2021 - 200MK GFCI Failure

[wdonovan]

This may seem like a pain but...
An RV suffers vibration and inertia on all its parts. Wires like everything can work back and forth. I had the same issue on my sailboat at the main electrical panel.

It may worth while to open any high current panels, breakers, GFCIs, etc. once a year or two and check tightness of the wires. Main power disconnected of course. After reading this, I'm gonna do these checks on my trailers wiring, especially since it is new to me and I am running electrical resistance heaters through this season. Just a thought...

[Wandering5thwheelers]

This may seem like a pain but...
An RV suffers vibration and inertia on all its parts. Wires like everything can work back and forth. I had the same issue on my sailboat at the main electrical panel.

It may worth while to open any high current panels, breakers, GFCIs, etc. once a year or two and check tightness of the wires. Main power disconnected of course. After reading this, I'm gonna do these checks on my trailers wiring, especially since it is new to me and I am running electrical resistance heaters through this season. Just a thought...

Oh, I totally get that. I’ve worked on aircraft for years, so understand how things can loosen during movement, but in my mind, if it did happen, not with the amount of driving and style I’ve done since purchase…or should I say pick up.
Gary, the guy who replaced it for me, took one look and said this happened because the one screw wasn’t tightened correctly at the factory, but good luck proving that. Like I said, all is good now, I’ve learned a valuable lesson, will be doing a proper inspection on the trailer every 3 months or so.
But to your point…I’ve owned my Chevy Silverado since purchased brand new in 2015 and have driven it all over the states and Canada and there’s been no “working loose” of any wires….hmmm
Cheers!

[4x4dually]

As stated, any loose connection on an AC circuit, especially a screw on a device, will cause an arc and therefor get super hot. May not have been tight from the factory, or may have just got loose on the road from vibrations. Either way, glad you found it before it caught fire.

As suggested above, anything outside of our camper gets plugged into the 20A GCFI recept on the pedestal with a heavy gauge cord....ESPECIALLY anything with a heating element in it like an electric skillet or over etc. I've seen the wiring work in these trailers and it sure doesn't resemble ANYTHING a weathered electrician would install.

An AFCI breaker might have sensed and tripped due to the arcing on that loose screw.....but for this to work, the OEM's would have to actually install AFCI breakers and loose a few dollars on their profit. Not gonna happen. $.02

PS. For the record, driving vibrations should NOT loosen a properly installed screw on a GCFI. I'd venture to guess it wasn't tight from the get-go.

[IBEW Sparky]

As stated, any loose connection on an AC circuit, especially a screw on a device, will cause an arc and therefor get super hot. May not have been tight from the factory, or may have just got loose on the road from vibrations. Either way, glad you found it before it caught fire.

As suggested above, anything outside of our camper gets plugged into the 20A GCFI recept on the pedestal with a heavy gauge cord....ESPECIALLY anything with a heating element in it like an electric skillet or over etc. I've seen the wiring work in these trailers and it sure doesn't resemble ANYTHING a weathered electrician would install.

An AFCI breaker might have sensed and tripped due to the arcing on that loose screw.....but for this to work, the OEM's would have to actually install AFCI breakers and loose a few dollars on their profit. Not gonna happen. $.02

PS. For the record, driving vibrations should NOT loosen a properly installed screw on a GCFI. I'd venture to guess it wasn't tight from the get-go.

We cook outside of the RV quite a bit using electric appliances that consume larger amounts of power. I got tired of running out an extra extension cord to the pedestal and then always having one more item to wipe down and put away. I ran a separate 12AWG wire from my RV panel and added a dedicated 20 amp GFCI receptacle outside up by the front were I like my cooking table set up. Easy job (for me anyway) but I did have to wait almost 5 weeks to get the exact same brown Cooper weather proof receptacle cover to match the one further back on the exterior. Darn little $6 item had to be ordered from Cooper through an electrical supply house.

[4x4dually]

We cook outside of the RV quite a bit using electric appliances that consume larger amounts of power. I got tired of running out an extra extension cord to the pedestal and then always having one more item to wipe down and put away. I ran a separate 12AWG wire from my RV panel and added a dedicated 20 amp GFCI receptacle outside up by the front were I like my cooking table set up. Easy job (for me anyway) but I did have to wait almost 5 weeks to get the exact same brown Cooper weather proof receptacle cover to match the one further back on the exterior. Darn little $6 item had to be ordered from Cooper through an electrical supply house.

Makes perfect sense since you are a Union Electrician.

Just knowing how these trailers are wired makes my eyes twitch every time I look into something. Reminds me of something I'd see on the facebook group "Electrical ClusterF*ks & Fails" pages. LOL If you need some good electrical entertainment, and haven't seen that group, I highly suggest. Some of the work displayed on those pages remind me of the sparkys in these trailer factorys. LOL