Neutral side of plug has burnt marks Its blowing

Turn camper breakers off. Turn 1 at a time on and narrow down problem.

* Check 12 volt DC system (may be camper battery or car battery, though most only use the camper battery.)
* Camper may be using 12 volt DC lights so it can be turned on while your on the road or not hooked up to an 120 VAC or 240 VAC outlet.
* If you are using 120 VAC lights then check the neutral line (note; HIGH voltage here. Get help from an electrician or at least the RV park handyman.) The problem may be at the outlet (the RV site's problem) or more likely in your plug or cable (the big cord) as it does get abused, run over, kinked, etc. Need to have it checked by an electrician.
* Check the light bulbs; is it seated properly? Replace if burnt out. Have electrician test if there is power at the socket.
* Final; Be safe and have a qualified electrician service your camper.
Aloha, ukeboy57

Please be careful, you need a neutral bond for the GFI outlets to work when you are using the generator as a mobile unit and grounding the generator with a ground rod or building. When you are merging with a building with a grounded system, simply remove the two neutral wires (White) at the generators internal terminals from the generator frame but keep them connected together and terminate connection.

Bonding on a generator questions

Q. If I was to keep the tie between ground and neutral in the generator during standby use, would I have to break the neutral tie coming into home from grid?



A. Never disconnect the neutral line as it enters your house. It is held very well at ground potential. Each transformer is grounded, and every home supplies ground as well. The neutral coming in is the reference to both live lines, and without it, anything connected to either live line could see up to 240VAC depending on what is across the other side. Install a proper transfer panel, and the neutral issue will be taken care of.

Q. Where would I ground the generator at this time in this situation?



A. The generator will be grounded through the extension cord plugging into the transfer panel. Your home should have one ground connection only, adding a ground rod at the generator could create other unwanted safety issues.

Q. At this time is it safe to run an extension cord off generator direct to power a drill for example?



A. Yes. The transfer panel will take care of any neutral and ground bonding issues, provided things are wired correctly.

Q. If I was to lift the neutral to ground in generator and tag generator as floating neutral, then would I leave neutral unbroken in service panel?



A. Yes. The common point for neutral and ground will be provided in the main electrical panel.

Q. Could I use the 15 amp outlets on generator safely in this position to run a drill outside? I see generators with floating neutral have a 15 amp duplex outlet on cabinet also. In this situation would I install a ground at the generator?



A. If you were connected to the house with the four conductor extension cord nothing else will be needed.

Q. If you have a floating neutral generator and use it in a stand alone mode, nothing to do with a home, do you place a ground rod down? What happens with the neutral and ground connections? What about a generator on a truck or trailer?



A. In stand alone use, you should connect to a ground rod. Neutral and ground should also be bonded in the generator. The easiest way to take care of this is with a dummy plug inserted into one of the duplex outlets or the twistlock outlet. Jumper ground and neutral in the plug. A generator on a truck or trailer will follow the same rules for neutral and ground bonding, ground rods, etc.

Q. If the generator is a grounded neutral type and you only run the two live lines to the house in an illegal back feed situation where main disconnect is off but neutral still connected will I have 120 volts available in house between each hot leg and the utility grid system neutral? Would someone get shocked if standing next to generator at that time and touched it creating a path from ground to the generator?



A. The only time I would consider backfeeding a house is if the main lines were torn down and laying on the ground. I did this once after Hurricane Juan caused a tree to tear the lines off a neighbors house. The lines were still connected at the pole and were live once commercial power was restored, but there was no possibility of the generator backfeeding to the street. It took almost two weeks before the power company could get them reconnected. We still turned off the main breaker and installed a padlock to prevent it from being turned back on. The house was totally isolated from the grid so I felt it safe to connect in this manner. The generator connected via a 20 amp two pole breaker in the main panel, and there was power available for everything in the house - well pump, electric stove, all lights, etc. Generator neutral was floating as described above. Power supply was limited, they were careful not to overload and trip the generator breaker.

Q. At the same time I went to a friends home and after killing the main breaker and all 240 breakers ran a 3 wire cord from the generator 240 volt outlet direct to his pump, now isolated from the house panel using both 120 volt lines and ground. I then ran a 12 gauge 20 amp extension cord from the generator duplex outlet to a double male pig tail and back fed a kitchen outlet so he could have lights in the house. 1/2 the house to be exact. This was also a grounded neutral generator but we didn't have a problem. I did however drive a ground rod at the generator.



A. I think you were lucky this time. Electricity can be potentially dangerous and can kill and burn if not used correctly. Double male plugs should never be used as invariably there is exposed 120V on one end. If you miswire one end you can send 120V onto the neutral. At best this will trip a circuit breaker, but not knowing what else is done, could easily create a lethal voltage on the chassis of certain equipment. It gets back to doing something properly or not doing it at all. Why run the risk of personal injury or death?

You really haven't given enough information about what you have to give a definite answer, but here's the general rule.

In an AC-operated appliance, the neutral wire in the power cord is the side with ribs or a ridge molded into the insulation. This is the wire connected to the wider prong of the power plug. (AC power wiring isn't positive or negative; the wires are called hot and neutral. The hot wire takes power from your fuse box or circuit breaker panel to the appliance, and the neutral is for the return to source.)

