36 PM   #40
Senior Member
 
tdf-texas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Baytown, Texas
Trailer: 2017 21' Escape - upgraded version
Posts: 2,697
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeS View Post
I don't understand how the microwave must be on a dedicated circuit, yet we keep seeing examples of it not including the above linked thread? Maybe my definition of dedicated is not the same as electrical code.
A 950 watt microwave pulls about about 1200 watts or 10 amps. The WF-8955 converter pulls about 7.8 amps under full load. Guess what problem can occur if both are powered by a 15 amp breaker. That's one of the reasons a microwave is required by code to be on a dedicated circuit. Dedicated means that no other device is on that circuit.

Escape is not following NEC code by wiring these circuits like this. Oh, and putting two wires on a single breaker terminal will get you flagged for a violation on an electrical inspection.
__________________
Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Engineers believe in fixing it so that it never breaks.
tdf-texas is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escape Trailer Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:19 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2023 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.