Breaker issue

32carv

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New boat to me, '93 Carved 350 aft cabin. Two 30 amp cords to boat. Each works without issue when on alone. When I put both on line, both breakers on the dock pop. All breakers on the boat are off so there is no draw. Is this a boat or or Marina issue? Boat did not have this issue at owners Marina last year.
Jim
 
Is there any indication the docks have installed GFI breakers? Also are you getting any reverse polarity issues? Try reversing the cords at either the back of the boat or the pedestal not both. Does the problem go away or stay the same?
Bill
 
We reversed cords, same issue. Ground fault interrupt on dock but I think they are on other circuit. Did not look at reverse polarity yet.
Jim
 
quote:

Originally posted by 32carv

We reversed cords, same issue. Ground fault interrupt on dock but I think they are on other circuit. Did not look at reverse polarity yet.
Jim





Some marinas are going to GFI circuits on the 30A legs this is a horrible idea well intentioned but it's a real problem when a boat's on the other end of the circuit. Somewhere we had a thread on the entire subject.
Hopefully DeeVee, Double D (Don) or one of the electricians will come along and explain or point you to that thread.
Bill
 
I don't think you have a gfi issue, I think there is a cross wiring problem. I would go in that direction first.

Is your panel set up for a/c on one cord and the rest of the boat on the other?
When either of the dock mains are on and all the breakers are on, does everything work or only the side thats on?
Do you have a one main breaker with both hot wires going into it. If so and you turn all the individual breakers off, will the main still stay on?
Depending on your answers, it is also probable something is wet. trouble shooting over the internet is difficult, let us know how your making out.

Billy K.
 
You bring up good valid points BillyK. Since this is a new to him boat it could be almost anything.
The GFI should only be on the 15 amp assy. circuit of the pedestal at the marina.
Bill
 
Are there 2 main breakers on the boat, one for each incoming 30a shore line? If so do the breakers trip with them off as well?
 
There are two main breaker on boat an they do not trip.
Jim
 
The panel is set up for air contioners on one cord and everything else on the other. When one of the breakers is on, only the stuff on that side will work. The breakers on the dock pop even if all breakers except the mains are off.
Jim
 
Can you send a pic of the panel.
Do you have a meter and do an ohms check between the two inlets without the cords on. I had a Chris Craft with a second set of breakers between the inlet and the panel, that gave me trouble.

Billy K.
 
quote:

Originally posted by 32carv

There are two main breaker on boat an they do not trip.
Jim






No sorry. I meant if the main breakers on the boat are off do the breakers on the dock still trip when you plug the two shore cords in?
 
Ok then it sounds like you have a short between the cords at some point. Plug them in with the boats main breakers off. What happens then? If the dock breakers do not trip turn on the boats master breakers and see what happens.

Or I wonder if it's a phase issue and that is causing the problem? Just thinking out loud here.
 
No, they don't trip until both main breakers are on. What is strange is other breakers are off so there is no load on either side.
Jim
 
I have a multi meter, how do I do ohms check between plugs? What am I looking for?.
Jim
 
Don't know if I can describe it correctly. Sounds like a case we had in a campground with a loop of pedestals providing 20, 30 and 50 amp service off of 220 volt supply. L1 and L2 got crossed in one of the four pedestals in the loop. Supply breaker would trip soon as we tried to turn on even with no actual load. I'm not an electrician but does this spell Phase Problem?
 
Can you plug one of your shore cords into another pedestal and see what happens.
 
I plan on trying that today. I think they will reach. Jim
 
I need to get a few assumptions away so I can help. I am assuming we are working with 2 120vac cords and not 2 220vac cords, correct? What type connections are you working with, are they twist lock or do they look like regular 120v plugs? 3 prong or 4? And are you using adaptors of any kind?

Here is what I am thinking is wrong, I think the hot and neutral have been reversed in the pedestal, cord, or boat. With only one circuit on at a time, even though reversed, will work with out issue. When you turn both on it would create a hot to neutral short, tripping the pedestal breaker and not the boats main. The two circuits share the neutrals and grounds, but not the hot's. You can test and prove this. Take your multi-meter set to ACV. Start at the pedestal, this is where it depends on what type plug in, and I will assume you have a twist lock. There will be one slot that has a 90 degree turn in it, the others even though curved, are straight, this is the ground. Place one probe in this slot (the one with the 90 degree turn), you may have to wiggle it to get a good connection. At this point it depends on the configuration, the neutral should be the smaller and the hot should be the larger of the two remaining slots, again depending on the configuration, and is really not important yet. Take the other probe, and stick it in the smaller slot, the meter should read almost 0, may read up to 10vac, then check the other slot, it should read 120, again you may have to wiggle the probes to get a good connection. If it is the reverse of this, for now this is ok, just remember or write down which slot gave you 120, and which gave you almost nothing. Do the same test on the other outlet, it should be EXACTLY the same, this is the important part. If they are different, and I expect they will be, you have your problem, the hot and neutral's are reversed. If they check the same, plug your shore cords in, and check the boat end the same way. If they are different, then one of the shore cords are reversed. If they check the same, then it is reversed at the boat and we will get into checking that later.

If you look at the plug on the pedestal, there will be a number, something like NEMA L5-30R, and the shore cord, both ends, will have a number also, post those and I can tell you exactly what the configuration should be as far as to which one the neutral should hook to. In all cases, the ground is the one with the 90 degree turn.

Be very careful as you will be working with live systems that can seriously hurt you.

Also, during all this I am assuming you are actually tripping a breaker or breakers and not a GFCI. Is this the case? Also insure that the breakers are or are not GFCI breakers, GFCI breakers look different than normal breakers and should be marked GFCI............D...........
 
Two 30amp 3 prong plugs 120v no adaptors. Tried other plugs with same result. Shut entire dock except for me with same result. Tripping breaker not gfi. Will test when rain stops. One side of boat electric says polarity is good the other side says good but light is very faint?
Jim
 
Is the "other side" the ac side? I also assume you have GFCI's in your cabin, and they are NOT tripped or tripping, right?

Also, what does "Shut entire dock except for me with same result." mean?.........D..................
 
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