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2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 11:51 am
by Baby Lentz Crewz
Hi everyone, new owners here and having a shore power issue. From what we can see, the shore power cords are hard wired into the panel, as I've seen mentioned in a couple of posts. Our Marina just went to the new system that will trip if there is any back feed of current. When we go to a different Marina without the upgraded system, everything works beautifully. Everything works on generator power also. Got back to home port and plugged in, as soon as you flip ANYTHING on(even the outlets with nothing plugged into them), it trips the whole system. So, we are thinking there is a ground issue somewhere between the panel and the end of the cord. Does anyone here know how to trace that line through the boat? It almost seems like we are going to have to cut through the fiberglass to find it. We would like to convert to a plug receptacle instead of the hard wire set up. Any and all help, with pictures, would be welcome. We love the boat, but not having the ability to use shore power is really a pain.
Re: 2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 12:36 pm
by km1125
Not sure what you mean by "hardwired setup". Is there no plug-in on the boat end? Do you have a cable management system (or spool, like a Glendinning system)?
I doubt you have to cut fiberglass to resolve the issue. Do you have a reverse-polarity system? A galvanic isolator?
Re: 2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 12:56 pm
by Midnightsun
I do not have an answer for you but you are not alone. In the US when a marina upgrades their electrical system out of necessity, they need to abide by new electrical codes that state power on the docks need to be of the ground fault detection style which is causing many boats to have issues.
https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/main ... hore-powerBottom line is they are forcing marinas to install electrical that is not compatible with many older boats and then you are stuck with the problem and expense of sorting it out. I can imagine on vacation and pulling into a marina for a day or 2 to get some much needed charge and AC to sleep well at night and nothing works, oh boy would I be
The sad part is there is no way of knowing if you are OK except for plugging into one which may or may not happen in the next 10 years unless there is a tool to determine this which I am sure cost a billion dollars and is only available to professionals who will gladly 'test' your system for the price of your new born.
Re: 2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 2:28 pm
by km1125
This is where the value of an onboard isolation transformer really shows up. Completely isolates the onboard electrical system from the shore system.
Re: 2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 2:49 pm
by Midnightsun
I never really understood the true purpose of an isolation transformer however I now appreciate the unit Carver installed on mine as I see more and more topics of its benefits. The darn thing is rather big and I think it weighs about 150lbs. For those not familiar with an isolation transformer, see below.
Re: 2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 4:40 pm
by Baby Lentz Crewz
km1125 wrote:Source of the post Not sure what you mean by "hardwired setup". Is there no plug-in on the boat end? Do you have a cable management system (or spool, like a Glendinning system)?
I doubt you have to cut fiberglass to resolve the issue. Do you have a reverse-polarity system? A galvanic isolator?
km1125 wrote:Source of the post Not sure what you mean by "hardwired setup". Is there no plug-in on the boat end? Do you have a cable management system (or spool, like a Glendinning system)?
I doubt you have to cut fiberglass to resolve the issue. Do you have a reverse-polarity system? A galvanic isolator?
Correct, there is no plug at the boat end. It is wired directly to the panel, but you cannot follow the cord from where it goes into the boat. It is concealed somehow.
Re: 2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 5:16 pm
by Baby Lentz Crewz
Midnightsun wrote:Source of the post I never really understood the true purpose of an isolation transformer however I now appreciate the unit Carver installed on mine as I see more and more topics of its benefits. The darn thing is rather big and I think it weighs about 150lbs. For those not familiar with an isolation transformer, see below.
Thank you for the video! That explains a lot and hopefully, installing a galvanic isolator would take care of the problem.
Re: 2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 5:21 pm
by Baby Lentz Crewz
km1125 wrote:Source of the post Not sure what you mean by "hardwired setup". Is there no plug-in on the boat end? Do you have a cable management system (or spool, like a Glendinning system)?
I doubt you have to cut fiberglass to resolve the issue. Do you have a reverse-polarity system? A galvanic isolator?
We do have a reverse polarity light system and those are fine. The surveyor tested for that when we were buying the boat at that checked out. We have power leaching from the boat to the shore power.
Re: 2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 5:34 pm
by bud37
The leakage could be coming from any appliance, battery charger etc....don't just focus on the shore power cord unless it is in the water. Your boat is probably just above the threshold for your marina but below some others. Very difficult and time consuming to find these sorts of things.
Re: 2003 360ss shore power ground fault issue
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 6:26 pm
by km1125
Where do you put all the shore power cable on the boat when you're going out for a ride?