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Old 01-13-2019, 11:11 AM   #1
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Open ground/loose neutral?

Hi everyone,

Lately I have noticed the 12v lights flickering ever so slightly whenever the lights are on. This seems to occur regardless of whether we are on shore, generator, or house battery power. At the same time I noticed the surge protector now indicates open ground. I thought maybe it’s an issue at my home outlet but I went to a state park and it’s showing the same fault indicator.

I checked the grounds coming off the batteries and all seems intact. I’ve been reading online but I can’t determine if these two problems are related or not. The only thing different is I had some work done on the generator at the shop but I can’t figure out the connection between these two issues.

Has anyone ever experienced an open ground fault plus 12v flickering?

Many thanks!
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Old 01-14-2019, 03:38 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by WalkTheLine View Post
Hi everyone,

Lately I have noticed the 12v lights flickering ever so slightly whenever the lights are on. This seems to occur regardless of whether we are on shore, generator, or house battery power. At the same time I noticed the surge protector now indicates open ground. I thought maybe it’s an issue at my home outlet but I went to a state park and it’s showing the same fault indicator.

I checked the grounds coming off the batteries and all seems intact. I’ve been reading online but I can’t determine if these two problems are related or not. The only thing different is I had some work done on the generator at the shop but I can’t figure out the connection between these two issues.

Has anyone ever experienced an open ground fault plus 12v flickering?

Many thanks!
Open ground fault is for the 120V system and has no bearing on your 12V system. Open ground is dangerous and can be life threatening.

What year/model of RV do you have? Are the flickering lights florescent or do the regular bulbs flicker as well? 10 year old florescent may start flickering. You might put a voltmeter on one of the flickering lights to see if the voltage is fluctuating.
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Old 01-15-2019, 02:14 AM   #3
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Call your generator guy and ask if he has some ideas. Did he work on the transfer box?

https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/...iABEgLesvD_BwE


Maybe you have a loose nut(s) inside the T-Box?

Check your generator ground wire. (Just because.)

...fluorescent light circuit boards do cause flickering, but this is a 12V source issue. I replaced my 2 solenoids and my fluorescent lights got brighter.

...you stay you are getting an "open ground" on the surge protector???

So disconnect the surge protector and then use a 120V-AC receptacle tester you can pick-up at any hardware store and let us know if your problem is the surge protector.

https://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instru...s=120V-AC+test

Let us know what you find.
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Old 01-15-2019, 07:34 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by al1florida View Post
Open ground fault is for the 120V system and has no bearing on your 12V system. Open ground is dangerous and can be life threatening.

What year/model of RV do you have? Are the flickering lights florescent or do the regular bulbs flicker as well? 10 year old florescent may start flickering. You might put a voltmeter on one of the flickering lights to see if the voltage is fluctuating.



Thank you. Thanks for answering my question re open ground vs the 12V system..looks like I have 2 problems here...I have a 2005 Winnie Voyage 33v. The regular bulbs flicker as well as the florescent bulbs. However, I will go check that and put the voltmeter on the lights. Will let you know what I find--may be tomorrow afternoon before I can go check. I also ordered a tester to check the surge protector (see below)
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Old 01-15-2019, 07:35 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by imnprsd View Post
Call your generator guy and ask if he has some ideas. Did he work on the transfer box?

https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/...iABEgLesvD_BwE


Maybe you have a loose nut(s) inside the T-Box?

Check your generator ground wire. (Just because.)

...fluorescent light circuit boards do cause flickering, but this is a 12V source issue. I replaced my 2 solenoids and my fluorescent lights got brighter.

...you stay you are getting an "open ground" on the surge protector???

So disconnect the surge protector and then use a 120V-AC receptacle tester you can pick-up at any hardware store and let us know if your problem is the surge protector.

https://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instru...s=120V-AC+test

Let us know what you find.

I ordered the tester for the surge protector so will test that ASAP. I plan to call the service place and talk to them about the generator. I will also look for the transfer box and examine it too as well. I will let you all know what I find. Thanks!!
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Old 01-15-2019, 08:58 AM   #6
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If you haven't already done so, unplug and don't use shore power or generator power until you correct the problem. As previously stated, this can be life-threatening.
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Old 01-15-2019, 09:35 AM   #7
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If you haven't already done so, unplug and don't use shore power or generator power until you correct the problem. As previously stated, this can be life-threatening.

Yessir it is unplugged from shore power and I will not run generator till I get to the bottom of this, Thanks for the alert, appreciate it.
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Old 01-15-2019, 09:56 AM   #8
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Also when you are trouble shooting it pick a day with no rain and when the ground is dry. If you have an open ground YOU don't want to become the ground path.
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Old 01-15-2019, 12:55 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by WalkTheLine View Post
Hi everyone,

Lately I have noticed the 12v lights flickering ever so slightly whenever the lights are on. This seems to occur regardless of whether we are on shore, generator, or house battery power. At the same time I noticed the surge protector now indicates open ground. I thought maybe it’s an issue at my home outlet but I went to a state park and it’s showing the same fault indicator.

I checked the grounds coming off the batteries and all seems intact. I’ve been reading online but I can’t determine if these two problems are related or not. The only thing different is I had some work done on the generator at the shop but I can’t figure out the connection between these two issues.

Has anyone ever experienced an open ground fault plus 12v flickering?

Many thanks!

I've had it happen to me a couple of times. Each time I roughed up and cleaned off the prongs on my shore cord with a file. So far that has fixed it.
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Old 01-16-2019, 02:14 PM   #10
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I ordered the tester for the surge protector so will test that ASAP. I plan to call the service place and talk to them about the generator. I will also look for the transfer box and examine it too as well. I will let you all know what I find. Thanks!!

I messed around with all this and put a call into the generator place...they called back requesting I bring the MH back ASAP so they could see what was going on so I just dropped it off at the shop. I will let y 'all know what they find. Thanks!
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