Lost AC power and some outlets

[Gbailey9099]

Hey all.
Montana 375FL 2018 here.

Had a good storm with heavy rain and lightning all day yesterday. Sometime during the day the outlets in the front of the camper went out, as did one outlet in the kitchen and both AC units. I’m assuming they all run off a different type of power than the appliances that are still running, which is about half the outlets, the fridge etc. only one outlet had the GFCI reset button which it’s not letting me push it down in any way.

I checked all the breakers and the fuses. They were fine but I reset all breakers. Reset the breaker on the panel I’m hooked into outside. Supposed to be 90F all week. Haven’t ever had this issue and am really bad with electrical.

Thanks all in advance. Have a good week.

[H. John Kohl]

With as many items not having power I would look at one leg of your power source at the pedestal or at your power circuit breaker box. It will require a VOM and some knowledge of electrical safety.

Good luck and safe travels.

[twindman]

The other odd thing to me - Usually the A/Cs are on the two opposite electrical wires to one doesn't get overloaded. So if it is a bad wire, I would think one line (A/C) would still work.

[H. John Kohl]

Agree each AC should be on separate line but may not be the case.
Until the problem is found you will not know.
Best of luck

[BB_TX]

A voltmeter is essential to quickly find the issue. Check the power pedestal for 120 vac on both hot pins. If good, unplug your power cord from the trailer and check the cord connector for 120 vac on both hot pins. If good, open your breaker panel and check for 120 vac on both hot legs in that panel. That will either find the problem or eliminate the most likely failure places.

The two A/Cs are normally on different hot legs. But don’t assume they always are.

If not comfortable troubleshooting live 120 vac then have park maintenance check the pedestal for you. If it is good then call a mobile RV repair service to check your trailer.

[Gbailey9099]

So thanks as always. Appreciate all you guys that always give me a hand on here when needed.

I ended up grabbing an electrician off our job site today and had him look at it. Seems the issue was with the 50 amp power cable head, where it hooks into the camper. Wasn’t getting a reading on that at first but after moving it around it started working. Everything running like normal as soon as we did that.

[BB_TX]

OK, that’s not good. Sounds like a loose of poor connection. There have been a number of reports about bad wire connections in the connector mounted to the trailer. And some of those ended up overheating and ruining the trailer connector and, in some cases, the power cord connector. Would be a good idea to remove the connector from the back of the trailer and check that wiring.

There was a discussion on the same problem just a few days ago. Will see if I can find it.

Edit: here it is.
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=89513

[Gbailey9099]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

OK, that’s not good. Sounds like a loose of poor connection. There have been a number of reports about bad wire connections in the connector mounted to the trailer. And some of those ended up overheating and ruining the trailer connector and, in some cases, the power cord connector. Would be a good idea to remove the connector from the back of the trailer and check that wiring.

There was a discussion on the same problem just a few days ago. Will see if I can find it.

Edit: here it is.
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=89513

Glad to read about that. My electrical knowledge is sketchy at best but I might have to unscrew that receptacle and take a look inside. I’d hate to call a repair guy if I don’t need it. But my electrician did tell me to check for hot spots on the power cable when I’m running the AC units. If I’m able to find a hot spot there might also eliminate the need to dig any deeper. Thanks for the reply.

[BB_TX]

Also, that is a twist lock connector. So when you plug in the power cord be sure to turn that connector until it locks in place to ensure it doesn’t back out.

[Maddog]

Had something similar. Found a breaker panel under the front storage bay. Started pulling fuses. Two twenty amps were blown. One so bad if it had a wire inside you couldn’t find one. Good luck

[Foldbak]

Originally Posted by Gbailey9099

So thanks as always. Appreciate all you guys that always give me a hand on here when needed.

I ended up grabbing an electrician off our job site today and had him look at it. Seems the issue was with the 50 amp power cable head, where it hooks into the camper. Wasn’t getting a reading on that at first but after moving it around it started working. Everything running like normal as soon as we did that.

I had the same problem.

[DebNJim B]

Also to note that the horizontal twist lock connection on the rig puts a nasty strain on the wires in that plug.
A good investment is a 90 degree dog bone.
https://www.amazon.com/Marinco-ParkP...75&sr=8-4&th=1
A bit expensive but well worth it in the long run. You may have to rotate the receptacle on the camper, but that's a 5 minute job.