Shore Power #2 trips dock breaker

[ehschneider]

Everything off..all breakers on shore power #2 side, even the battery switches..
Many times as soon as I plud in the 30 amp cord it pops the dock breaker... Yes I tried known good 30 amp cords and changed to other dock power plugs from boats having no issue..

Generator works fine and powers the entire vessel no problem..

When I shut down the Generator and plug shore power #2 into the dock it pops it with everything off... Shore power # 1 is fine. no issues.

HELP!! Called 2 marinas, they have no body to diagnose these issues.

[bud37]

Check out this ......maybe some help here....

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7057

[ehschneider]

ok...update.. I figured out the controls for AC are calling for power. Under generator power I turned them both off... Now the bedroom AC is running fine, pump running. Bedroom is cooling down. Running for 30 minutes... If I turn the main (salon) unit on it will trip the dock.... Thoughts now???

[tomschauer]

First, I would shut down the bedroom a/c and then try the salon a/c. If it runs fine for a bit, flip on the bedroom a/c while watching your ammeter and voltmeter. If the ammeter jumps up to or over thirty amps and trips the pedestal breaker and or the voltmeter drops under about 100 volts, then you have a few things to check out. First cords and cord ends. If the male ends are tarnished (green or rusty) sand them clean. If looking at the female ends, if you see any brown discoloration or melting of the plastic, it's time for a new cord. If this all check out ok, then with all power disconnected, pull out the power inlet on your boat. It's not uncommon for the inlet to burn a bit and especially the wires from the back to be charred and the connection loose. If so, replace the inlet, cut back to good wire and you should be good for several years.
Maybe I should have put this up near the beginning, but if the ammeter doesn't, spike, and the voltage doesn't drop, connect the power cord to another pedestal. It may be a bad receptacle or braker on the marina side.

[ehschneider]

I check the plugs this morning. No burn.. I start the bedroom AC... the amp meter moves slightly..when the compressor kicks on it jumps slightly... . I let it run for 20 minutes but it finally tripped.. I thought the bedroom was going to be fine after 10 minutes.. But no.. Again, with the generator I can power up both with no problem..

I tried my neighbors cords, same issue.... So the cord and plugs are fine... I guess I 'm leaking power someplace...but where???? I have no idea where the bad "grounds" can be. I have NEVER had any issues...

[Viper]

Maybe it's a ground fault trip. A lot of marinas are using those breakers now. You could have a ground fault issue on line 2. Did you actually remove the inlet plug on the boat and check the wiring connected to it as Tom suggested? Can't stress that enough. If there's a poor connection there, it can cause a fire.

[bud37]

These types of problems are very difficult to pinpoint remotely in a forum setting in my opinion....here is a read to help with understanding current leakage in onboard boat systems. This may help, but remember electricity is very dangerous and if you the OP has had very little to no training it may be best to hire a pro.

Had to find this one as I got rid of all my old files a while back.

https://www.marinadockage.com/technical ... e-current/

[BRHEAUME]

We've solved this very issue using one 50-amp cord that splits into a Y for the two 30's coming from your boat. Newer marina power and the use of GFCI's don't work well with boats that share the neutral between shore 1 and shore 2.

[ehschneider]

Problem was at the dock. Electrician a few boats down put a better breaker in the pedestal. thanks everyone

[bud37]

Source of the post Problem was at the dock. Electrician a few boats down put a better breaker in the pedestal. thanks everyone

Thanks for posting......but a "better breaker" , or one that does not react to your problem.