Shore Power Tripping

[CJ13]

Our shore power tripped last night. It trips both the onshore power outlet and the trip switch on the panel. I’ve tried a different onshore power outlet with the same result.
It happened last night with nothing charging on 240v, except the battery charger, when the fridge comes on.
The battery charger is a Quick Medium Power SBC 501 ADV PLUS FR, factory fitted in 2006.
Any advice on where to start with diagnostic’s?

 

[Boater Sam]

Tripping what, rcd or mcb? rcd is fault to earth trio, mcb is overload, too many load watts .

Diss everything and reconnect one at a time.

 

[Daydream believer]

deleted

 

[Alex_Blackwood]

Our shore power tripped last night. It trips both the onshore power outlet and the trip switch on the panel. I’ve tried a different onshore power outlet with the same result.
It happened last night with nothing charging on 240v, except the battery charger, when the fridge comes on.
The battery charger is a Quick Medium Power SBC 501 ADV PLUS FR, factory fitted in 2006.
Any advice on where to start with diagnostic’s?

Am I correct in thinking that you are saying it trips when the fridge comes on? As in previous reply There are three types of trip. Miniature Circuit Breaker(MCB), Residual Current Device (RCD) and Residual Current Breaker Overload (RCBO). If an MCB trips it is excess current (Amps) if a RCD trips it is Earth Leakage. If a RCBO trips it could be either!
First identify what sort of trip it is. If the battery charger is on permanently and it is only happening with the fridge, Then fridge is suspect. Does the fridge run at all, or does it just trip? disconnect the battery charger to eliminate that. If this is a strictly new problem and you haven't altered, added or in anyway done anything to the installation, then my gut feeling is that your fridge is faulty.
In short Isolate everything and check each unit individually. Hope that helps

 

[bignick]

Fridges and compressors are notoriously noisy from an electrical perspective.
I’d start by disconnecting the fridge and see if the problem disappears. Might it need a re-gas?
Hopefully Paul will be along soon to give you a definitive answer.

 

[CJ13]

Thanks for the advice.
Turned out to be the shore power lead, the short section connecting 32A to 16A. Strange as that lead rarely gets used & looked pristine when i dismantled the plugs

 

[Beneteau381]

Fridges and compressors are notoriously noisy from an electrical perspective.
I’d start by disconnecting the fridge and see if the problem disappears. Might it need a re-gas?
Hopefully Paul will be along soon to give you a definitive answer.

No gas means a lighter load on the compressor.

 

[Alex_Blackwood]

Thanks for the advice.
Turned out to be the shore power lead, the short section connecting 32A to 16A. Strange as that lead rarely gets used & looked pristine when i dismantled the plugs

I am not knocking you or being in the least bit personal, you are definitely not alone. However, not in the least strange. I am afraid that is typical. Rarely used, chucked in a locker, full of damp, connections gungy etc. etc. etc. I would ask this question, not only of you but anyone else reading. When did you last check (PAT test) your leads??
I do wonder, without knowing your setup how it tripped the "On board" breaker. I can understand the shoreside tripping.

 

[Boathook]

I am not knocking you or being in the least bit personal, you are definitely not alone. However, not in the least strange. I am afraid that is typical. Rarely used, chucked in a locker, full of damp, connections gungy etc. etc. etc. I would ask this question, not only of you but anyone else reading. When did you last check (PAT test) your leads??
I do wonder, without knowing your setup how it tripped the "On board" breaker. I can understand the shoreside tripping.

How does an individual do a PAT test without spending money on an electrican or buying some expensive kit ?

 

[CJ13]

I am not knocking you or being in the least bit personal, you are definitely not alone. However, not in the least strange. I am afraid that is typical. Rarely used, chucked in a locker, full of damp, connections gungy etc. etc. etc. I would ask this question, not only of you but anyone else reading. When did you last check (PAT test) your leads??
I do wonder, without knowing your setup how it tripped the "On board" breaker. I can understand the shoreside tripping.

Actually because it’s rarely used and doesn’t take up much space, this particular lead is kept in my box of electrical oddments in an after cabin (my shed) so absolutely & dry!

 

[Daverw]

How does an individual do a PAT test without spending money on an electrican or buying some expensive kit ?

Relatively easy on just short power leads, it’s more visual for damage to the lead and plug/ sockets. You can do a sort of insulation test by looking for high resistance between cores and very low / no measured resistance between connections. Or get a 500v mega to do it better. But for small leads you can make a few new leads for the same price as a mega

 

[Refueler]

Our shore power tripped last night. It trips both the onshore power outlet and the trip switch on the panel. I’ve tried a different onshore power outlet with the same result.
It happened last night with nothing charging on 240v, except the battery charger, when the fridge comes on.
The battery charger is a Quick Medium Power SBC 501 ADV PLUS FR, factory fitted in 2006.
Any advice on where to start with diagnostic’s?

Can I ask a stupid question ?

Is this 'tripping' occurring on a different berth / Marina ?

Why do I ask ? I had interesting problem when I moved my boat from UK to Latvia. In UK - my mains lead had no problem at all. When I connected to mains over here - it would trip. Turned out - it was all to do with how the EARTH function was handled.

Just asking ......

 

[CJ13]

It had been fine for 2 days, then started tripping.
No rain, but high humidity. The lead was ‘professionally assemble’ by a Marina in Gib, many years ago & seldom used since. Possibly a loose connection?

 

[Alex_Blackwood]

It had been fine for 2 days, then started tripping.
No rain, but high humidity. The lead was ‘professionally assemble’ by a Marina in Gib, many years ago & seldom used since. Possibly a loose connection?

Possibly a loose connection or partial short circuit, who knows? Irrespective of how or when leads are assembled they should be checked regularly, even if not used. It is quite easy to open up the plugs and sockets, check the connections, inspect the cores and the outer sheath for damage. use a multimeter to check continuity of the individual cores and make sure that there is an open circuit between each core/plug/socket pins.