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Date:         Fri, 3 Jan 2003 10:02:26 -0800
Reply-To:     Gregory Smith <budgetzagato@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Gregory Smith <budgetzagato@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Ground Fault in Westy?
Comments: To: edward.bass@GM.COM
In-Reply-To:  <OF70E52873.1EF16CA0-ON85256CA3.0049CB82@mail.gm.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi Edward,

Another thought on the GFCI-blowing Westy. I had similar troubles with my '64 Avion travel trailer and the cause was corrosion at the connector ends of the cord used between the trailer and the GFCI outlet. Mine had replacement ends (thus removable) and I was able to remove and clean the connections. Any amount of corrosion or moisture between the Westy and the GFCI could cause a current leak, and cause you grief. Also, there might already be some leakage in the outlet, or some in the cord and any additional leakage from plugging in your Westy or some appliance might just take the GFCI over the edge.

AS has been mentioned, it has nothing to do with grounding the Westy per se (although not a bad idea). There may be issues with electrical accessories on board. I have a ceiling fan in my house that will trip a GFCI protected circuit, something to do with the motor/controller design.

To see if your outlets are grounded when plugged in, just buy a hand held, plug-in outlet tester and follow the instructions. Since GFCI's work whether grounded or not, they are a code-approved replacement for ungrounded recepticals in homes, offering at least some protection. I would istall them onboard if I had a Westy. GFCI's can still kill you, however, if you contact the hot and neutral outlet terminals at the exact same time. There would be no current differential to trip the GFCI in this (rare) instance.

Ciao, Gregory Smith '84 Vanagon Olympia, WA

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