95 Columbus: generator works but no power to house

[GruCrew]

We are on a month long trip and desperately need our ac to work before we hit the heat and humidity. Everything works fine when we are plugged in but nothing works off the generator. I’ve checked the breakers in the house and on the generator. I’ve let the generator run quite a while and neither the power or ac ever kick on. The nearest mobile repair is 90 miles away. What else could it be? What should I look for?

[16ACE27]

On that vintage RV don't you have to plug the SP cord into an outlet that is supplied by the generator? You probably don't have an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS).

Has it ever worked? Or is this a "new to you" RV?

[Bob Denman]

Welcome to the forum!
By "checking the breakers": did you re-set them?

[GruCrew]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Welcome to the forum!
By "checking the breakers": did you re-set them?

Yes, I did re set both sets.

[Bob Denman]

Sorry: I had to ask...
Do you have an automatic transfer switch in the rig?

[GruCrew]

It has worked in the past. I don’t see an SP plug anywhere. The manual says nothing about either and SP plug or an ATS

[Bob Denman]

If it has worked in the past: something has changed... and it's not a good "something".
I think your ATS needs some close scrutiny. Good luck!

Oh! The ATS should be either at the coach end of your shore-power cord (If it's a permanent one); or on the inside of where a power cord plugs into your coach.

[GruCrew]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

If it has worked in the past: something has changed... and it's not a good "something".
I think your ATS needs some close scrutiny. Good luck!

Oh! The ATS should be either at the coach end of your shore-power cord (If it's a permanent one); or on the inside of where a power cord plugs into your coach.

Will the ATS be behind a panel? I don’t see anything visible. Also I don’t know what I’m looking for.

[GruCrew]

According to the diagram I have an ATS. Now I just have to find it.

[Bob Denman]

Do you have a removeable shore-power cord?

[GruCrew]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Do you have a removeable shore-power cord?

No, it is permanent.

[Bob Denman]

Okay; that makes it easier. Where your shore-power cord attaches to your rig... that is right where the ATS should be.
Mine looks l8ike this:
You can see where the power cord is coming out of the top of it.
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/at...1&d=1626285557

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by GruCrew

Will the ATS be behind a panel? I don’t see anything visible. Also I don’t know what I’m looking for.

Yes, generally in the vicinity of the breaker panel. Looks like:



But may be a different brand.

[GruCrew]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

Yes, generally in the vicinity of the breaker panel. Looks like:



But may be a different brand.

I have nothing like that. This is what’s under my breaker panel.

[Bob Denman]

Okayyyyy... Which one of those is your power cord, and what is it hooked to?

[GruCrew]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Okayyyyy... Which one of those is your power cord, and what is it hooked to?

Not sure. I’ll have to do some more investigation. But right now we have to get ready for a wedding. I’m sure I’ll post more tomorrow. Thanks for all your help so far.

[yukongrant]

I'm not sure what generator you are using - or how old. But we had a very similar problem - the generator started but did not provide any power to the rig.
There's a breaker on the generator itself. It's just a switch - usually hidden. Reset that, and things started to work as expected.
Here is a video of resetting that switch. Mine is in a different location - but gives you an idea of what to look for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzxx8Ht2hOs

[GruCrew]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Okayyyyy... Which one of those is your power cord, and what is it hooked to?

I removed the face plate around the breakers and found this. The melted piece is from a problem we already fixed a while ago.

I know it doesn’t look like the new boxes but could these two sets of screw thing (sorry, don’t know the technical name) be the old ATS? Looking at wiring the diagrams this could be it.

[Pete'sMH]

No. Those are just the ground and neutral connections for the breaker box. But looking at it I’d recommend you get it fixed or even replaced. The damaged neutral wires and some of the other damage could become serious.

[16ACE27]

Look behind the breaker box, not in it. The ATS is a stand-alone component that is inserterd between the power distribution panel (breaker box) and the two power sources (Generator and Shore Power).