In a DC-operated device, you're probably looking at the wire coming from an adapter that plugs into a house AC outlet. In the cord from the adapter to the appliance, the marked wire (a printed stripe, molded ribs or ridge, etc.) can be either positive or negative. There isn't a standard. The only way to know for sure is by measuring with a voltmeter to determine which is which.

It sounds like he was running something at 200 volts using both sides of the breaker, If not, he is definitely using the white wire someplace as the hot and just waiting for somebody to get zapped on it. The breaker could be bad, might be the problem, they do go bad. Just turn off the main, keep away from the big wires feeding the panel, take off your watch and rings, pop out the breaker, pull the wires off, put the wires on the new beaker, pop it back in, turn on the main, if it still breaks, you gotta chase down that white wire, cause something is wrong, I would check whatever it is that it powers to make sure it is right at the receptacle end. It should be marked. Hope this helps.

I just read the properly grounded part, if he is using the ground for the neutral, that is the problem, most newer boxes are polarized, meaning ground and neutral are separate, check out that wire, and see where it goes. If it is running something at 220 volts, mark the wire with black tape, and you should run a neutral to it to be safe.

Loose Coonectons most likley or a power surge

By the main breaker in the camper, do you mean the main 24 or 12 volt breaker, or the incoming 120vac breaker? Is it tripping the breaker in the camper, or the house? If it is tripping the breaker inside, i would look for maybe water damage, rusty components, maybe have an electrician come look at it, not worth going out away from home, and that problem ruining your vacation! Does this unit have a generator set? Try disconnecting the generator too. Hope that helps!

Q - My dryer is dead, what could do that ?
A - Common problems...blown house fuse/tripped breaker ( electric dryers need 2 )...loose white/neutral wire...broken belt ( on some models only )...door switch/door switch bracket...*thermal fuse open ( venting needs attention )...broken or burnt wire...timer...motor...burnt power cord/plug...start switch ( especially the ones with a built in relay switch )
* If you find a blown thermal fuse, always clean, change, adjust the venting system and vent hood first, then it is sometimes a good idea to replace the operating thermostat at the same time. This is a picture of -some- modern thermal fuses.
It doesn't work at all If your dryer doesn't work at all, it could be because of problems with:

Power from the house
Door switch
Thermal fuse
Wiring
Power from the house Check to see whether there's power getting to the dryer. Is it plugged in? If you plug something else into the outlet, does it work? If not, check for a blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker.

Door switch If the door switch or the door-switch actuator is defective, the dryer won't work and you need to replace the failed component. The switch is inside the dryer main housing near the door frame. Sometimes you need to raise or open the top or front of the dryer to reach the switch.

Thermal fuse On many dryers, there's a thermal fuse (a heat-sensitive fuse that blows if the dryer overheats) mounted to the exhaust duct inside the back cover panel. The fuse is about an inch long. It's usually embedded in black resin and mounted in a white plastic housing.

If the fuse has blown, it has no continuity. When this happens, your dryer either just stops heating, or it doesn't work at all. Be sure to inspect the venting/heating system before replacing the fuse to put the dryer back into operation. (You can't re-set this type of fuse.)

Wiring Often the main wiring connection from the house, at the dryer, burns and the connection breaks. In this has happened to your dryer, you need to replace the power cord and the terminal block inside the dryer to which the wire is attached.

Hi,

If your dryer doesn't heat, check these:

Power from the house
Heating element
Thermal fuse
Wiring
Power from the house Checkto see whether there's power getting to the dryer. Is it plugged in?Check for blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers--your dryer uses twofuses or circuit breakers. The dryer could tumble but not heat if onlyone of the two fuses is blown. If you have circuit breakers, one of thetwo circuit breakers can trip, even if the two for the dryer areconnected.

Heating element Oftena dryer heating element burns out, but doesn't trip the circuit breakeror blow a fuse. The heating element is simply a long coil of specialwire. You can check it for continuity with an ohm meter. No continuitymeans the element is bad and you need to replace it--electric heatingelements aren't repairable.

Thermal fuse Onmany dryers, there's a thermal fuse mounted to the exhaust duct insidethe back cover panel. The fuse--which is about an inch long--is usuallyembedded in black resin and mounted in a white plastic housing. If thefuse has blown, you need to replace it. (You can't re-set it.)

Wiring Acommon problem is for the main wiring connection from the house, at thedryer, to burn and break its connection. Because the dryer can stilltumble with partial power, the connection may be only partiallydefective. You may need to replace both the power cord to the dryer andthe terminal block inside the dryer that the wire is attached to.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR DRYER?

For a detailed Dryer illustration, click below.

Gas Whirlpool Style Version 1
Gas Whirlpool Style Version 2
Gas Maytag Style
Gas GE Style
Electric Whirlpool Style Version 1
Electric Whirlpool Style Version 2
Electric Maytag Style
Electric GE Style
Warning! To avoid personal injury or even death, always disconnect your appliance from its power source--that is, unplug it or break the connection at the circuit breaker or fuse box--before you do any troubleshooting or repair work on your appliance. Also, because some components may have sharp edges, use caution while working on your appliance.

Electric dryers aren't very complicated. Here are some common symptoms that you may experience with your dryer:

There's an error code on the digital display

It doesn't work at all
There's no heat
It won't tumble
Drying is too slow
It overheats
It seems to run forever
It's noisy
It won't start
The light doesn't work
It blows fuses or trips the circuit breaker
My clothes smell bad!
My clothes are marked or torn