Island Outlets Heartland 352

DBram2019

Member
We lost power to our 2 outlets after having our camper 3 months. No tripped breaker and GFCI is functioning not tripped. All other outlets are operational. Took camper into Camping World and after 5 months - Yes 5 months got our camper back with functioning outlets. Took it out camping 2 weeks later and the same island outlets are not working again. Any idea where to begin? I'm not taking back to CW. I did down load the electrical guide which is fantastic to have and a great resource.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi DBram2019,

Are you certain that it's just these 2 outlets that are in the island and that EVERYTHING else is ok? Sometimes on 50 amp service, you can lose 1 of the 2 power legs. If you're not using A/C units, or all other appliances, it's possible one leg may be out.

Also, although there's usually a single GFCI outlet, located in the bathroom, it's possible on some floor plans that there could be a second one. Take a flashlight and visually check every outlet, including outlets on the bottom of cabinets.

Often, power is routed along the frame, to a junction box that may be mounted under the slide on each side. From one of those boxes, it may go to the island. A loose connection inside a junction box could be the culprit. Be careful working on those junction boxes if you have power to the coach. You might want to shut power off before opening to inspect. Or use a $20 non-contact voltage tester (local hardware store purchase), to check that it's not hot before touching.

In the main circuit breaker panel, a breaker may trip and move only slightly. Visual inspection for a tripped breaker is not always effective. Better to flip the breakers OFF and back ON.

Good luck with it.
 

wdk450

Well-known member
Is there ANOTHER outlet on your island that is NOT dead?? These Insulation displacement RV outlets use an insulation cutting V shaped piece of metal (like in a Scotchlok) to make a wire connection without the normal home outlet screws. When 2 cables are connected to an outlet so that they are "chained" often this type of connection is VERY unreliable, and cuts off the outlets "downstream" from the breaker. Sometimes just the road vibrations from travelling is enough to cause problems again.

Open up one of these outlets and you will see what I mean about the connection method. I chose to add wall boxes and standard screw-wire outlets for all of my outlets in my rig.

A non-contact voltage tester that you can hold next to a supposedly energized cable to see if electricity is there, might be handy in troubleshooting this problem. You can get these at any home improvement/hardware store.
 

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
Traced my problem, which was not island related, to a outlet that had three romex connections. The first was not pushed in all the way down so by the time the third set of wires were pushed in it did not have much to grab on to. Thus a few months down the road it popped loose and a socket further down lost power. I had to open several to find it. It is a process of elimination since they are not necessarily wired in series.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Traced my problem, which was not island related, to a outlet that had three romex connections. The first was not pushed in all the way down so by the time the third set of wires were pushed in it did not have much to grab on to. Thus a few months down the road it popped loose and a socket further down lost power. I had to open several to find it. It is a process of elimination since they are not necessarily wired in series.

Marc - the outlet that had 3 wires in it, was it designed for 3 wires or only 2? If only 2, do you have pictures of your pre-repair of it?
 
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