First post... new teardrop, trips gfci when i plug it in

[timetwosave]

Brand new to this... just got back from buying a little guy silver shadow. Tried plugging it in and the gfci trips in the garage. Is there a troubleshooting tips basics guide? Supposedly the charge controller thing is brand new, maybe its warrantied or something? Pretty much all I want right now is lights, can I just charge at home and not worry about plugging in, or is there a risk here that things aren't hooked up right so i need to go troubleshooting...

[Tom&Shelly]

If the charge controller is newer than the teardrop, it sounds like it may have been wired in wrong. Did you buy the tear new? If so, I would call the company. Unfortunately, I'm betting that isn't the case...

Also, have you used the circuit in your garage with the GFCI for other things? Those do go bad sometimes, so it might just need replacing.

Tom

[Sparksalot]

Is the garage outlet wired correctly? That isn't unheard of. It could even seem to function "normally" but still be mis-wired. A simple outlet tester will tell you if the wires are crossed.

[timetwosave]

Thanks yea i'm pretty sure the gfci in the garage is wired right, i've been using that for years. I bought the teardrop off of fb marketplace, and the sellers just had a controller put in by a shop. My guess is nobody tested it after putting it in.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/wp-conte ... manual.pdf

its one of these

[Tom&Shelly]

OK, the Progressive Dynamics is a great device (I use one too), but the installation wiring instructions are not especially good. What it actually is, is a 120 volt distribution panel, with AC circuit breakers, a converter (charge controller), and a 12 volt fuse panel.

It sounds like it was wired incorrectly. How comfortable do you feel working with electrical stuff? It might be time to take it to a shop and let them check it out.

If you feel comfortable getting in there, here's how I would start:

So, there should be a main circuit breaker in there (probably 30 amps), a second one for the converter (probably 15 amps), and then possibly secondary breakers to any 120 volt outlets, lights, or appliances in the tear. I would start by turning off all the breakers in the PD and see if it still trips your GCFI. Then, I'd turn on the main breaker and see what happens. That should really only feed the other breakers, so if you are still good, I would turn them on, one at a time, and see which circuit is the offending one.

If all the breakers are off, and it still trips, I'd unwire the shore power cable from the PD and look at how it should be wired. (Making sure it's unplugged from your garage fist, of course.) If it only fails with one of the secondary breakers on, I'd trace that wiring and see what's going on.

Tom

[Tom&Shelly]

Is the garage outlet wired correctly? That isn't unheard of. It could even seem to function "normally" but still be mis-wired. A simple outlet tester will tell you if the wires are crossed.

You'll want to get one of those testers anyway. This is also the first thing you should do pulling into any campsite with shore power. They've been known to be wired incorrectly, and the results can be...excuse me...shocking.

Tom