Shore power on Standard outlet

Coblehagen

New Member
Aug 21, 2019
5
Boat Info
1992 Sundancer 270
Engines
454 Mercruiser Bravo II Dual prop
Hello fellow Boaters,

Power question for you electrical gurus. Our marina does not have the standard 30 amp shore power however we do connect into the standard GFCI outlets nearby my slip 120v/20amp. As you can see from the the picture when hooked up I am getting the 120 volts but none of the accessories work (outlets, stove, converter, water heater) even with trying them one at a time. I guess it's possible none of them are working but highly unlikely that every outlet wouldn't work, stove, etc. And it's important to mention I have never tested it on a proper 30 amp shore power. The panel even says 30amp. So my question is because I am not getting 30 amps is that the reason nothing will power on?
IMG_20190815_1527354.jpg
 
No, just the reflection. Lamp test it will light up.
 
Do you have a breaker box in the bilge by chance?...that you could check
 
No 30A is the total amperage you can draw with combined use. Should you use more a breaker may flip off and need to be reset. Since your showing voltage into the boat did you happen trip a breaker as @Blueone mentioned - it could also be a GFCI outlet feeding some of these items.

-Kevin
 
I did check the breaker panel in the bilge. I reset them all just to be sure, so I don't think that is the issue.
 
You never said if this was a new boat to you... if not when did stuff stop working ?
You might want to get a meter and start working your way up from shore power to main dist panel in your pic
GFI is also a good idea to check to Kevin's point
 
I would check for power at the Main breaker, maybe turn it off and on, incase it tripped internally and the handle didn't trip.... then work from there on the other breakers, can't believe they all went bad..... maybe lost the neutral and the breakers are all hot.....
 
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He has power to the boat, see his picture. It is showing 120V. Regular GFCI outlet will only be 15 or 20 amp.
 
I'm an electrician. But, not a marine electrician. But, I would start checking neutrals at whatever point the neutrals are all landed. The meter obviously has a good neutral or has found a ground for reference. The voltage is there. So, the "hot" wire is good. But, does it have a path back to source?
 
The plug on the dock has power. The gauge on the panel is showing it's receiving 120 volts. As for the neutral I will check those and see if that could be the issue.
 
While your inside the panel, put a meter on the sides of those accessory breakers and a good known neutral and see if they have power coming into them.
 
A couple of things....

The panel is showing 120V, so you are getting power to the panel.

The question is, what's happening to the power from the panel meter?

You need a multimeter and go behind the panel and check for voltage on the breaker side of the terminals. If you have power, then check the power behind each circuit breaker. If no power, then there is your issue. If you have power, check for voltage on the other side of each breaker. If no power, then likely your breakers are bad. If you have power, then you have a problem further down the line.

As someone stated, your outlets might have one GFI outlet that has tripped. Did you check the voltage at. the terminals of your battery charger?

Basically, you need a multimeter and start from behind the main panel.

If none of this makes sense, perhaps hire an electrician to diagnose.
 
I'm curious....... if you turn your Main breaker off does the volt meter goes to zero?

As Chris-380 suggested earlier in this thread, it could be as simple as the Main Breaker isn't working which would then kill the rest of the breakers in the panel.

That's where I would start and probe if the breaker is Main wired correctly and if it is actually working. The previous owner may have actually disconnected it for a non-apparent (and possibly disturbing) reason.
 
Yes, the volt meter goes to zero when I turn off the main breaker. I have a meter and will get in there this weekend and begin testing. Starting with the main breaker and go from there. I did notice messing with GFCI outlet on board, it immediately is tripping every time I hit reset. Would that affect all the other non-gfci outlets on board?

I have owned my sea ray for 2 years and it's a great boat. I haven't really had a need for full shore power as I connected power directly to the battery charger on board to keep my 12v system charged up. Have never tried hooking up full shore power until this past week Just one of those things that makes you wonder why it's not working.
 
Yes, the volt meter goes to zero when I turn off the main breaker. I have a meter and will get in there this weekend and begin testing. Starting with the main breaker and go from there. I did notice messing with GFCI outlet on board, it immediately is tripping every time I hit reset. Would that affect all the other non-gfci outlets on board?

I have owned my sea ray for 2 years and it's a great boat. I haven't really had a need for full shore power as I connected power directly to the battery charger on board to keep my 12v system charged up. Have never tried hooking up full shore power until this past week Just one of those things that makes you wonder why it's not working.
The fact that the gfci is tripping on every reset reaffirms my diagnosis. They trip because they see current on the ground wire. I believe the neutrals may be open and it is finding a path back to source on the ground. If you dont find bad connections on the neutral bar, you may have a bigger issue.
 
The fact that the gfci is tripping on every reset reaffirms my diagnosis. They trip because they see current on the ground wire. I believe the neutrals may be open and it is finding a path back to source on the ground. If you dont find bad connections on the neutral bar, you may have a bigger issue.
Check everywhere that nuetral makes a connection. I would doublecheck the shorepower cord, as well.
 
For starters with a ohm meter plug you shore power cord into your boat and bring the other end down to your breaker panel and ring out your hot , neutral and ground that will tell you if your boat is ok. Then check if you have 120 volts on your incoming feed from the hot to neutral and the hot to ground.
 
And please be careful. If you have a leaking current in your neutrals, I assume that could give you a jolt.
 

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