Tripping GFCi over and over

[Wshowell]

Looking to take my parents’ trailer out this weekend after 2 years of sitting. Each time I plug it in to a GFCi outlet (240 with 120v adapter and 120) it’s tripping the breaker. I’ve read the other posts on this subject and turned off each circuit one at a time, trips. I’ve switched to other outlets and they trip. I’ve turned off every breaker in the trailer and it still trips. I’ve swapped extension cords and plugged in the main shoreline and it trips. I plug it in to a non GFCI circuit and it’s fine. Anyone have a starting point to troubleshoot this? Thank you in advance.
Shawn

[Ron in BC]

I'm having a bit of trouble completely understanding what you're saying.

You mention "240" , what do you mean? Can you plug the trailer power cord into any other house outlet?

Also, is the hot water tank on?

Ron

[Vermilye]

Modern GFCIs will trip with a fault between the neutral & ground. Since neither goes through a circuit breaker, shutting them off won't stop a GFCI from tripping if there is a neutral/ground fault. It could be a number of problems causing the trip. Water in receptacles, a wet bug nest in a receptacle or in the breaker panel, a bad electrical heater element in the refrigerator or water heater, or even a bad adapter.

The only way to find a neutral/ground fault is to disconnect the individual circuit neutrals at the breaker panel or both wires at the heating elements. If you are not comfortable poking around 120V circuits, find an electrician.

[Wshowell]

Sure…please disregard the 240V but I’ll explain. I have a Ford Lightning EV truck with a 30 amp 240V connection. I have a special -adapter that only taps one leg of that 240V so it’s 120V 30 AMP to the trailer. That’s just a side note. To simplify the post, my trailer keeps tripping all GFCi connections it’s plugged in to but works fine when not plugged in to a GFcI. Hope that’s helps. Additional data is that the trailer’s outside GFcI was not tripped but I manually tripped it and now it won’t reset. Could a bad GFCI on the trailer be the issue? Thanks.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by Wshowell

Sure…please disregard the 240V but I’ll explain. I have a Ford Lightning EV truck with a 30 amp 240V connection. I have a special -adapter that only taps one leg of that 240V so it’s 120V 30 AMP to the trailer. That’s just a side note. To simplify the post, my trailer keeps tripping all GFCi connections it’s plugged in to but works fine when not plugged in to a GFcI. Hope that’s helps. Additional data is that the trailer’s outside GFcI was not tripped but I manually tripped it and now it won’t reset. Could a bad GFCI on the trailer be the issue? Thanks.

It happens, replacing it is the best way to start your troubleshooting at this point.

[Wshowell]

Thanks. I recall something about the water heater in earlier posts. I pulled the anode and it was 100% toast and the bottom of the water heater was all mucked up with crusty white calcium sediment. Even though it’s off and the breaker is turned off all that muck could be creating a fault?

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Wshowell

Sure…please disregard the 240V but I’ll explain. I have a Ford Lightning EV truck with a 30 amp 240V connection. I have a special -adapter that only taps one leg of that 240V so it’s 120V 30 AMP to the trailer. That’s just a side note. To simplify the post, my trailer keeps tripping all GFCi connections it’s plugged in to but works fine when not plugged in to a GFcI. Hope that’s helps. Additional data is that the trailer’s outside GFcI was not tripped but I manually tripped it and now it won’t reset. Could a bad GFCI on the trailer be the issue? Thanks.

GFCIs require 120V AC power to reset. A bad GFCI in the trailer could cause the problem, as could water in the outside receptacle.

[Wshowell]

Ok. That’s an easy step I can handle too. Thanks.

[Hawkeye Ed]

Originally Posted by Wshowell

Looking to take my parents’ trailer out this weekend after 2 years of sitting. Each time I plug it in to a GFCi outlet (240 with 120v adapter and 120) it’s tripping the breaker. I’ve read the other posts on this subject and turned off each circuit one at a time, trips. I’ve switched to other outlets and they trip. I’ve turned off every breaker in the trailer and it still trips. I’ve swapped extension cords and plugged in the main shoreline and it trips. I plug it in to a non GFCI circuit and it’s fine. Anyone have a starting point to troubleshoot this? Thank you in advance.
Shawn

We need more info to be able to help you.

When you say "Each time I plug it in to a GFCI outlet" do you mean each time you plug the trailer into a GFCI outlet on the building where you're hoping to get power?

When you say "(240 with 120v adapter and 120)" are you talking about plugging the trailer's 30 amp plug into the regular household 15 or 20 amp receptacle on the GFCI using an adapter? If so, everything we're talking about is 120 volts; nothing is 240 volts. The only difference is that the trailer's power cord and plug are heavy duty and capable of carrying 30 amps of current, not just regular 15 or 20 amps found in most household circuits.

When you say you've "turned off each circuit one at a time, trips." Are you talking about turning off circuit breakers on the building where you're getting the electricity or are you talking about circuit breakers on the trailer's power center?

When you say "I’ve switched to other outlets and they trip." are you talking about other GFCI outlets on the building where you're trying to get power or something else?

When you say "I’ve swapped extension cords and plugged in the main shoreline and it trips. " where are you using these extension cords? Are you placing them between the trailer's power cord and the building's GFCI outlet or something else?

When you say " I plug it in to a non GFCI circuit and it’s fine. " are you talking about plugging the trailer's power cord into some out outlet on the building that's not a GFCI outlet?

