I bought a hunter 34 with shore power. Our Marina has GFI outlets. When connecting shore power, the polarity light is fine. A small load (nightlight) works, but a 100 Watts light trips the GFI. All wiring checks out. The main breaker as protects both the ground and live wires (black and white) as well as the ground wire through a third connector where the green wire connects (I'm guessing a form of GFI protection on the boat). If you remove the green wire from the main breaker, No Problems. Could it be the GFI outlets sees the auxiliary coil on the breaker as a fault and trips under load? Is it safe to leave that specific green wire unconnected (the rest of the safety grounds are still in function). I could install a switch on that wire to diable the auxiliary coil when in marinas with GFI outlets?
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Lee
GFI
The GFI(Ground Fault Interrupter) detects the amount of incoming current and compares it the the outgoing current. If there's any difference(it detects milliamps) it trips. This means that some of the current leaks to ground which is very critical in a marine environment. Isolating the ground as you suggested only opens the possibility that you or someone else will become the ground with fatal results. The main breakers protect from overcurrent and the GFI protects from current leakage. The most likely cause of the current drain is a bad insulator or frayed wire in the boat's wiring or the appliance you are connecting. Try connecting different loads until you find which appliance is causing the problem. Obviously the night light is OK. If you don't solve this problem, the sacrificial zinc anode on your boat as well as your neighbors' will wear out.
The GFI(Ground Fault Interrupter) detects the amount of incoming current and compares it the the outgoing current. If there's any difference(it detects milliamps) it trips. This means that some of the current leaks to ground which is very critical in a marine environment. Isolating the ground as you suggested only opens the possibility that you or someone else will become the ground with fatal results. The main breakers protect from overcurrent and the GFI protects from current leakage. The most likely cause of the current drain is a bad insulator or frayed wire in the boat's wiring or the appliance you are connecting. Try connecting different loads until you find which appliance is causing the problem. Obviously the night light is OK. If you don't solve this problem, the sacrificial zinc anode on your boat as well as your neighbors' will wear out.
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Barry
Had Same Problem, Same Boat - my fix:
When I got my h34 back in 1994 I had the same problem. Inside my panel I found the neutral and ground wires all tied together on the same buss. When I separated them the problem went away. Things worked fine at marinas that were not GFI protected and and didn't work at all with GFI circuits before my change. Using a meter you my be able to determine if the neutal and ground and hooked together on another circuit, outlet or electrical appliance if the panel is wired properly. Barry s/v "PER DIEM too"
When I got my h34 back in 1994 I had the same problem. Inside my panel I found the neutral and ground wires all tied together on the same buss. When I separated them the problem went away. Things worked fine at marinas that were not GFI protected and and didn't work at all with GFI circuits before my change. Using a meter you my be able to determine if the neutal and ground and hooked together on another circuit, outlet or electrical appliance if the panel is wired properly. Barry s/v "PER DIEM too"
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Lee
GFI Outlets
If the ground and common(white) wires are connected at the panel, a GFI at the dock will not work without separating the two. If separating the common and ground is not practical, another solution is to replace the outlets on the boat with GFI outlets but if the dock electric is GFI protected you will still have the problem. Talk to other boats at your dock and see if they have the same problem.
If the ground and common(white) wires are connected at the panel, a GFI at the dock will not work without separating the two. If separating the common and ground is not practical, another solution is to replace the outlets on the boat with GFI outlets but if the dock electric is GFI protected you will still have the problem. Talk to other boats at your dock and see if they have the same problem.
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Michel Sanscartier
Ground and neutral are connected....
throught the main breaker, hence the GFI problem. The main breaker (which is double width) has the black coming in, and going out, the white coming in and going out, and the green coming in to a center pin labelled auxixliary coil. I can measure resistance on that pin (from the coil). If I diconnect the green from the breaker, ground and neutral are perfectly independent and off course the GFI on the dock is happy. It seems that the main breaker is designed to be able to detect a difference of voltage between ground and neutral through this extra pin. However it is not compatible which a GFI protected source. I'll double check everything as per Barry's response. Thanks Lee! m. (Quiesce RYC, New Brunswick, Canada)
throught the main breaker, hence the GFI problem. The main breaker (which is double width) has the black coming in, and going out, the white coming in and going out, and the green coming in to a center pin labelled auxixliary coil. I can measure resistance on that pin (from the coil). If I diconnect the green from the breaker, ground and neutral are perfectly independent and off course the GFI on the dock is happy. It seems that the main breaker is designed to be able to detect a difference of voltage between ground and neutral through this extra pin. However it is not compatible which a GFI protected source. I'll double check everything as per Barry's response. Thanks Lee! m. (Quiesce RYC, New Brunswick, Canada)
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Mike DiMario
Expert Opinion
Michael, Get an expert opinion. I know that you do not want to remove your ground from the main breaker. It may solve the immediate problem but create a much bigger one. The common and ground are bonded only on shore and not on the boat. Bonding the two on the boat can cause potential charging of the water, around your boat, in the marina. I believe a galvanic isolator to be the link between the boat's 115 ground and and the 12 volt grounding system. This is a serious matter that requires an absolute authority on the issue. The only opinion I have to offer is GET AN EXPERT opinion and not what everyone thinks to be true! respectfully, Mike D
Michael, Get an expert opinion. I know that you do not want to remove your ground from the main breaker. It may solve the immediate problem but create a much bigger one. The common and ground are bonded only on shore and not on the boat. Bonding the two on the boat can cause potential charging of the water, around your boat, in the marina. I believe a galvanic isolator to be the link between the boat's 115 ground and and the 12 volt grounding system. This is a serious matter that requires an absolute authority on the issue. The only opinion I have to offer is GET AN EXPERT opinion and not what everyone thinks to be true! respectfully, Mike D
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Doug T.
ABYC AC wiring diagram
I can send you a copy of the AC wiring recommendations diagram out the ABYC book if you send me your e-mail address.
I can send you a copy of the AC wiring recommendations diagram out the ABYC book if you send me your e-mail address.
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