# electrical question



## howie4255 (Oct 10, 2011)

My receptacles on the wall and over the sink won't work. Everything else is working fine. I have checked the fuses and none appear to be blown.
Any idea what could be wrong?


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## artmart (Sep 21, 2010)

Which sink?

Try looking for a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt) outlet. The outlet will have reset/test switches in between the outlets. This is an additional safeguard that is installed when an outlet is positioned near the sink or lavatory. Then push in the RESET to re-enable the circuit. Make sure the circuit breaker is turned off, then turned back on or you will not be able to RESET the GFCI.

However, I have seen that the GFCI outlet might not be at the closest outlet to the sink or lavatory. Only one is needed per circuit and it doesn't matter which outlet has it as long as there is one on the circuit. For example, I have one in the living room (I think it's for the kitchen sink). You might have to look for every outlet in your rig to find it. The construction standards are more lax and they could be anywhere, it seems.

This should be easy to reset. If this doesn't work, there are other things you should know and we'll cover them at that time.


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## howie4255 (Oct 10, 2011)

*Electrical Question*

Art,

Thanks so much for your reply. I did check three of the receptacles for a GFI and didn't see one. I checked the fuse panel and none of the 15A fuses appeared to be blown. Any other ideas?


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## artmart (Sep 21, 2010)

If you didn't find any, then you'll need to look for more receptacles. All trailers and homes these days must have GFCIs is there is a sink or water source nearby to an outlet. This is a safety issue.

Look some more. Look behind cabinet doors and every nook and cranny in your trailer. BTW- I am assuming this is a trailer since you don't mention the "abode" and that it is plugged in, but you don't mention this.

If you find them and this problem is still not fixed, then you'll need to start using a meter to try and determine where there's electricity and where there's not. If this is a trailer, is it plugged into a power source, like a campground pole or an outlet at a house? The outlets for a trailer MUST have 110v power to work. I am assuming your trailer is plugged in and since your post is so brief, I am afraid something can easily be overlooked.

FYI - the batteries in the trailer are only for 12 volt components and this does NOT include outlets.

Let us know what you find.


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## howie4255 (Oct 10, 2011)

*Electrical Question*

Art,

Thank you for the information. It's a 1999 Chateau travel trailer. I have it located on some land that we own and hunt at. I'm about a hour away so it will be a few days before I get back there. I guess I just overlooked the GFI and will hopefully find that to be my problem. I was in a hurry and I only tried the one over the sink in the kitchen and the one in the living area. Everything think else seemed to be working fine, but I didn't try the other receptacles throughout the trailer. 

Thank you for your help!


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## artmart (Sep 21, 2010)

If you still can't figure it out, get back to us and we'll have to come up with a few more ideas... I'm reluctant to add too much if these few are the cause. No sense in providing too much and wasting time on what might not be the case or confusing the issues.... One thing at a time...

Keep us posted.


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