I have found that when I unplug my power cord and plug it back in when returning to the dock, the main AC breaker flips off. I have a separate cord and breaker for my air conditioner and it does not suffer from the same problem. I am a real Luddite when it comes to things electrical and am without a clue as to what is going on. Once suggestion was to replace the breaker but when looking behind the panel it seems there are 3 "blocks" wired together. Any idea where one of these might be available. Thanks
AC power problem
- Thread starter Sanfelice
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Are you turning off all your AC power before you unplug? You should turn off the AC switch on the boat,then turn off the circuit breaker on the dock then unplug the boat when casting off. Then do it in reverse order after docking, ie plig in, flip circuit breaker on dock then go aboard and tuen on the AC. That way, in case you drop the power chord in the water you won't blow out your dock power or damage a neighbors boat that may not be wired correctly.Sanfelice said:
If your breaker is blowing when you plug in, sounds like you have the AC on in the boat and something that requires AC is on. Maybe the hot water heater, or a bad battery charger pulling a high load.
I always turn off everything on my A.C. panel before plugging in th shore power.
It reduces the chance of blowing a breaker if the connection is not good when screwing the power plug into the 30 Amp input. But it sounds like you have a wiring fault if it happend repeatedly. Check the plug ends of your shore power cable for short damage & or scortch marks. The standard yellow cables are famous for shorting out. Otherwise the problem may be either at your panel, or more likely the dock's terminal is corroded. Switch your dock power cable to a different shore power connection. If you know that the one for your A/C works swap it with the 30 Amp service cord. Your problem may be as simple as salt water corrosion at the cable terminals increasing resistance. If you still have problems, then something on your 110 circuit is malfunctioning. When refrigerator compressors or A.C. compressors go bad they pull more & more juice at the capacitor until they blow out a breaker or fuse. Good luck.
It reduces the chance of blowing a breaker if the connection is not good when screwing the power plug into the 30 Amp input. But it sounds like you have a wiring fault if it happend repeatedly. Check the plug ends of your shore power cable for short damage & or scortch marks. The standard yellow cables are famous for shorting out. Otherwise the problem may be either at your panel, or more likely the dock's terminal is corroded. Switch your dock power cable to a different shore power connection. If you know that the one for your A/C works swap it with the 30 Amp service cord. Your problem may be as simple as salt water corrosion at the cable terminals increasing resistance. If you still have problems, then something on your 110 circuit is malfunctioning. When refrigerator compressors or A.C. compressors go bad they pull more & more juice at the capacitor until they blow out a breaker or fuse. Good luck.
The hot, neutral and ground contacts in the plug and socket do not make contact at the same instant. This intermittent random contact could blow breakers or GFCI's. It is an absolute must to kill shore power before disconnecting cable and to assure cables are fully in place before restoring the shore power breaker. Yes, it is another trip off the boat to the box, but pretty critical to protect the boat and yourself.
Disconnect: Boat breaker off, shore breaker off, disconnect cable
Reconnect: (Boat and shore breakers still off) connect cable, shore power on, boat breaker(s) on.
If you follow the above and still have breakers tripping, the breaker itself may have issues. Let us know if this and the previous posts resolves your problems.
Disconnect: Boat breaker off, shore breaker off, disconnect cable
Reconnect: (Boat and shore breakers still off) connect cable, shore power on, boat breaker(s) on.
If you follow the above and still have breakers tripping, the breaker itself may have issues. Let us know if this and the previous posts resolves your problems.
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