Ground faults occur when the hot wire or live wire comes into contact with the ground wire or the grounded area of an appliance. Usually, GFCIs function by detecting when the current is flowing along an unintended path (e.g., through water or a person). A faulty GFCI or moisture in a building's outdoor receptacle box is a big cause of GFCI tripping but if you've tried multiple receptacle boxes then that's probably not the problem. Overloaded circuits are also a problem but if the problem occurs when all the breakers in the trailer are off, that's probably not the problem either.

So the problem is probably an electrical fault in your trailer's30 amp power cord or the adapter you use to plug it into a 20 amp receptacle. GFCIs are very sensitive and may trip even when the same load it plugged into a regular outlet and works fine.

My first guess is that there's something wrong with the electrical connections involving the adapter you're using. Clean the contacts on the adapter and your trailer's plug and see if that helps. If not, try another adapter. The problem could also be with the trailer's power cord but do the easy checks first.

Good luck

[Ron in BC]

First of all, no, the debris in the water tank isn't causing any of your current problem.

Sorry to ask again but have you plugged the trailer into a house outlet, not your truck?

Ron

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Wshowell

Thanks. I recall something about the water heater in earlier posts. I pulled the anode and it was 100% toast and the bottom of the water heater was all mucked up with crusty white calcium sediment. Even though it’s off and the breaker is turned off all that muck could be creating a fault?

Is your water gas and electric? If it has electric heating disconnect both wires on the element as Jon said above and try to plug into your house GFI again. I had an element fry and fail hot-to-ground. That will continuously trip a GFI instantly until corrected. Neutral-to-ground fault will do the same. Also if you have a 2-way or 3-way fridge that can operate on 120V you can unplug your refrigerator through the lower outside access to also rule that electric element in or out.

[Wshowell]

I’m confusing the issues by throwing in my EV truck and the 240V. I’m trying to plug in to my house’s 120V 15 amp outlets. My house has several outside outlets all GFCI. Those pop each time after the 2 minutes the trailer takes to “inspect” the line before engaging the shore power. I plug in to 120V inside my house (not GFCI) and I have no issues.

[Wshowell]

Cool. I’ll go down and try that out. The water heater is dual electrical/propane but the electrical switch is turned off at the heater. Thanks.

[Chamberman]

Originally Posted by Wshowell

I’m confusing the issues by throwing in my EV truck and the 240V. I’m trying to plug in to my house’s 120V 15 amp outlets. My house has several outside outlets all GFCI. Those pop each time after the 2 minutes the trailer takes to “inspect” the line before engaging the shore power. I plug in to 120V inside my house (not GFCI) and I have no issues.

Thats a very good bit of info. The 2 min delay is the Progressive EMS system engaging. If the GFCI trips when the EMS energizes the relay then this says that the problem is after the EMS, on the trailer side. The incoming plug and wiring should be fine. I'd do what Rubicon327 suggested and disconnect the water heater element power and unplug the fridge..

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

A bad GFCI in the trailer could cause the problem, as could water in the outside receptacle.

A bad GFI outlet on the trailer should not cause a house GFI to trip when plugging into shore power. It would only affect the GFI outlet itself and any other outlets downstream.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Wshowell

Cool. I’ll go down and try that out. The water heater is dual electrical/propane but the electrical switch is turned off at the heater. Thanks.

Having the breaker and/or power switch off will only help you diagnose if the fault is hot-to-ground. The GFI will still trip if it is a neutral-to-ground fault. As was said the only way to isolate this type of fault is to unplug/disconnect the suspect appliance/element directly or pull the individual neutrals off in the power center one at a time.

[btroxell]

Here is my antidotal story of something similar (my trailer is similar but different). When I plugged my trailer into shore power which was a 20A GFI, the trailer's EMS would hold for a couple of seconds then the (shore) GFI would trip. In that short time, I could see that inrush current (to the trailer) was pretty high; over 45A. I let my solar charge up the battery and when the trailer's battery was completely charged, I could connect the shore power cable. I now have non-GFI 30A to the trailer and have no problem.
I'm not sure why the high inrush current tripped the GFI since it is not a circuit breaker, but maybe something in the shore's GFI circuity didn't like that amount of current.

Ben

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by Wshowell

Cool. I’ll go down and try that out. The water heater is dual electrical/propane but the electrical switch is turned off at the heater. Thanks.

I had a total power failure last summer, I checked out my EMS and it wasn’t allowing power thru. It’s easy to bypass and test out, pop the cover off and wire nut things together.
I picked up something like this surge protector and plugged things together and I was back on the road.
Luckily it was still under warranty, replaced it later on and all is well.

[Wshowell]

More data points….unplugged the fridge and the EMS tripped when plugged in to GFCi. Plugged in to non GFCI and EMS allowed voltage to flow. I did the water heater wires….same results. I. Have not replaced that exterior GFCI on the trailer that won’t reset but I don’t see how that would affect the EMS protecting the system. The reason this is so important to me is because my hope is my EV truck will be my shore power and each of the outlets is GFCI protected. With 140 KWH of battery power I can boondock wherever I want without a generator. Yes, towing will zap my range but that’s part of the whole EV thing. Appreciate everyone trying to help. It may have been this way for years but my Dad probably wasn’t plugging it in to GFCI outlets. He passed away in June so I it’s another of the million things I can’t ask him that I wish I could.

[Chamberman]

Might want to pop the cover on the EMS and ensure everything is connected properly and securely. Beyond that the WFCO might have a problem. Does this trailer have an inverter?