Hi I overloaded the circuit in the caravan by having too many appliances on while on a camp site. The post tripped out before the caravan but now I don’t have 240v. I’ve checked all the MCBs and fuses, and the the 2 inline fuses I can see. The RCD is not tripping out when pressing the test button which I’m told is a sign of no 240v. I’m now back home and still having the same issue. Any ideas what the issue could be and what to check. I do have a volt meter. Caravan is Elddis Affinity 574 2014. First time posting, thanks in advance for any advice.
No 240v and RCD not tripping
- Thread starter Mattyd
- Start date
Some MCB/RCDs you need to press the switch fully to the off position before moving it back to the on position.
Have you tried the test button on the bollard?
Also not all RCD’s drop when they have tripped, some stay up, so good practice is drop it down and the re engage it
Also not all RCD’s drop when they have tripped, some stay up, so good practice is drop it down and the re engage it
It would have been sensible to test your existing cable (with a cheap digital multi meter) before buying a new one.
- Nov 30, 2022
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Or try someone else's lead.
It could just be something simple as a terminal on one of the lead ends has come loose.
I see caravans with damaged mains connections , both the cable and the socket/wiring in the caravan , even seen melted connectors and cabling . To the OP first start with the socket in the caravan , looking from inside look at the cable close to the socket , is there any darkening of the cable close to the socket? , is the cable intact , give it a tug to check for loose connections ( with no power connected) , then on the outside look at the socket pins are they clean and secure ( when the socket overheats the plastic melts and the pins push back) If all looks OK with a multimeter set to ohms and with all the MCBs and RCD on and say the water heater or space heater set to electric and on, test the resistance between live and neutral pins(the two smaller pins of the three) if you get a value of less than 100k then the cables are intact if you get a reading of above 1 Mohm then there is a fault internally to the EDU.If all OK then as the others say it is probably the hook up cable.
- Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Mattyd,
I am concerned about the nature of the correspondence in this thread, becasue your references to what has happened and what you have tried and what you haven't tried leaves me with a strong suspicion you may not feel competent with breaking down and working on electrical items.
Bearing in mind how dangerous electricity can be if its not managed correctly, I strongly suggest you ask someone who does know about electrics to check your systems and to help identify where the problem is and help to fix it.
I am concerned about the nature of the correspondence in this thread, becasue your references to what has happened and what you have tried and what you haven't tried leaves me with a strong suspicion you may not feel competent with breaking down and working on electrical items.
Bearing in mind how dangerous electricity can be if its not managed correctly, I strongly suggest you ask someone who does know about electrics to check your systems and to help identify where the problem is and help to fix it.
If after trying a different EHU cable and it doesn't work then you have a problem that requires a competent person to further Investigate the fault as has been stated above, assuming the MCB/RCD have been reset correctly..Good luck Gary
Going right back to the beginning, the OP says that he overloaded the circuit by having' too many appliances connected' - what exactly does he mean? Is he talking about physical connections or is he talking about too much load? He also says the pillar tripped first but was it the RCD that tripped or the MCB? If the MCB tripped then it is a power issue which means he is talking about power load: if it was the RCD that tripped but the RCD in the van did not trip then the issue is the connection between the pillar and the power box in the van - and such an instance points to a problem with the EHU cable or connections.
I agree with Prof. The description so far suggests that the OP does not feel confident dealing with mains electricity and is thus at serious risk of injury or electrocution. I would suggest he contacts someone who knows what they are doing with mains. If he needs an electrician any electrician would be competent - it does not have to be a specialist caravan tech.
I agree with Prof. The description so far suggests that the OP does not feel confident dealing with mains electricity and is thus at serious risk of injury or electrocution. I would suggest he contacts someone who knows what they are doing with mains. If he needs an electrician any electrician would be competent - it does not have to be a specialist caravan tech.
Check each pin (earth, live and neutral) from each end of your hook up cable with a continuity tester.(check the tester first by crossing the probes together, it should beep loudly). You're looking for a beep when each wire proves good, if it doesn't beep or is intermittent then there is a break somewhere. But before you plug it in again carefully slowly inspect the whole cable to make sure there isn't a crush, pinch or cut anywhere as that will be a dangerous cable and should be binned.
Thanks for the concern John, I wouldn’t work on the electrics, just trying to narrow down the issue.
I have finally got to the bottom of it, it was the hook up cable in the end, I did try the new cable in the post at the campsite but didn’t work even after the warden reset the switches so the post must have had an issue after it tripped. Thanks for all the advice and support.
Not necessarily , the two RCD s are the same characteristic and its always 50/50 which one will trip if an earth leakage is present inside the caravan. When testing the RCDs in caravans a separate mains supply is required to prevent accidentally tripping the owner's house supply, Either a separate generator or a 2kW mains isolating transformer.
Or an unprotected 230v supply, workshops use them, one guy I know uses an inverter again with an unprotected 230v outlet, these are clearly marked and only used for the testing process.
And how many houses built in, say, the last 30 years have unprotected sockets available? In fact would it even be legal under everything since maybe the 16th Regs for an electrician to fit an unprotected outlet?
- Jul 18, 2017
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Well done in getting it sorted.
The use of an RCD is recommended , but within the regulations they are permitted exceptions and in the case of a TN-C installation they not permitted see chapter 41. The sixteenth edition of the IEE installations regulations also didn't fully state that RCDs shall be fitted ,in fact in the early edition ( before all the amendments) it said they weren't to be relied on solely for protection against electric shock.The consumer unit provided usually had a split system with some MCBs protected by an RCD and some not ( usually lighting circuits were the outlets are deemed 'out of reach') in the Eighteenth edition ( possibly even in the seventeenth) , as the reliability of RCD's has be proved . the use of RCD's in lighting circuits has been added.
One point to note is that the test button should be pressed every three months to ensure it works. I come RCDs in caravans and motorhomes which fail the full test and only after several presses of the test button , do they pass. This is because they are a mechanical device and the parts, if not exercised , stick together. Some even fail the time limits
First off the 18th edition IET requirements for electrical installations is not a legal document , they however can be used along with other documentation to show an installation was designed, installed and tested correctly, if an incident occurs .
The use of an RCD is recommended , but within the regulations they are permitted exceptions and in the case of a TN-C installation they not permitted see chapter 41. The sixteenth edition of the IEE installations regulations also didn't fully state that RCDs shall be fitted ,in fact in the early edition ( before all the amendments) it said they weren't to be relied on solely for protection against electric shock.The consumer unit provided usually had a split system with some MCBs protected by an RCD and some not ( usually lighting circuits were the outlets are deemed 'out of reach') in the Eighteenth edition ( possibly even in the seventeenth) , as the reliability of RCD's has be proved . the use of RCD's in lighting circuits has been added.
One point to note is that the test button should be pressed every three months to ensure it works. I come RCDs in caravans and motorhomes which fail the full test and only after several presses of the test button , do they pass. This is because they are a mechanical device and the parts, if not exercised , stick together. Some even fail the time limits
- Nov 11, 2009
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Wonder how many regularly test their domestic box RCDs, or smoke and CO detectors.
- Nov 16, 2015
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I am a little confused , you say it was the cable, but then say it was the EHU post. Glad you got it sorted though.
I went through a long process of testing my book up cable , checking everything, only to find the EHU post was of the type you connect then twist to get power.
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