yorkist Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 On our way to our daughters in Austria for a month. First stop in Germany, plugged in, all ok for a couple of hours, then the RCD tripped.Its happened each time since then. Really need some advice. Not sure if the Motorhome dealers over here will be familiar with the Sargent psu , need help before the gas runs out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Turn off all the individual circuit breakers then try resetting the RCD. If it still trips you need help but if it resets try turning on the circuit breakers one by one to identify which one is causing it to trip. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkist Posted September 9, 2021 Author Share Posted September 9, 2021 Thanks so much, will try that tomorrow morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkist Posted September 10, 2021 Author Share Posted September 10, 2021 No joy I'm afraid. Sure it was dodgy electrics at the last site we were on,we weren't the only ones having problems. Now heading towards Munich to a motorhome dealers hoping they can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Virtually all ancillary equipment is used by all European MH manufacturers so there should be no problem...especially in Germany! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 yorkist - 2021-09-09 6:49 PM On our way to our daughters in Austria for a month. First stop in Germany, plugged in, all ok for a couple of hours, then the RCD tripped.Its happened each time since then. Really need some advice. Not sure if the Motorhome dealers over here will be familiar with the Sargent psu , need help before the gas runs out! If it is the RCD that has tripped, it is because something in your van is allowing electricity to "leak" to earth. That something might be something you leave permanently connected to a mains socket. (I'm ruling out the possibility that it is something you have plugged in after arrival, because I'm assuming you would have noticed that as soon as X was connected the RCD trips.) However, whatever it is, it will be something in the van that is connected to mains. It will not be an external item such as the EHU cable or its plugs/sockets, nor the site feeder pillar. RCDs compare the current flowing through them, and if the current flowing (in) on the + side of the device exceeds that flowing (out) on the - side, they "assume" it has leaked to earth. In a healthy electrical system no current will flow to earth, so the RCD opens to electrically isolate everything downstream from it. As your van seems likely to have UK electrics it may puzzle a continental electrician. Most continental power sockets are unswitched, whereas UK sockets are switched. Most continental circuit breakers are double pole, whereas most UK circuit breakers are single pole, and isolate only the + circuit. For that reason UK electrics depend on correct polarity (e.g. the + wires are always connected to + terminals etc, and that switches are always installed to disconnect the + circuit. Continental electrics, because switches and circuit breakers etc. are double pole (i.e. they simultaneously disconnect both + and -), are "blind" to polarity, so it is unimportant whether the polarity is reversed (hence the UK preoccupation with reversed polarity when abroad.). From your description it seems possible that a wire has vibrated loose somewhere so that a + (or even the - if the polarity is reversed) wire has come into contact with the earth wire. If you are connecting to site supplies using the "standard" blue CEE marked connectors the polarity should be OK, but if your are having to use a two pin connector into a two pin site socket there is a 50% chance that the polarity is reversed so it could equally be a wire that is designated - has become +, so you will need to check that all connections are properly secured with no loose wires straying into contact with others. Where to look? Do this with the EHU disconnected!! Loosen each power socket in turn sufficient to be able to check that + ,- and earth wires are all secure in their terminals. This should be easy as there is normally sufficient slack in the wiring to allow inspection. If unsure about any, check that the wire is fully inserted into the terminal, and then and tighten the terminal screw firmly. If that yields no culprits, look at all other 230 Volt equipment such as electric hotplate, oven (if electric), space and/or water heater, the connections to the on-board charger/12V power pack, and so on until you either find the fault or have checked everything and found no fault. If the latter (unless you've missed something out!) the fault is likely to be inside the consumer unit that houses the RCD and other circuit breakers. After that, it would be a case of using a multi-meter or similar to check each circuit individually for resistance between +, -. and earth wires. No, or little, resistance would indicate the circuit at fault. If you don't carry such a meter, you are probably doing the best thing in approaching a dealer - even if the UK electrics puzzle them a bit at first. It may take a while to sort through an unfamiliar system. Good luck, and do let us know how you get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkist Posted September 12, 2021 Author Share Posted September 12, 2021 Just a quick update, tried Keiths advice again after a couple of days. Seems it is the MCB that powers the sockets, everything else is running as normal, we can cope with that until we get home. Thank you so much for your help. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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