Shore Power problem

[Silvertip]

Re: Shore Power problem

At this point, have you proven that your dock-side shore power outlet is correctly wired?? If so, and the fact that all circuits in the boat trip the main breaker, that tends to point back at the boat, and again, if all circuits are affected, it has to be a malfunctioning breaker or possibly some corrosion has degraded the panel itself and caused some sort of issue. I guess if this were my boat, I would physically disconnect the load side from each circuit breaker except one, and then see if that circuit functions properly. If it still doesn't there is definitely a wiring problem (hot to neutral) somewhere on the boat. If that circuit now functions, reconnect the next one and repeat the test. Continue doing this until the main breaker again trips and you've found the bad circuit. What the repair is will still need some investigation but you will at least know where to look. If you have any devices that are hard wired into the system (not simply plugged in), I would pay special attention to those devices.

 

[falling]

Re: Shore Power problem

Might just try putting in new main breakers and see if that fixes it. I have seen many breakers die an early death. If problem is still there you will know that it is definately a problem on your circuits. <br /><br />Previous owner may have let the smoke out of the breaker and we all know the smoke is what makes it all work

 

[amirm]

Re: Shore Power problem

I wish he would come back and tell us what happened. He throws a puzzle at us and then leaves us hanging .<br /><br />Amir

 

[TravisTraverser]

Re: Shore Power problem

Sorry about the suspense, but it took me a while to get back out the lake.<br />I used a neighbors shore power and discovered that when I used hers, the reverse polarity light came on, so I reversed the polarity of the cord and everything worked. I purchased one of those three prong testers and all the outlets came up correct. <br />I tried again with my shore power and it worked fine with the reversed polarity taken care of. I still do not know why it did not show up previously, but I also discovered that whoever brought the electrical cord down from the cabin, put it in a grounded box, but only ran the hot and neutral wires to that box and there was no grounding AT ALL! Maybe that is why the polarity light never came on?<br />I traced the two wire cord back to where it was plugged in and sure enough it was only a two pronged outlet, so I grounded it onto the metal pipe that it was attached to and hope that that takes care of it.<br />I am planning to run a new wire from the panel and to install a GFCI receptacle at the dock.<br />Thanks for all the input