Outlets not working

[Dano]

I've got no power to my 120v outlets in my new-to-me 3700 SCR. I checked the GFCI outlet in the head, and it looks pretty old, I can't tell if it's resetting or not. I figure I'll try to replace it just in case. Are there any others that I'm missing? It seems odd none of the outlets work.

[jparsons121]

Does AC panel show power to the line 1 or 2 (whichever handles the receptacles)?
Is the breaker on? Turn off and reset.
If so, bust out the multimeter and carefully check for 120 on the line in terminal of the GFCI

[mmwjr]

Are you connected to shore power or running on a generator? Either way the meter on the electric panel should be showing voltage and the receptacle breaker needs to be on. Is any other 110VAC items working?

[Patrick Bodkin]

I just had a similar situation on my boat. I thought that I was dealing with a significant AC power problem to my 110 volt outlets. I eventually found that the GFCI had tripped and needed to be reset. All good now

[Dano]

I'm going to try to get up there tonight and try everything on the generator, but I have a new theory from reading this morning.

My boat has a 50Amp power connection. I'm connected to 2- 30Amp outlets through a reverse Y connector. My research says that is likely my issue. Something about the way it is wired to the dock does not like a reverse Y. For anyone who speaks electrical jargon, the 2 30amp outlets need to be on a different phase and for that, I would probably have to go to a separate pole. I'm hoping that's it. I just bought the boat, and everything was functioning fine on the 50 amp outlet at his marina.

[mmwjr]

The 50 amp receptacle is on the boat and is 110 VAC. This is only a single phase; hot, neutral and ground. Two phase would be 220 VAC.

How many 50 amp receptacles are on the boat?

FYI the 30 amp is a single phase but should be the same phase else combining them will lead to tripping breakers and wiring damage. Don’t do this!

[Dano]

I've got just one 50 Amp receptacle on the boat. So the "Smart Y" adapter that I've for it is not the right one? https://www.amazon.com/Hubbell-Wirin.../dp/B0000AQQT9

The guy had 2 of them on the boat. Seems odd that all was well on his 50Amp outlet. I've asked the marina to install one at my slip...2 months ago.

[Dano]

Should I have this one instead? https://www.amazon.com/High-Tide-Mar...456943&sr=8-18

[mmwjr]

Originally Posted by Dano

I've got just one 50 Amp receptacle on the boat. So the "Smart Y" adapter that I've for it is not the right one? https://www.amazon.com/Hubbell-Wirin.../dp/B0000AQQT9

The guy had 2 of them on the boat. Seems odd that all was well on his 50Amp outlet. I've asked the marina to install one at my slip...2 months ago.

This one should work but I’m not 100% on that.

[jparsons121]

Originally Posted by Dano

I've got just one 50 Amp receptacle on the boat. So the "Smart Y" adapter that I've for it is not the right one? https://www.amazon.com/Hubbell-Wirin.../dp/B0000AQQT9

The guy had 2 of them on the boat. Seems odd that all was well on his 50Amp outlet. I've asked the marina to install one at my slip...2 months ago.

This one will work provided that ‘The two 30 amp receptacles must be on separate phases to function.’ - quoted from Hubbell info.

[mmwjr]

I don’t think he has told us if anything that uses 110VAC is working or not. If nothing is working then I would suspect this splitter/combiner is an issue but if some items are working while the receptacles aren’t then I would suspect there is some other issue.

[Dano]

My frustration continues. I went up to the boat tonight and messed around with a few things. I got to experiment with this some.

First of all, my marina swapped out my plug for a 50amp today and the problem persists. I ruled out the Y adapter. The problem also persists when I fire up the generator, which rules out the plug at the boat.

I have power going to the battery charger and AC. Anything plugged directly into an outlet has no power, though (microwave included).

The GFCIs were not tripped, but once I tested one of them, it wouldn't reset. The other one won't trip when I test it. I figure I'll replace both just for good measure.

My next order of business is to shut off everything at the breakers and just turn on the 2 circuits for the outlets (one at a time) to see if they work.

If you guys have any other ideas...I'm all ears.

[mmwjr]

I would pull the receptacles out of their boxes and measure to see if power is getting to them. If there’s power replace the receptacles, if no power check for it at the breaker. Measure both sides of the breaker as it may be bad.

[jparsons121]

Originally Posted by Dano

I've got no power to my 120v outlets in my new-to-me 3700 SCR. I checked the GFCI outlet in the head, and it looks pretty old, I can't tell if it's resetting or not. I figure I'll try to replace it just in case. Are there any others that I'm missing? It seems odd none of the outlets work.

If you find a bad GFCI, that can take out other outlets onboard.
Outlets are ‘chained’ together as they run thru the boat, so one GFCI can/will cut power to the others in that circuit.

As Mike and I suggested, pull the GFCI and check for power on the Line In connection. That will at least verify that power is being distributed to the outlet.

[Dano]

Thanks for all of the insight and advice. I figured I'd post an update. I believe I found the culprit and have solved it...sort of. After reading everything here, I pulled a GFCI and checked for power coming in...no dice. So I pulled the electric panel and checked the power for the outlet breaker. Nothing was coming in...I was showing .4 Volts coming into the breaker that fed all of the outlets.

I downloaded the pdf of the owners manual that contained the original wiring schematics for the boat and quickly realized this. The previous owner had installed an inverter and had connected all of the outlets (including the microwave) to the inverter...but only the inverter. It seemed like the battery charger would charge 2 massive batteries when plugged into shore power and the inverter would feed the outlets. But I believe the inverter ultimately died from continuous use. The batteries are still showing a full charge.

So for now, I have disconnected the inverter and reverted the wiring on the panel back to the original. Everything is working fine. When I get this thing running right, I may revisit the inverter...I do like the idea of having one.

Again, thanks for all of the help!

[mmwjr]

Glad you figured it out. Did you verify the receptacles work on both shore power and the generator if you have one?

[Dano]

Originally Posted by mmwjr

Glad you figured it out. Did you verify the receptacles work on both shore power and the generator if you have one?

I did. All systems are go!

[mmwjr]

Originally Posted by Dano

I did. All systems are go!

Great! Enjoy

[shrew]

Did the inverter need to be turned ON? My buddy runs 100% of his boat through 2 inverters. They need to be turned on for everything to work.

[mmwjr]

Originally Posted by shrew

Did the inverter need to be turned ON? My buddy runs 100% of his boat through 2 inverters. They need to be turned on for everything to work.

In post #15 he believes the inverter died.